Heart of the Basin

03/30/2026

Heart of the Basin is Seeking a New Board Member

Heart of the Basin is entering an exciting, and critical, phase of growth. We are currently seeking a dedicated and passionate individual to join our governing board.

This is not a passive role. We are a working board, actively building the foundation of this organization. Board members are involved in strategy, fundraising, operations, and community engagement.

At this stage, commitment matters. We are looking for someone who:
• Is deeply passionate about serving individuals experiencing homelessness
• Is willing to actively contribute time, energy, and ideas
• Can collaborate with a team that is still building, learning, and growing
• Is reliable and ready to step into meaningful work

Current Commitment:
• Board meetings are held every 2 weeks
• Additional involvement outside of meetings is expected as we continue building

This is an opportunity to help shape something that truly impacts our community, not just now, but for years to come.

To Apply:
Please send a resume and letter of interest to [email protected]

We are grateful for the community that continues to step forward and build alongside us.

03/27/2026

We’re proud to share our End of Season Impact Report.

This report represents more than numbers. It reflects a community that showed up when it mattered most.

We want to extend our sincere gratitude to the businesses and organizations who helped make this possible:

Kingsbury Ucc
Roosevelt Baptist Church
Strata Networks
Moon Lake Electric Association, Inc.
Uintah Basin Healthcare
Uintah Basin Association of Governments
Uintah Basin Local Homeless Council
KD Sanitation
SM Energy Company
Brad Laney Family
Trees for Charity
Spyco Oilfield Services
Enchanted Forest
Imperative Chemicals
Goff Trucking
Roosevelt IFA Country Store
Vernal City
Uintah Special Service District 1
Vernal PD
Century 21 Parker Real Estate Professionals
The Designer Minky Co.
TriCounty Health Department

We also want to recognize the countless in-kind donations- meals, supplies, and resources that supported nightly operations in ways that can’t always be captured in a report, but were essential to our success.

And to our volunteers, you made this possible!
Because of you, our doors stayed open and people had a safe place to go.

As we move into the off-season, our focus shifts to sustainability and growth.
We are working to secure funding for essential needs like volunteer background checks, facility rent, liability insurance, volunteer management systems, and operational software.

We are actively looking for individuals, businesses, and partners who want to help us build what comes next.

Thank you for standing with us. This is just the beginning.

03/13/2026

💛 Heart of the Basin Season Closing Announcement 💛

Due to the unseasonably warm winter we’ve experienced, Heart of the Basin will be closing our inaugural warming center season early. Our final night of operation will be Friday, March 20, with volunteers serving through Saturday morning.

With temperatures quickly climbing into spring, it feels like the right time to wrap up our first season.

We are deeply grateful to every volunteer, donor, partner agency, and community member who helped make this possible.

We still have a few volunteer shifts remaining through Saturday morning as we finish the season. If you’ve been thinking about volunteering, this is your final opportunity this winter.

We will also be cleaning and packing up the center on Saturday, March 21 at 10 AM. If anyone would like to stop by and lend a hand, we would love the help.

Looking ahead, Heart of the Basin plans to reopen in November during Utah’s Cold Blue season.

We are also planning a Volunteer & Community Appreciation Event in April to celebrate everyone who made this first season possible. More details coming soon!

Thank you, Basin community. It has been an honor serving along side you, and we're excited to continue building with you. We are incredibly proud of what we built together in our very first season. ❤️

03/06/2026

💛Volunteer Shift Needs Check-In: March 7–20 💛

Earlier this week we shared that Heart of the Basin might have to close due to lack of volunteer coverage.

And then a miracle happened: our community showed up!

Because volunteers stepped forward, we were able to stay open and continue providing shelter for our guests. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who signed up, shared our posts, and helped spread the word.

We are ready and willing to remain open through the end of the Cold Blue season. However, our ability to do that will continue to depend entirely on volunteer coverage. For now, we will continue taking things one or two weeks at a time based on whether shifts are filled.

A quick reminder of how the chart works:

🟢 Green – Fully staffed
🟡 Yellow – Minimum coverage met (we can open, but an extra volunteer helps)
🔴 Red – Not enough volunteers yet. We cannot open unless these shifts fill.

Each shift requires at least two volunteers for us to operate safely.

Since opening on January 16, our community has donated well over 1400 volunteer hours and together we have provided 321 sheltered nights for neighbors who would otherwise have been outside during the coldest months of winter.

That is an incredible accomplishment.

If volunteers continue to show up, we will continue to stay open.

Every Friday, we will share the volunteer coverage needs for the next two weeks. Keep an eye out! If you’ve been thinking about volunteering, now is a great time to jump in.

