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PARK CITY -- Friday is an important day for the people of Park City. They're focused on helping residents give back to their community by hosting a 24-hour pitch for people to donate to their favorite non-profit.

It's called "Live PC Give PC." It's a common concept in other states, but pretty new here.

Until midnight tonight, people have a chance to support the quality of life non-profits bring to Park City, whether it's arts and concerts, trails, or health clinics for the uninsured.

"It's a way a whole community can celebrate what we're doing here in Park City," said Robin Marrouche, executive director of the Kimball Arts Center. Marrouche and others at the center are working on a painting project to coincide with the community-wide Live PC Give PC effort. They're hoping the enthusiasm behind their brushes translates to dollars pledged online.

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Whether donors support the Arts Festival, trail maintenance, animal protection or charity work, organizers say they're supporting the very things that make their community special.

"You forget that recycling is a non-profit, and that Mountain Trails is a non-profit, the Christian center is a non-profit," said Charlie Sturgis of the Mountain Trails Foundation. "All these organizations are doing so much in the community, and we sort of just take them for granted."

Organizers created the Live PC Give PC event to also reach out to those who typically don't support non-profits

Tricia Worthington of The Park City Foundation explains, "One of our goals for this campaign was to generate some new donors for the non-profit organizations and do that by bringing awareness to the fact that the free music that we have in the week, and the arts festival, and the Sundance Festival, all of the trails, are all powered by non-profit organizations."

Leaders of non-profit groups say this not only helps them raise needed funding, it brings together the community and creates a common goal.

"I've often said if the non-profits went away for one week, what would we do?" said Brian Richards of Mountain Town Music. "There would be no trails to ride, there would be no concerts, there would be no Park City Market. We really are lucky to live in the community that we do."

One point organizers are trying to make is that 60 percent of those who attend the Park City Arts Festival come from Salt Lake City, so they're hoping donations come from the valley as well.

As of 6 p.m. Friday, Live PC Give PC has raised more than $255,000 from over 1,300 donors.

Email: dwimmer@ksl.com