Lehi People
Lehi residents unite in day of service
Megan Wallgren | Lehi Free Press
Lehi residents showed up in force on Saturday, Sept. 7, to strengthen the community through service. In conjunction with the National 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance events, local non-profit Lehi Serves organized around 20 service projects around the city. Nearly 1,800 people provided just over 2,400 man hours of service during the event.
“When we serve together, it lets us build bridges and break down barriers,” said Lehi Serves co-director Elise Mackelprang. “When we serve, we start to make friendships and connections and see past everything else.”
Lehi Serves partnered with several non-profits on indoor and outdoor projects, including Tiny Tim’s Foundation for Kids, the Lehi Ronald McDonald Family Room, Tabitha’s Way Food Pantry and Lehi Family Haven. Lehi City Parks also hosted a number of outdoor projects.
The organization was established by a diverse group of community leaders and organizations in 2022 and was initially called the Lehi Area Community Service Coalition. In July, it received non-profit status under the banner Lehi Serves. The organization is working to expand beyond organizing the National Day of Service activities to sponsoring more events and creating more community relationships.
Mackelprang looks forward to working with the Lehi Youth Council and other youth groups in the future.
“If the youth are service-minded and start to lead out, it can be an incredible opportunity for them and an incredible blessing for the future of Lehi,” she said. “We want Lehi Serves to be something bigger by sparking a relationship between community members so people can find ways to serve past that event.”
Lehi Serves hopes to connect people with organizations with a need they can fill that aligns with their interests. They post current projects at justserve.org/lehiarea.
“People want to serve but don’t know how to. They don’t know where to go and what to do,” said Mackelprang. “We’re growing really quickly, and we’re excited to see how we can help Lehi City continue to become the best town in Utah County.”
