22
Oct
2002
• Bi-State Literacy board member Beth Oerman is planning to open a Reading Center at the Friendly House in Davenport that will be available to kids who attend activities and programs at the center, as well as students who attend Jefferson Elementary in that same neighborhood. Volunteers are needed to provide an atmosphere in which the kids can learn to enjoy reading. (No tutoring needed.) Three volunteers are needed for two hours each day the center is open, which will be every Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m. If you are interested in helping out or need further information, contact Beth Oerman at (309)787-4754 or (Bethco@juno.com).
• Generations Area on Aging is seeking volunteer drivers to deliver holiday meals to shut-ins on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day in the Scott County area. Home-delievered meals are provided at no cost to the seniors. To volunteer, make a holiday-meal donation, or for more information, call Nancy Kay Cerny at (563)324-9085 or mail your donation to her at Generations; P.O. Box 3788; Davenport, IA 52808.
• United Neighbors in Davenport received $13,412 of more than $83,000 that is being provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Housing & Counseling Program in Iowa. The program will provide financial counseling to Iowans for one year on buying a home, renting, defaults, foreclosures, credit issues, reverse mortgages ,and more. The rest of the money was dispersed to organizations in Des Moines, Hiawatha, and Waterloo.
• Iowa and Illinois are among 16 states to be approved for a federal Reading First grant. This will provide more than $5.7 million to 21 school districts in Iowa to support reading-improvement instruction. The Iowa Department of Education has also announced numerous other grants: an Advanced Placement Incentive Program Grant, which will provide $1.1 million to help support the initiatives of the Iowa Online AP Academy at the Belin-Blank Center in Iowa City; $4 million for the Small Rural Schools Achievement Program for 150 schools to train teachers, boost technology, improve curriculum, or implement safe-and-drug-free-schools programs; $1.5 million to five districts to develop and implement innovative approaches to physical education; and nearly $1.3 million to 25 Iowa districts as part of the pilot Fruit & Vegetable Program, which will study how consumption of fruits and vegetables affects other eating behaviors such as snack choices and participation in school meal programs.
• To celebrate the strong relationship between Red Cross and the United States Armed Forces, the American Red Cross of the Quad Cities Area is collecting items to help bring a touch of home to U.S. troops overseas. You can help by donating items or making a financial contribution to help cover the costs of shipping. Items will be collected the week of November 4. The donated items will be packaged and shipped by the Red Cross to troops in hardship assignments such as Guantanamo Bay, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo. You can learn more at the American Red Cross of the Quad Cities Web site at (http://www.qcredcross.org/Troops.html).
• January 17, 18, 19, and 20 will be the second annual Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard weekend sponsored by the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Quad Cities Lodging Association. Great hotel rates and discounts at other hospitality-industry venues will be in effect to encourage Quad Citians to explore this area. For more information, contact Joe Taylor, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, at (563)322-3911 extension 116 or (jtaylor@visitquadcities.com).
• Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. asserts in a new study on federal regulation published by the libertarian Cato Institute that in 1998 the median two-earner family's after-tax income of $41,846 contained $7,400 that was eaten up complying with federal regulations. This means regulatory costs eat up about 18 percent of the after-tax family budget. The report looks at the costs of federal regulations on businesses and individuals. Crews claims that federal regulations cost $854 billion, 8.4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. In addition, regulations that hit small businesses are up 36 percent over the past five years. See the report for yourself at (http://www.cato.org/research/articles/crews-020809.html).
• The Community Foundation of the Great River Bend is a collection of endowed funds established by individuals, organizations, and corporations - a community of donors - to enhance the quality of life in our region. Its mission is to encourage permanent charitable giving to meet the needs of present and future generations. A Charitable Gift Annuity is a simple contract between you and the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend. By transferring assets to a Charitable Gift Annuity, you are making a permanent gift for the charitable purpose of your choice. And for your lifetime, the Community Foundation guarantees you a fixed income. To learn more, or to contact the Community Foundation, look at (http://www.cfgrb.org) or call (563)326-2840.
