Registration is now open to sign-up student teams & volunteers for the following K-12 student events.

Students in K-3 - Junior FIRST LEGO League Expo #3Junior FIRST LEGO League Teams registered with FIRST are invited to participate in 3rd Quad Cities Junior FIRST LEGO League Expo on April 11 from 12:00 - 2:00 PM at the Putnam Museum.  Each team will have space to setup their Show Me Poster and LEGO Model sharing what they have learned with attendees and a Judge Reviewer Team.  Participates on all new teams (not attended QCESC Expo in December), will receive a certificate and QCESC JrFLL Mento.   The Junior FIRST LEGO League Expo will be part of the celebration of National Robotics Week planned at the Putnam with area FIRST Teams from all four programs expected to have displays from 1:00 - 4:00 PM along with the Putnam Exhibit Alien Worlds and Androids. Link to Register Team (Free)

Students in Grades 6- 8th - Mousetrap Racecar Engineering & Design Competition April 11 Mousetrap Racecar Engineering and Design Competition is free and open to any Quad City and surrounding area middle level student (Grades 6, 7, and 8). Competing teams must include no less than three students and cannot exceed six students. Multi-age teams are certainly welcome.Link to Register Team or Volunteer (Free)

Students in Grades 9-12 - Trebuchet Egg Throw CompetitionLocal high school teams of 3-8 students design & build trebuchets to launch raw eggs at targets at three, specified distances.  In addition, the teams will give a presentation to local QCESC Engineers.  Prizes are awarded for the teams with the top three scores, team with the longest throw (current record is 286.5 feet), and team with the most innovative design.  Trebuchet is 2nd of three events for the QC Tech Challenge with traveling trophy for winning school and $1,000 scholarship for winning individual.Link To Register Team or Volunteer (Free)

Other Upcoming STEM Events which are free and open to the public:

• March 18-21 - Central Illinois FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Regional - Peoria
  38 Teams from the US and one team from Turkey will be competing to qualify for the FIRST World Championship.  The QC Elite Team #648 from the Quad Cities will be competing.  
  2nd Annual regional being hosted at Bradly University in Peoria.  The event is free and open to the public.
• Link to Volunteer
  
  March 26-28 - FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) North Super-Regional - Des Moines
  Free and open to the public, 2nd annual North FTC Super-Regional being hosted at Iowa Event Center in Des Moines.  72 teams from 11 States will competing including teams from Davenport West and Pleasant Valley High School.  20-25 Teams from the event will qualify for the FIRST World Championship April 22-25 in St. Louis
  Link to Information on Volunteering
  
  
• March 26-27 - State Science & Technology Fair of Iowa - Ames
  Free and open to pubic.  World's premier pre-collegiate science fair. The SSTFI is open to any student in the state of Iowa in grades six through twelve.   During the event nearly 500 student research projects presented by nearly 600 students are judged.  The event culminates with the Grand Award Ceremony where over $70,000 in scholarships and prizes awarded to students for their excellence in research
  Information on Volunteering
  
  
• March 30 - Iowa Statewide STEM Summit - Des Moines
  The Statewide STEM Summit is an examination and discussion of the statewide programs and task-forces underway through the Governor's STEM Advisory Council aimed at providing the best STEM possible to the preK-12 students of Iowa.
  Link for Further Information or to Pre-Register (Limited Capacity)
• April 1-5 - Midwest FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Regional  - Chicago
  54 Teams from four states (IA & IL) and two countries will be competing to qualify for the FIRST World Championship including the QC Elite team #648 from the Quad Cities.  The event is hosted at the University of Illinois Chicago.
  Link to Volunteer

For further information or questions, please contact Carl Loweth, QCESC STEM Coordinator at carl.loweth@gmail.com or via phone at 563-505-1196

There may still be an opportunity to enroll in Marketplace coverage for 2015 for those who are uninsured and were unaware that a penalty would be assessed on their 2014 tax return. This special enrollment period is from March 15th to April 30th, 2015, and is specifically for individuals who are not currently enrolled in a Marketplace plan AND have a penalty on their taxes for 2014 for not having insurance, AND were unaware, or did not understand the penalty and its implications.

The Project of the Quad Cities has trained Illinois-licensed navigators providing FREE in-person enrollment assistance to Illinois residents and tax preparation firms to help them to better understand the special enrollment period and exemptions. For information call (309)762-5433, or visit us at 2316 5th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265.

Contact

Wendy Kelly

Executive Director

The Project of the Quad Cities

Office: 309-762-5433

Help Your Family Or Community By Helping Yourself First

At some point during their lifetime, most people wonder whether they've done enough - if they've made a positive impact, says Jeff Bucher, a financial advisor who helps working-class Americans plan their golden years.

"For most people, I think that concern increases as they get closer to retirement - they wonder what their earning years have bought for themselves and the people they care about, which may extend to their greater community," says Bucher, who, through his firm, Citizen Advisory Group, (www.citizenadvisory.com), has contributed to the local Boys & Girls Club, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and to development of an Olympic training center for wrestling at Ohio State University, his alma mater, where he earned a wrestling scholarship.

"You don't have to be super-wealthy to make a significant contribution to others. The smarter you are with the wealth you do have, however, the more of an impact you'll be able to have."

If you want to make a difference with your money, you're better off having your financial affairs in order. Bucher offers a few suggestions.

• Now is the time to design a lifetime income plan. Simply attaining a minimum figure in savings probably won't work; such figures do not account for family emergencies, inflation, etc. Social Security does not cover what it used to, and its future is uncertain at best. You need to establish a laddered, inflation-adjusted income using safe and dependable accounts that will provide a check every month. This should be informed by a plan that maps out your lifetime income needs to ensure that you do not outlive your money. For example, if you need $3,000 a month now, at a 4 percent inflation rate you will need $3,649.96 in five years. In 10 years you will need almost $4,500 per month.

• Consider holding off on retirement. Many people are understandably eager to retire as early as possible; others fear Social Security benefits will vanish, so they want to get what they can as quickly as possible - at age 62. But if you're counting on those benefits as part of your income, you should wait until you're eligible for the full amount. That's age 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954, and age 67 if you were born in 1960 and later. If you're in the older group, retiring at 62 cuts your benefits by a quarter; for the younger group it's nearly a third. "Chances are, you'll be better off mentally and physically if you wait anyway," Bucher says. "Many studies show that people live longer and are more vital the longer they remain employed."

• Know when to transfer investments out of tax-deferred plans. If you're working for a company that provides a match for 401k contributions, by all means, contribute up to the maximum match. "That's free money - you'd be crazy not to take advantage," Bucher says. But anything beyond that should be invested in something that's more tax efficient: Roth IRA, municipal bonds, life insurance or real estate. No one expects taxes will go down - they'll be going up. Uncle Sam already has a lien on your IRA or 401(k); don't let his lien, the taxes you'll owe, continue to grow. Go ahead and pay now. Your future retired self will be glad you did.

About Jeff Bucher

Jeff Bucher is president of Citizen Advisory Group (www.citizenadvisory.com), and is an Investment Advisor Representative of AlphaStar Capital Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. He has a life and health insurance license with the state of Ohio. His membership affiliations include the exclusive Ed Slott's Master Elite IRA Advisor Group™, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), the National Association of Fixed Annuities (NAFA) and the Forum 400. He has earned Top of the Table honors through the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). Bucher is a former standout wrestler at The Ohio State University, where he earned an athletic scholarship and honed his leadership skills en route to earning four varsity letters.