January 7, 2011

WASHINGTON - In his continued commitment to keep in touch with Iowans, Senator Chuck Grassley will begin his annual meetings with his constituents in each of the state's 99 counties.  Grassley has held a constituent meeting in all 99 Iowa counties since he was first elected to the United States Senate.  He will speak at service clubs, tour manufacturing facilities and other businesses and speak with employees, and meet with junior and senior high school students. 

Grassley's schedule will take him to Grinnell, Traer, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville, Independence, Waterloo, Waverly, Parkersburg, Reinbeck, Nevada, Webster City, Iowa Falls, Jefferson, Madrid, Greenfield, Guthrie Center, Perry, Winterset, Pleasant Hill, Lynnville, Knoxville, Osceola, Afton and New Virginia.

"These face-to-face meetings give me a chance to answer questions, and get information, feedback and comments from a wide cross-section of Iowans.  Whether it's on the factory floor, at a local school or in a service club, each Iowan I speak with provides invaluable input for my work on their behalf.  I take those common sense solutions I hear in Iowa to Washington," Grassley said

Details of the events are below:

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

9:30 - 11:30 p.m.        Tour and meet with employees at Jeld-Wen, Door Systems Division, 820 Industrial Avenue, Grinnell

1:15 - 2:15 p.m.          Speak with students and staff at North Tama High School, 605 Walnut Street, Traer

Thursday, January 13, 2011

8 - 9 a.m.                    Speak with students and staff at Isaac Newton Christian Academy, 1635 Linmar Drive NE, Cedar Rapids

10 - 11 a.m.                Meet with employees at ITC Midwest Holdings, 123 Fifth Street SE, Cedar Rapids

1:30 - 3 p.m.               Speak with students and staff at Iowa City West High School, Little Theatre, 2901 Melrose Avenue, Iowa City

4 - 5 p.m.                    Tour and meet with employees at Vangent, 2450 Oakdale Boulevard, Coralville

Monday, January 17, 2011

10 - 11 a.m.                Speak with students and staff at Independence High School, 514 Fifth Ave. S.E., Independence

Noon - 1 p.m.             Speak with the Waterloo Rotary Club,  Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center, 205 West Fourth Street, Waterloo

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.          Meet with Bremer County residents, Bremer County Town Meeting, Waverly Public Library, 1500 West Bremer Avenue, Waverly

4:45 - 5:45 p.m.          Meet with Butler County residents, Butler County Town Meeting, Parkersburg Civic Center, 502 Third Street, Parkersburg

6:45 - 7:45 p.m.          Speak with the Reinbeck Lions Club, Reinbeck Memorial Building, 208 Broad Street, Reinbeck

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

6:20 - 7:30 a.m.          Speak with the Nevada Kiwanis, Gates Memorial Hall, 825 15th Street, Nevada

9 - 10 a.m.                  Speak with the Webster City Diamond K Kiwanis Club, Windsor Manor, 4101 Wall Street, Webster City

12:10 - 1:10 p.m.        Speak with the Iowa Falls Lions Club, Camp David Restaurant, 119 Main Street, Iowa Falls

3:30 - 4:30 p.m.          Meet with Greene County residents, Greene County Town Meeting, Greene County Community Center, 204 West Harrison Street, Jefferson

6:30 - 7:30 p.m.          Speak with the Madrid Lions Club, Madrid Homes Communities, Main Campus Dining Room, 613 West North Street, Madrid

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

8 - 9 a.m.                    Meet with Adair County residents, Adair County Town Meeting, Andrews Memorial Adair County Health & Fitness Center, Meeting Room, 202 North Townline Road, Greenfield

10 - 11 a.m.                Speak with students and staff at Guthrie Center High School, 900 School Street, Guthrie Center

12:10 - 1:15 p.m.        Speak with the Perry Rotary Club, Hotel Pattee, 1112 Willis Avenue, Perry

