Et Cetera
New furry friends: FEMA Corps Spruce 2 helps Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue
By Holly Adams
On Saturday, May 11 members of the NCCC FEMA Corps team Spruce 2 volunteered at the Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue in Lewisville, Texas. Texas Rustlers is a nonprofit whose goal is to rescue and take care of abandoned guinea pigs, rabbits and other small rodents. Every year hundreds of small rodents are abandoned by their owners. Kirkwood Graduates Largest Class
Kirkwood Community College will soon honor almost 3,000 students taking positive steps for their futures. The college will hold commencement ceremonies for its college credit and GED/adult high school programs this week. Both ceremonies will be held at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.
Kirkwood will confer 2,476 college credit degrees, diplomas and certificates for study in the current academic year.
AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps Class 19 Member Spotlight: Julie Davis
Julia Davis of Natick, Mass., is serving as a member of the NCCC FEMA Corps team Spruce 6 at the Vinton Campus. She chose to participate in AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps because service has always been an integral part of her life and she wanted to dedicate herself to it fulltime after graduating from college.
Julie graduated from Natick High School in 2008 and University of Delaware in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Health Behavior Science. AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps Class 19 Member Spotlight: Conor McCormack
By: Krista Eichhorst
Name: Conor McCormack
Hometown: Worcestor, Mass.
Conor is serving as a member of the NCCC FEMA Corps team Hickory 3 at the Vinton Campus. He chose to participate in AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps because he grew up with a strong commitment to community service and thought that this program would be an ideal way for him to give back to his country while also gaining great work experience. AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps teams volunteer at Dinosaur Ridge
By Stacey Kilpatrick
On Saturday, April 27, AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps teams Hickory 1 and Hickory 3 joined together to organize a Community Day volunteering at Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, Colo. The two teams, along with eight community volunteers, completed projects at the main Visitor Center as well the new office located about 10 minutes off-site in the vicinity of Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
NCCC-FEMA Corps Hickory 6 Volunteers with the Lupus Foundation in Washington
By Sarah Kubishta
For Global Youth Service Day on April 27, FEMA Corps team Hickory 6 from the Vinton Campus volunteered at the Walk to End Lupus Now in Washington. This event took place along Pennsylvania Avenue with participants walking to the Capital and was organized to stop lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissue. AmeriCorps NCCC Class 19 Team Leader Spotlight: Zachary Kahn
By: Rebecca Bigler
Zachary Kahn, from Silver Spring, Md., is the Team Leader for Cedar 2 in NCCC’s Class 19. He arrived in Vinton on January 8, 2013, to start his 11-month service term leading a team of people between the ages of 18 and 24. Cedar 2 is made up of eight people from across the country, and they will serve together in a number of service projects across the North Central Region. Vinton Garden Club news, April 24 meeting
Members of the Vinton Garden Club, member of National Garden Clubs, Inc., District II, and Central Region, met April 24, at the VSHS greenhouse/classroom.
Mrs. Fleming gave members an overview of the activities that take place in the high school classes with the greenhouse.
Club members especially enjoyed seeing plants started for the VSHS plant sale, fish tanks and creative growth methods (hydroponics) built and implemented by the class.
AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps Class 19 Member Spotlight: Amanda Malady
Amanda Malady of Lafayette, Ind., is serving as a member of the NCCC FEMA Corps team Spruce 7 at the Vinton Campus. She chose to participate in AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps because she had a gap year before starting nursing school and wanted to do something productive and good for the country in the meantime.
Amanda graduated from Jefferson High School in 2008 and Indiana University in 2012 where she majored in human biology. Treasurer Fitzgerald Adds More Names to the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt
State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald's Great Iowa Treasure Hunt spring publication is scheduled to be released soon. The upcoming list is the latest names of unclaimed property owners with undiscovered treasures. This is part of Fitzgerald's continuous promotion of the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt.
"In upcoming weeks, we will be publishing names of people who have had funds turned over to the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt," stated Fitzgerald.