Et Cetera

 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.

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.

  By Shea Douglas  On April 27 FEMA Corps team Hickory 4 traveled to the Wissahickon Valley Park in Philadelphia with the Friends of Wissahickon to help clean up the Wissahickon creek. The Friends of Wissahickon is a 1,600 member, non-profit organization founded in 1924 with the mission “to preserve the natural beauty and wilderness of the Wissahickon Valley and stimulate public interest in them.

  By Emily Roldan On Saturday, April 6 team Spruce Six of AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps worked with the Surfrider organization to pick up trash along the Potomac River from 9am-Noon. The river cleanup day is an annual event hosted by Surfrider, an environmental conservation organization. Spruce Six members were supplied with trash bags and bags for recyclables and wore the proper protective equipment for picking up trash items such as glass, tires, fast food containers and drink cans.

  By: Rebecca Bigler Andrew Newell, from Fairless Hills, Pa., is the Team Leader for Cedar 3 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 3 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.

  By Annika Van Raalte Youth service takes place 365 days a year around the world and on April 26 to 28 it was recognized and celebrated as Global Youth Service Day. This day is dedicated to adolescents and children who endeavor to develop their communities each day of the year. To commemorate Global Youth Service Day, AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps team Pine 6 spent the day at Henderson Elementary in Chicago participating in fun and educational activities developed for two different age groups of students from the surrounding community.

  Name: Sean Page  Hometown: Storm Lake, Iowa Sean is serving as a member of the NCCC FEMA Corps team Pine 7 at the Vinton Campus. He chose to participate in AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps because his friend served in NCCC at the Perry Point Campus a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. He says, “I found myself in a position where I had the year free, and, feeling the urge to support my community and country, I signed up.

   Alyson Garwood, a native of Dysart, Iowa, presented a group semester-long research project at Central College on April 29. The research was done as part of the Methods of Social Research course. The presentation was titled: "Demographics and Environmentally Sustainable Behaviors." Garwood is a sophomore sociology major at Central College.

  By Michael Weisgarber Team Cedar 1 spent their first project working in Minot, North Dakota, cleaning up and repairing flooded houses while also helping others in the community. On weekends when they were not working on flood recovery tasks, they did several independent service projects (ISPs) around the city. On one of their ISPs , NCCC members helped the local zoo open up for the first time since it was flooded.

  State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald is asking Iowans to celebrate 529 Day on May 29 by exploring the benefits of using a 529 plan, such as College Savings Iowa, to save for their loved ones future higher education expenses. "We want parents to know it's never too early to start planning for their child's education," Fitzgerald said.