2:45 - 3:45 p.m.          Meet with Madison County residents, Madison County Town Meeting, Winterset Public Library, Meeting Room, 123 North Second Street, Winterset

5:15 - 6:16 p.m.          Speak with the East Polk Chamber, Southeast Polk High School, Auditorium, 7945 NE University Avenue, Pleasant Hill

Thursday, January 20, 2011

9 - 10:30 a.m.             Tour and meet with employees at Co-Line Welding, 1041 Cordova Avenue, Lynnville

Noon - 1 p.m.             Speak with the Knoxville Noon Kiwanis Club, Swamp Fox, Lower Level, 116 North 2nd Street, Knoxville

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.          Meet with Clarke County residents, Clarke County Town Meeting, Clarke County Courthouse, Old Probation Room, 100 South Main Street, Osceola

4:30 - 5:30 p.m.          Meet with Union County residents, Union County Town Meeting, Afton City Hall, 115 East Kansas Street, Afton

7 - 8 p.m.                    Speak with the New Virginia Lions Club, Lions Hall, 503 West Street, New Virginia

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Programs help defray costs for qualified families with young children

Davenport, Iowa - Scott County Kids, a public-private partnership that helps families raise happy and healthy children, announces an initiative to award more than $250,000 in child care scholarships for Scott County families who are working, attending school or looking for work.

The first program, funded by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has approximately $230,000 available to assist with the care of children from birth to 24 months. The second, funded by the state of Iowa, has $22,000 in scholarships for second/third shift and weekend care for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

"The money must be used by June 30," said Marcy Mendenhall, executive director of Scott County Kids. "Right now, just six families are taking advantage of the programs."

"These scholarships help parents to secure quality, loving child-care for their young children while they work, go to school, or in some cases, look for a job," Mendenhall said. "They can most certainly play a vital role in helping families during these difficult financial times."

Birth to 24 months scholarships

The federal stimulus money is for children whose parents are: working at least 28 hours a week; in school or training full-time; in a combination of work and school for at least 28 hours a week; or unemployed within the last six months and actively seeking employment.

The amount of the award, paid directly to the care providers, depends on income. Families are required to pay for some of the care. Detailed information about the grant levels can be found at bit.ly/gJqf0v.

To qualify, the child must be between birth and 24 months old, a U.S. citizen and living with parents or individuals acting in a parental role. A family's income must be within certain guidelines (see below). The child care providers must meet certain standards and be on contract with Scott County Kids.

Home-based and center providers in Scott County who are approved to accept children with this grant are: Children's Village Hoover; Children's Village West; Creative Beginnings; Barb DeWispelaere; Hand in Hand; Debra Haskins; Kiddie Karrasel; Kindercare, Bettendorf; Daphne Ramirez; Scott County Family Y - Downtown & Palmer; Shining Light Learning Center; Skip-A-Long.

The home-based providers must have an Iowa Quality Rating of 3, 4 or 5 or accredited by the National Association for Family Child Care. Child care centers must also have an Iowa ranking of a 3, 4 or 5 and be recognized by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Scott County Kids is one of 24 organizations in Iowa participating in the effort, called the Infant and Toddler Quality Child Care Program. Clinton, Jackson, Louisa, Des Moines, Johnson and Iowa counties in Eastern Iowa are also taking part.

Statewide, nearly $2.4 million was available as of November 2009. Scott County received $251,772.

"One challenge, Mendenhall said, "is that many of the providers who qualify and are under contract have waiting lists for infants and toddlers." She hopes more providers will step forward to qualify.

"We want families to be able to use this stimulus money," Mendenhall said.

Second/third shift and weekend scholarships

Scott County Kids also has approximately $22,000 in scholarships available to help pay for second/third shift and weekend care, while parents work and/or go to school.

The scholarships are $300-$400 a month for full-time care, and $150-$200 a month for part-time care for children ages birth through enrollment in kindergarten. To qualify, parents cannot be eligible for any other child care assistance; must work and/or attend school for at least 28 hours a week; and live in Scott County.

