Health. Education. Justice.
Three of the hardest social structures to navigate—then add not speaking the language on top of it. For immigrant families, they may be missing out on crucial support they need during the transition to a new country and culture. These supports may be exactly what their children need in order to begin the cycle of generational success. That’s where Holy Cross Ministries comes in.
The nonprofit began more than 140 years ago, when two nuns came to what was then just a territory of the U.S., to set up a hospital for injured miners and railroad workers—basically the population of the area. The hospital grew, bringing more and more sisters to the area to help address other needs—especially those of women and children in the rough-and-tumble West. As the needs of the area changed, so did the mission of the organization. The goal stayed the same—serve the underrepresented and marginalized. But now the group does that through several programs falling under education, health, and justice.
Health
The U.S. medical system can be difficult to manage – even for me, a college-educated, lifelong citizen of this country. I still get overwhelmed by all the red tape, and that’s with no language barrier. The Promotoras program looks to help act as “bridge builders” to help families—especially immigrant families access the programs they need to succeed. According to its website: “Holy Cross Ministries’ Promotoras – bilingual, bicultural outreach workers – strive to ensure that all families are healthy, safe, and can navigate complex health and social systems.” Through this program, it offers prenatal support, assistance in enrolling in CHIP/Medicaid, assistance finding a primary care doctor, a support group for families with children who have disabilities, and resources to help parents talk with their teens about preventing and reducing risky sexual behaviors.
HCM also offers counseling services, focusing on healing from domestic abuse. Many immigrants coming to this country are fleeing violence, sometimes in their country, sometimes in their own home. HCM offers one-on-one and group counseling to help the healing process.
Education
Bi-lingual Holy Cross Ministries focuses on getting young children ready for school. Through its Parents As Teachers programs, it helps parents in the crucial 0-3 year time period, where a lot of language is acquired. Home visits and screening help make sure baby is up to standard developmentally and getting all the support needed to enter school.
The organization also offers the School Readiness Program, which offers daily classes (and transportation) for kiddos 0-3 years. The goal is to “prepare children academically, socially, emotionally, and physically to enter into the public school system.” HCM also ran a successful after-school program but has since turned the operation over to the Park City School District.
Justice
Our legal immigration system is complicated and that complication only continues to grow. HCM helps people navigate the system. In fact, it has helped more than 10,000 people since it started offering legal aid in 2000. Many families are fleeing crime in their home countries—domestic violence, gang violence or governmental unrest. HCM focuses on helping those people get everything they need to stay here and, if they choose, get on the path to citizenship.
HCM is a religious organization but it offers services to anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, race, ethnicity, gender or ability to pay. The organization has changed a lot over the years—one of its main goals is to be adaptable to the changing needs of the community. But no matter what, it has and will continue to offer service that will help individuals and families get back on their feet and set them up for success within the community. Click HERE if you would like to donate or volunteer.
You’ve seen them all before–the semi-tacky souvenir t-shirt in every airport newsstand, museum gift shop, and boardwalk souvenir shack. You can find basically the exact same shirt in any city across the country. As unique as all cities are, shouldn’t its souvenirs reflect that—for tourists and locals alike? 
Despite zero experience in apparel design, he and partner Alex Lowe taught themselves to screen print and started testing out some designs. They sold products at local markets and started to gather a following. In 2016, they opened up the Motherlode storefront on Main Street. The shop carries unique apparel – items you definitely won’t find at other stores – and is perfectly representative of the city’s vibe. 
And beyond the pre-designed apparel, about half of Motherlode’s business is doing custom work for clients; they’ve even helped us with projects here at The Colony! 
They can also transfer images on to a shirt—perfect for gifts or other small orders. Motherlode has clients all over the city, from Freshie’s to St. Regis. Oh, and, it’s worth mentioning that the t-shirts they sell are the softest, most comfortable we’ve ever come across.
The farm raises livestock—chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs and more—grows dozens of different crops, farms fish, and even has 300,000 bees to keep the whole operation moving. The farm uses a practice it calls Earthganic. The farm strives to work with the earth, not against it, to bring out the best food it has to offer.
The farm also offers tours specifically geared to help community members learn about sustainable farming. The earth is changing and the farm wants to show farmers, community leaders, and anyone interested in the best ways to use biology, not chemicals, to grow food. The free tours demonstrate how to get back to the natural processes that have grown food for centuries and will allow us to continue eating healthy and nutritious produce in the years to come.
Let’s back up.
So she got to work. Hollye didn’t have any sewing or fashion experience but she bought some fabric and put together a prototype. She worked with several different manufacturers before landing on a factory in Mexico that gave her the product she wanted while also maintaining good conditions for its workers. And it wasn’t just her preference that went into building this purse. She interviewed more than 100 women to determine what exactly they wanted from an everyday bag.
Hollye says she was able to work on this project after her (now three!) children went to bed. And, while it took a bit longer with those hours, she says she wouldn’t have done it any other way. Being a working mom has allowed her to teach her daughters about running a business as well as being creative themselves. She
This is just a small slice of all the programs Park City Film brings to the community. There truly is something for everyone—even people who think independent film is pretentious. Especially for people who think independent film is pretentious.
This year, the Park City Community Foundation has a special charge from the city, as it was just named 