Volunteer sign-up:
https://tinyurl.com/HOBVolunteer

DON'T FORGET: Volunteer Group Orientation Saturday, March 7th at 1 PM.

03/06/2026

REMINDER: Volunteer Orientation tomorrow, March 7th at 1PM.

🌟 New Volunteer Orientation Trainings 🌟

Thinking about volunteering with us, or already signed up for your first shift? We’ve got you covered!

We’re hosting two upcoming volunteer orientation trainings to help you feel confident and prepared before your first shift:

📅 Saturday, February 21
⏰ 1:00 PM

📅 Saturday, March 7
⏰ 1:00 PM

📍 Location:
Kingsbury United Church of Christ
65 E 100 N, Vernal
➡️ Please enter in the back of the round church

✨ What we’ll cover:
• What to expect during your volunteer shifts
• Where to find important resources on-site
• Time for questions & real-life scenario troubleshooting
• Help navigating the Bloomerang app for scheduling and shifts

👉 New volunteers are strongly encouraged to attend before their first shift.
Already volunteering but want a refresher or help with Bloomerang? You’re welcome too!

📩 Comment below or message us if you have questions.

We’re so grateful for our volunteers. We truly couldn’t do this without you. 💙

03/02/2026

2nd UPDATE: Bloomerang should be fixed. Please let send us a message if you have problems with the link below or with the system.

UPDATE: Thank you for the immediate outpouring of support! We have been made aware that our volunteer management system, Bloomerang, is not working for some users. We are trying to resolve those issues. In the meantime, we can sign up folks for shifts on the backend if they have created a profile.

NOTICE OF IMMEDIATE CLOSURE

Heart of the Basin needs one final push from our community.

As of today, we do not have enough volunteer coverage scheduled to operate even one additional night. Without immediate support, we will close tonight and will not reopen.

Our immediate goal is to remain open for two more weeks to allow the 10-12 guests currently staying with us time to secure alternative arrangements, especially with colder temperatures and snow forecasted later this week.

If volunteers are willing to show up, we are willing to stay open. That may mean operating one night and being closed the next, depending entirely on volunteer availability. If we can fill the remaining shifts needed to carry us through the middle of March, we will continue operating. If volunteer coverage continues beyond that, we are willing to remain open as long as we can safely staff each night.

If we cannot secure coverage, we will conclude our inaugural season knowing we accomplished what we set out to do.

Since opening on January 16, our Basin community has donated well over 1,200 documented volunteer hours. That number does not include the countless hours donated by our laundry volunteer or the time donated by our unpaid board members.

In just over six weeks, we have provided 283 sheltered nights and served 19 individuals. These are not just statistics. They represent neighbors who were not outside during the coldest months of winter.

Asking for this many overnight volunteer hours in a small community like ours has been nothing short of a miracle. Together, we did exactly what we set out to do and provided emergency shelter.

This season has proven two things. The need is real and the impact is measurable.

It has also made clear that while volunteers will always be part of this mission, a nightly November through April shelter requires paid overnight staff to be sustainable long term.

In the coming months, we will compile our data and pursue grant funding to build a stronger, staffed model for future seasons.

We are not done. We are building.

If you are able to volunteer in the coming weeks, please sign up immediately. If you are a business, organization, or individual willing to help fund a staffed model for next winter, we invite you to reach out.

Let’s finish this season together.

-Heart of the Basin Governing Board

Sign up for shifts here:
https://tinyurl.com/HOBVolunteer

02/28/2026

🔥 Volunteer Shift Needs Check-In: March 1–14 🔥

Alright friends… gather round for your regularly scheduled “Are We Covered?” update.

Here are the updated volunteer shift needs for the next two weeks:

🟢 Green = Fully staffed.
We did it. Go team. High fives all around.

🟡 Yellow = Minimum coverage met.
We can open (because we have at least TWO volunteers, the minimum for doors-open status 🙌), but we wouldn’t say no to reinforcements.

🔴 Red = Uh oh.
Not enough volunteers yet… which means we cannot open unless those spots fill. And we are very fond of being open.

Quick reminder:
We must have at least two volunteers per shift to operate. Three is ideal. Two is the absolute minimum. One is just a very kind person standing in a building we cannot open. 😉

Now for the part that makes this community incredible:

Since opening on January 16th,
✨ 1,150+ volunteer hours have been donated
✨ 254 sheltered nights have been provided

That’s not theoretical compassion. That’s actual doors open. Actual warmth. Actual impact.

So if you’ve been meaning to:
• Grab “just one” shift
• Try it for the first time
• Or hop back in because you kinda miss it

This is your sign.

Let’s keep turning red to green and doing what this community does best, showing up!

Because spreadsheets are helpful.
But open doors are better. ❤️