• The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is accepting grant applications to support breast-cancer education, outreach, screening, and treatment for the medically underserved. Grant applications must cover programs in Scott, Muscatine, Cedar, and Clinton counties in Iowa and Rock Island, Henry, and Whiteside counties in Illinois. For an application, contact Becky Signer at (309)765-1903 or via email at (SignerRebecca@JohnDeere.com). Applications must be postmarked by October 31.
• Generations Area on Aging is seeking volunteer drivers to deliver holiday meals to shut-ins on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day in the Scott County area. Home-delievered meals are provided at no cost to the seniors. To volunteer, make a holiday-meal donation, or for more information, call Nancy Kay Cerny at (563)324-9085 or mail your donation to her at Generations; P.O. Box 3788; Davenport, IA 52808.
• United Neighbors in Davenport received $13,412 of more than $83,000 that is being provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Housing & Counseling Program in Iowa. The program will provide financial counseling to Iowans for one year on buying a home, renting, defaults, foreclosures, credit issues, reverse mortgages ,and more. The rest of the money was dispersed to organizations in Des Moines, Hiawatha, and Waterloo.
• Iowa and Illinois are among 16 states to be approved for a federal Reading First grant. This will provide more than $5.7 million to 21 school districts in Iowa to support reading-improvement instruction. The Iowa Department of Education has also announced numerous other grants: an Advanced Placement Incentive Program Grant, which will provide $1.1 million to help support the initiatives of the Iowa Online AP Academy at the Belin-Blank Center in Iowa City; $4 million for the Small Rural Schools Achievement Program for 150 schools to train teachers, boost technology, improve curriculum, or implement safe-and-drug-free-schools programs; $1.5 million to five districts to develop and implement innovative approaches to physical education; and nearly $1.3 million to 25 Iowa districts as part of the pilot Fruit & Vegetable Program, which will study how consumption of fruits and vegetables affects other eating behaviors such as snack choices and participation in school meal programs.
• To celebrate the strong relationship between Red Cross and the United States Armed Forces, the American Red Cross of the Quad Cities Area is collecting items to help bring a touch of home to U.S. troops overseas. You can help by donating items or making a financial contribution to help cover the costs of shipping. Items will be collected the week of November 4. The donated items will be packaged and shipped by the Red Cross to troops in hardship assignments such as Guantanamo Bay, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo. You can learn more at the American Red Cross of the Quad Cities Web site at (http://www.qcredcross.org/Troops.html).
• January 17, 18, 19, and 20 will be the second annual Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard weekend sponsored by the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Quad Cities Lodging Association. Great hotel rates and discounts at other hospitality-industry venues will be in effect to encourage Quad Citians to explore this area. For more information, contact Joe Taylor, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, at (563)322-3911 extension 116 or (jtaylor@visitquadcities.com).
• Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. asserts in a new study on federal regulation published by the libertarian Cato Institute that in 1998 the median two-earner family's after-tax income of $41,846 contained $7,400 that was eaten up complying with federal regulations. This means regulatory costs eat up about 18 percent of the after-tax family budget. The report looks at the costs of federal regulations on businesses and individuals. Crews claims that federal regulations cost $854 billion, 8.4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. In addition, regulations that hit small businesses are up 36 percent over the past five years. See the report for yourself at (http://www.cato.org/research/articles/crews-020809.html).
• The Community Foundation of the Great River Bend is a collection of endowed funds established by individuals, organizations, and corporations - a community of donors - to enhance the quality of life in our region. Its mission is to encourage permanent charitable giving to meet the needs of present and future generations. A Charitable Gift Annuity is a simple contract between you and the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend. By transferring assets to a Charitable Gift Annuity, you are making a permanent gift for the charitable purpose of your choice. And for your lifetime, the Community Foundation guarantees you a fixed income. To learn more, or to contact the Community Foundation, look at (http://www.cfgrb.org) or call (563)326-2840.
• The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is accepting grant applications to support breast-cancer education, outreach, screening, and treatment for the medically underserved. Grant applications must cover programs in Scott, Muscatine, Cedar, and Clinton counties in Iowa and Rock Island, Henry, and Whiteside counties in Illinois. For an application, contact Becky Signer at (309)765-1903 or via email at (SignerRebecca@JohnDeere.com). Applications must be postmarked by October 31.
