Registration for students and volunteers will continue to be accepted as long as there is space available.  Feel free to forward this information to others that might be interested in attending.  Last year 375 students attended the camp.

The 6th annual QCESC Engineering Kids Camp will be held on July 21 - July 25,  2014 at the Putnam Museum in Davenport.  The camp is a collaboration between the non-profit  Quad City Engineering and Science Council, the Putnam Museum and the Iowa State University College of Engineering who design and lead the camp.  Each one day camp will include three, fun educational hand-on activities including LEGO robotics with challenges for various student experience levels with the students learning side by side with local engineering & STEM Professionals.  The camp includes the 3D big screen movie Mysteries of the Unseen World along with a camp t-shirt and lunch.  This year the camp will leverage the Putnam's new STEM Learning Center including the brand new, FabLab.

Schedule for Individual One Day Camps:

• Monday, July 21 - students going into grades 4-6th
• Tuesday, July 22 - students going into grades 4-6th
• Wednesday, July 23 - students going into grades 2-3rd (Sold Out - Wait List)
• Thursday, July 24 - students going into 4-8th grade (girls only)
• Friday, July 25 - students going into grades 7-8

Link for further information including registering students and volunteering.

Volunteers will have an opportunity to share their skills, talents, and passion and positively impact the life of local students.  Beyond personnel satisfaction, the experience can provide volunteers personal and professional development, as well as leadership-building opportunities.

Modern Woodmen sponsors second Mobile Food Pantry as part of the Knock Out Hunger Campaign 

On Saturday, July 12 more than 60 Modern Woodmen of America employees and their family members will host a Mobile Food Pantry, organized by River Bend Foodbank. Mobile Food Pantries are scheduled in areas where the need for food assistance is the greatest. The volunteer event will run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Goose Creek Park (259 W. 61 Street, Davenport). Media coverage of the event is welcomed and appreciated.

Each Mobile Food Pantry provides approximately 10,000 meals and feeds hundreds of families in the Quad City community. All food is distributed in a farmer's market style of distribution.

"One Mobile Food Pantry distribution costs approximately $1,500 to $2,000 to hold, but that's just operational expenses. That number doesn't cover the cost of food, which has a retail value of $10,000 to $15,000. Our goal is to hold 50 Mobile Food Pantry distributions each year. To have Modern Woodmen sponsor this event and contribute to the cost of the food and operations means more families in the Quad Cities will have meals this summer," said River Bend Foodbank marketing director Caren Laughlin.

Modern Woodmen, a fraternal financial services organization based out of Rock Island, Illinois, will sponsor the Mobile Food pantry. Modern Woodmen employees will staff the event by unloading trucks, distributing food and offering assistance to load cars. This is the second Mobile Food Pantry sponsored by Modern Woodmen and is part of the summer-long campaign to Knock Out Hunger.

Knock Out Hunger campaign

This year, Modern Woodmen has selected River Bend Foodbank to support through its Knock Out Hunger campaign. Modern Woodmen employees and members will donate time, money and food to the food distribution center throughout the summer.

There are multiple mobile food pantry events scheduled, backpack programs, a "Meals from the Heartland" packing event, and a communitywide 5k run/walk. Each event will support the food bank.

River Bend Foodbank is the largest hunger relief organization in the Quad Cities and surrounding communities, distributing more than 8 million pounds of food annually to feed the hungry. The Foodbank serves more than 10,000 individuals every week through its distribution network of 300 charitable feeding programs in a 22-county service area in Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois.

Founded in 1883, Modern Woodmen of America touches lives and secures futures. The fraternal financial services organization offers financial services and fraternal member benefits to individuals and families throughout the United States.

For more information about Modern Woodmen Night or the effort to support River Bend Foodbank, contact Amber O'Brien at 309-793-5660 (office), 309-798-6704 (cell) or visit modern-woodmen.org.

Congressman: It's irresponsible to make these cuts without input from Iowans and an analysis of cost savings

Washington, D.C. - After recently introducing legislation that would delay upcoming cuts to Social Security field office services, Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today called on the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide evidence that they considered public input and that the cuts would save taxpayers money.

"These cuts are being made with no input from Iowa's seniors and without one shred of evidence they'll save taxpayers a penny?and that's irresponsible," Braley said. "Eleven million Americans?and tens of thousands of Iowans?use these services every year, and it doesn't appear the Social Security Administration has even made Iowans aware of cuts that are only weeks away."

Beginning August 2014, SSA will no longer issue Social Security number printouts in its field offices. In addition, beginning October 2014, SSA field offices will stop providing benefit verification letters, except in emergency situations.  Many seniors rely on these verification letters for a variety of services. Those requesting this information would be able to do so only online or over the phone. Last year alone, 11 million Americans used SSA offices to request this information.

Braley's letter asks Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin to provide a series of answers about the proposed cuts, including whether an analysis of cost savings has been done and if public input was solicited prior to the proposed cuts. Braley also sought information from Colvin on how Iowans seeking these services would be informed of cuts.

"Millions of Americans rely on Social Security, and now is simply not the time to impose misguided and unjustified cuts to services," the letter to SSA Commissoiner Carolyn Colvin reads.

Braley's recently introduced Seniors' Access to Social Security Act would prevent those cuts for one year, during which time Braley will seek verification that the proposed service cuts will not adversely affect Iowa's seniors and will save taxpayers money.

Earlier this week, Braley visited the Social Security Administration field office in Cedar Rapids to voice his opposition to the impending cuts. Braley also recently joined over 100 lawmakers to express their opposition to cuts to vital services at Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices.

Iowa's 19 SSA field offices are located in Cedar Rapids, Decorah, Dubuque, Marshalltown, Waterloo, Burlington, Coralville, Davenport, Ottumwa, Council Bluffs, Creston, Des Moines, Ames, Carroll, Ft. Dodge, Mason City, Sioux City, Spencer, and Storm Lake.

Over 450,000 Iowa seniors received Social Security benefits in 2013.

A copy of the letter can be found HERE.