The challenge is getting the money into the hands of families who can use it. This fiscal year, just $3,000 of the $25,000 has been awarded.

The family-chosen child care providers must be either a home registered with the Iowa Department of Human Resources or a center licensed with the agency. The providers must also supply proof of insurance and complete the requirements of a child care compliance audit.

"The vision of Scott County Kids is that every child, beginning at birth, will be healthy and successful," said Jennifer Kakert, parent and president of the Scott County Kids board. "One component of this includes ensuring access to quality child care. One barrier for many parents is the cost of quality child care. The scholarships are provided on a sliding income scale to help defray some of that cost. This helps ensure that working parents can secure quality care for their children."

To find out more about the grants and scholarships from Scott County Kids, to get an application, or to qualify as a child care provider, contact Renee Rankin at the Friendly House, (563)323-1821, ext. 11 or at reneerankin@friendlyhouseiowa.org.

The Moline Foundation, and the Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation Announce $30,000 Gift to River Bend Foodbank To Assist in Fight Against Local Hunger

A news conference held this morning, Wednesday, January 5, 2011, at the River Bend Foodbank, 309 12th Street, Moline, Illinois announced a major funding gift of $30,0000 from a local community foundation, the Moline Foundation and a statewide foundation, the Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation, Oak Brook, Illinois.

The gift is the result of a challenge grant campaign held in the Quad Cities the last few weeks and conducted by the Moline Foundation. Donors in the Quad Cities contributed $15,000 in just four days to benefit the River Bend Foodbank and its hunger relief programs, including the Backpack Feeding Program. The Backpack Program strives to ensure that children don't go hungry over the weekend when are no school meals for them to rely upon. The program serves approximately 1,200 children in the Quad Cities. Every Friday, during the school year, children participating in the Backpack Program receive free, nutritious food distributed at their school which they can then take home in their backpacks and easily prepare at home.

"This is an especially critical time in our community as food supplies are low during the cold winter. We are grateful to our donors and the opportunity to receive such a large matching grant to give to River Bend Foodbank," said Jon Tunberg, Chairman of The Moline Foundation.

The Moline Foundation and other community foundations in Illinois were challenged to raise funds in Springfield, Champaign, Chicago, St. Charles, Peoria, and East St. Louis. Over 1.5 million people in Illinois now live in poverty. Of this number, approximately 500,000 are children. This statewide funding initiative will be used to provide nutritious meals for Illinois children through after school programs, weekend back pack feeding programs, and mobile distribution programs.

River Bend Foodbank is the largest hunger relief organization in the Quad Cities and surrounding communities, distributing 6.3 million pounds of food annually to more than 300 charitable feeding programs throughout a 22 county service area in Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. More than 10,000 people receive food assistance each week through River Bend's distribution network. The Foodbank also operates four Kids Café sites serving over 45,000 free meals to children each year, the Backpack Program which provides over 1300 Quad City children with nourishing food to take home on the weekends during the school year and the Mobile Food Pantry which directly feeds thousands of families.

As a Community Foundation, The Moline Foundation offers a range of charitable funds, allowing donors to advance a cause such as education or the environment, support an individual organization, provide flexible support for community needs or recommend individual grants. The Moline Foundation, founded in 1953, is a Community Foundation which provides funding to health, human services, education, community, workforce and economic development, the arts and other charitable organizations which benefit the citizens of Scott County, Iowa and Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Warren, McDonough and Henderson counties in western Illinois. The Moline Foundation receives and administers charitable gifts; has a current endowment of approximately $15 million; and handles additional funds to benefit donor wishes. The Moline Foundation also serves as a catalyst and convener to bring about solutions to problems affecting quality of life in our region.

Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation is the only statewide private foundation focused on improving the health of all children in the State of Illinois. It was created in December 2002 through an action between the State of Illinois Attorney General's office and a private insurance carrier. This action established the Foundation which was funded with an investment of approximately $125 million.

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