Upward Bound Groups Focus on Service

Press Release

Upward Bound at USU Eastern in Price is a grant-funded program serving first-generation and/or low-income, college driven, students in Carbon, Emery, and Grand counties. This college readiness program is for high school students in ninth through 12^th grades who are interested in receiving a bachelor’s degree or greater in their post-secondary education.

This past week, the program participants of Upward Bound have been spending their efforts and time after school creating mindfulness, comfort, and activity kits to be distributed throughout their local communities.

Desiree Buchmiller, the Director of Upward Bound stated, “Service is so beneficial for our program because it really provides our students the opportunity to explore their creativity while keeping the idea of helping others in mind, and the bonding experience and growth on an individual level that comes with it is truly like no other.”

These students have diverse backgrounds, which provides them a better understanding of where their services might be best directed each month within each of the communities. Each of the schools have their own Upward Bound Student Leadership Committee that came together, with their peers, to create the idea of the various kits and what they would contain. The students then fully planned and implemented the projects.

Purity Mason, the President of Upward Bound at Emery High, stated, “It’s so beautiful to know that I can make an impact on my community and the people around me.”

Emery County students arranged 50 comfort kits to be provided to foster children at the Emery County Department of Children and Family Services. Carbon County students donated 50 activity kits to the Parent as Teachers Program through the Southeast Utah Health Department. Grand County contributed 50 mindfulness kits to Four Corners Behavioral Health in Moab to help uplift some of their clients, and other individuals that might need it.