By Rachel Aubrey | [email protected]

In her home office Ann Lobos has a quote on the wall surrounded by the shape of a heart. “Save the world, save the youth.” It’s a simple statement, but one that Lobos has put some action behind through her efforts to get young people and families involved in service nights with the South Jordan Rotary Club.

“My goal in life is to help the world reach its full potential,” Lobos said.

 Once a month Lobos and some dedicated committee members gather and plan a hands-on service-oriented project that families, even those with smaller children, can participate in. The group of volunteers meet at the Daybreak Firehouse to do whatever the committee has planned for the night. Some past projects include assembling kids care packages for Venezuelan refugees, making blankets for disadvantaged youth, and most recently, filling Easter eggs and crafting sock bunnies.

Lobos, who has been president of the South Jordan Rotary since July 2021, realized that her family was unaware of all the service she and the club were performing, often spending eight to 10 hours a week on club dealings. A small business owner, the treasurer of the South Jordan Chamber of Commerce, and a mother of five children, Lobos recognized that her family time was limited, so she went about restructuring her volunteer efforts in a way that her family could participate with her.

“In a way that is what got me to start [these] events,” Lobos said. “I’m really busy, I’m doing a lot of service and I don’t think my kids knew what I was doing, and I don’t think they [understood] what service [was].”

In September of 2021, the first family Rotary meeting was held and 30 people showed up ready to work. The next month, after posting the family night event to the website JustServe.org, the number of people that registered to volunteer was 100. The numbers have continued to increase month by month since that first meeting. Lobos said that she has had to close the registration as early as two months prior simply because she didn’t have enough manpower to help facilitate the family service nights.

“I need people that are willing to help plan the projects and find the sponsors, there is a lot that goes into it,” Lobos said.

Lobos said that despite the need for manpower, she has seen a lot of support from the business community that has been willing to sponsor the various projects. The family service night event on May 9 was sponsored by Cyprus Credit Union. Past sponsors include Mountain America Federal Credit Union, The Gunn Group, Intermountain Health Care and the South Jordan Chamber of Commerce.

In April, Lobos was the recipient of the Healthy South Jordan award for her efforts in helping to create opportunities for both young and old to have ways to give back to the community, something that both Lobos and the Healthy South Jordan coalition view as a way to improve mental health within the community. Prior to her life as a certified public accountant, Lobos was once a masters student looking to earn a degree in mental health counseling. She recognizes that when people of any age find a purpose, they become stronger mentally. The family night events are a way to get the younger generation involved and teach them transferable life skills, such as financial planning, leadership and organizational communication.

Camden Cox has participated, along with his father Jeremy, in the last three family service nights, most recently the May family service night when volunteers made aprons and Mother’s Day cards. The 15-year-old said he was looking to fill up some of his free time.

 “I was kind of surprised when he picked the Rotary club because I kind of pictured the Rotary club being older people,” Jeremy Cox said. “When we heard about the family Rotary, we thought it was different and decided to try it out.”

Both Camden and his dad were surprised at the wide range in ages that were all working together when they showed up to their first meeting back in March. Even the young toddlers had small jobs to do and a part to play. Camden plans to continue working with Lobos on building up the momentum of the family service nights.

The South Jordan Rotary Club is a nonprofit and one of 46 clubs in Utah, according to the organization’s website. One of the functions of the club is to provide service within the local community as well as the international community. It is nonpolitical and nondenominational. According to Lobos, the South Jordan Rotary has historically held meetings on Tuesday mornings.

Those who are looking to see a schedule of upcoming events and register to volunteer can visit southjordanrotary.as.me/South-Jordan-Rotary-Family-Service-Night-Events.

Businesses looking to get involved through sponsorship can visit

taxnorthstar.kartra.com/page/Family-Service-Night-Business-Sponsor.