Monticello, Iowa - An AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team is providing additional support to Camp Courageous from August 9 to September 27. The team is serving as camp counselors to help children and adults with disabilities have an enjoyable summer through camp festivities.

The NCCC team of nine from the Vinton, Iowa campus is assisting with activity scheduling, greeting campers, helping campers settle into camp, scheduling weekly activities, assisting with personal care, promoting activity participation, assisting campers in preparing to return home and performing maintenance work around the campsite.

Through their service work with Camp Courageous, the NCCC team is allowing the camp to host a greater number of campers and decreases the waiting list dramatically. Every year, over 6,000 individuals with disabilities are served by the camp but hundreds are left on a waiting list.

"The opportunity to impact individuals' lives in a positive manner, such as the one we are being given at Camp Courageous, is really exciting. I look forward to our adventure," says NCCC member Reilly Allen from Littleton, Colo.

Camp Courageous is year-round camp for recreational activities serving the disabled population. The camp enables disabled children and adults to grow socially and personally through the encouragement of a supportive staff. The camp was founded in 1972 with the donation of 40-acres of land dedicated to the establishment of a site to serve the disabled. Today, Camp Courageous serves over 6,000 individuals yearly, ranging from infants to elderly.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, 10-month, residential, national service program in which 2,800 young adults - all 18 to 24 years old- serve nationwide each year. The NCCC program oversees two service tracks - Traditional NCCC and FEMA Corps - and members in these programs serve in teams of eight to twelve on three to seven service projects during their service. NCCC Members serve on projects that address critical needs related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. FEMA Corps Members focus solely on emergency management and long-term recovery projects through FEMA. The North Central Region campus in Vinton, Iowa is one of five regional campuses in the United States and serves Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The other campuses are located in Baltimore, Md.; Sacramento, Calif.; Vicksburg, Miss.; and Denver, Colo.

In exchange for their service, members receive $5,550 to help pay for college, or to pay back existing student loans. Other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, leadership development, increased self-confidence, and the knowledge that, through active citizenship, people can indeed make a difference. AmeriCorps NCCC is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The Corporation improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. For more information about AmeriCorps NCCC programs, visit the website at www.nationalservice.gov/nccc.

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?Milan, Illinois - The Grant W. Brissman and Virginia M. Brissman Foundation has been established to benefit the Village of Milan. The Foundation assets total $2.8 million, and it will make its first grants this fall. Applications are now being accepted from nonprofit organizations located in Milan.

Grant and Virginia Brissman were long time residents of Milan, Illinois. Grant Brissman was a graduate of Rock Island High School and the former Brown's Business College. He was a pioneer Milan business owner, having started Brissman's Auto Supply in 1948. The company served Milan and the surrounding communities for nearly 30 years before Mr. Brissman retired in 1978.

Virginia Brissman worked for the Illinois Bell Telephone Co. for 40 years before retiring from her position as a schedule clerk in 1977. They had been married for 60 years when Grant Brissman passed away at the age of 88 on April 3, 2004. Virginia Brissman was 94 when she passed away on January 23, 2010. The Foundation was established through their estate.

The mission of the Grant W. Brissman and Virginia M. Brissman Foundation is to improve the quality of life in the Village of Milan, Illinois by funding work to enhance youth development, foster community development, support cultural activities, and invest in ways to relieve the suffering of underprivileged people.

Grant and Virginia Brissman were active in their community, and cared about helping their neighbors. Grant was a World War II Army veteran and received a battlefield commission as a 1st Lieutenant. Together they were members of Calvary Lutheran Church in Moline, and the Holiday Ramblers R.V. Club, and the Pinnacle Country Club in Milan, where Grant was an avid golfer. He also was a Founding Director and Founding Shareholder of Blackhawk State Bank in Milan, where he has served on the board of directors for many years.

The Brissmans appointed a board of directors to oversee their Foundation. Grant applications are available on the Foundation's website at www.brissmanfoundation.org and are due by October 15th. Nonprofit organizations located within the Village of Milan, Illinois, are eligible to apply. Organizations located outside of Milan may be considered if they provide significant services benefitting the Village of Milan and its residents. The administration of the Foundation will be conducted by the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend.

"This partnership between the Brissman's Foundation and the Community Foundation ensures that the charitable wishes of Grant and Virginia will be carried out for years to come," said Susan Skora, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend. "We are regional experts in philanthropy, identifying community needs, and the grant making processes, and will provide our support to The Grant W. Brissman and Virginia M. Brissman Foundation to create maximum impact in the Village of Milan."

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Rock Island, IL, August 14 -Did you ever wish that you had a good excuse to shop? The Bling Bling Sisters are hosting a shop for charity day that will benefit Christian Care. Shop in their store on August 14th from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and a portion of all items purchased there will benefit Christian Care. The Bling Bling Sisters are located at 5169 Utica Ridge Road in Davenport (in Biaggi's parking lot). Visit their website at www.blingblingsisters.com for a showcase of items you can purchase for yourself, for gifts--and to help Christian Care.

Christian Care's services are available in the Quad Cities to a growing number of homeless men and abused women and children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Through their two facilities?a domestic violence shelter for abused women and children and a rescue mission for homeless men?they provide safe shelter, nutritious meals, clothing, counseling, referrals and guidance to anyone in need. They serve homeless individuals, victims of domestic violence, veterans, men and women coming out of prison, and the mentally ill. Their vision is to transform the lives of those they serve by providing their residents with an opportunity to start a new, more productive life. For more information on the event contact Lindsey at 309-786-5734.

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Quad Cities, USA - The Salvation Army will be serving the noon meal to the volunteers at the building sites on 5^th Avenue in Moline, IL.

Major Gary Felton, Quad Cities Coordinator for The Salvation Army states, "We are always honored to partner with Habitat for Humanity. Our missions are interconnected ... we both try to alleviate the despair of homelessness."

House #83, 509 - 5^th Avenue, Moline, IL is fully sponsored by the Moline Foundation through the newly established Karen and Tom Getz Award for Excellence.

House #82, 509 - 5^th Avenue, Moline, IL is supported by the John Deere Foundation.  Wells Fargo is sponsoring the infrastructure.

 

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from casework and life skills training, providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar spent is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.

About Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities is a nonprofit Christian housing organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing.  Habitat builds simple, decent, affordable housing for low income, working families.  These families not only contribute sweat equity hours to Habitat; but they also purchase their homes on a no-interest mortgage.  Founded in 1993, HFHQC has made the dream of home ownership possible for 80 local families.  . For more information, go to www.habitatqc.org