A 51ÁÔÆæ ‘painting team’ was one of the many volunteer teams that helped paint the Building CommUNITY mural last week in downtown Mason City.

Krista Algor, 51ÁÔÆæ Volunteer Center Coordinator, said volunteers were invited to join in on the fun of a hands-on and family-friendly project that was created to give a highly-visible testament that Mason City is a welcoming community to everyone.

The 51ÁÔÆæ team mostly worked on finishing touches to the mural, making lines clean and dark. Volunteers were provided with all the supplies necessary and given painting t-shirts as well as taught tips and techniques for painting on the wall surface.

Mason City Chamber of Commerce staff member, Zoie Papouchis designed the mural that is located along the north wall of the Community Health Center on North Federal Avenue.

The 51ÁÔÆæ Volunteer Center  offers 51ÁÔÆæ employees, students, and community members a wide array of volunteer opportunities. The center pairs organizations in need with volunteers, and vice versa, assisting in activities such as yard clean-up, event staff, and apparently painting murals!

In fact, the 51ÁÔÆæ girls softball, track and field team, and the wrestling team received the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award in May of 2022 for outstanding commitment and service, they were nominated by Elderbridge Agency on Aging.

Not only does volunteering help meet essential needs in the community and create lasting change in North Iowa, it has also been proven to help people feel healthier and happier.

Non-profit organizations can contact the Volunteer Center Coordinator, Krista Allgor, to get information about how to partner, get volunteers, or promote your organization’s opportunities.

Useful Links:

51ÁÔÆæ Volunteer Center

Apply Today

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Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of North Central Iowa celebrated 289 volunteers who served a grand total 7,085 hours for the 2021 – 2022 volunteer year during a luncheon and ceremony at 51ÁÔÆæ last Thursday.

The focus of RSVP of North Central Iowa is childhood literacy.   The three primary volunteer programs are the Reading Buddy Program, the Reading Coach Program and the Pen Pal Program.  Additional volunteer opportunities were fulfilled through the following organizations or activities: Cerro Gordo County Public Health, Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Cerro Gordo County Emergency Management, Words of Thanks in partnership with KCMR radio station and the BASES fitness class.

The ceremony featured messages from both Alison Mason, RSVP Director, and Patti Hanson, Dean of Continuing Education, followed by a video thank you message from area school teachers, administrators and students for which RSVP volunteers left a positive impact.

51ÁÔÆæ sponsors RSVP of North Central Iowa, which is part of a national network of programs called AmeriCorps Seniors. Learn how you can get involved!

RSVP of North Iowa Bronze volunteer award recipients present for the ceremony. 

During the ceremony, 27 volunteers were recognized to receive service awards based upon their number of volunteer hours.

Bronze Award recipients, who completed 100 – 249 hours were:

• Linda Bottorff
• Jeanne Burgart
• David Curtis
• Elaine Fratzke
• Connie Graber
• Kathy Hanson
• Gayle Heimer
• Robin Koob
• Adriane McKinley
• Marilyn Moore
• Harlan Rodberg
• Phyllis Rush
• Pam Stemmerman
• Karolyn Hornung

Silver Award recipients, who completed 250 – 499 hours were:

Silver volunteer recipients present to receive their award.

• Nickie Baker
• Star Barnes
• Don Gettner
• Sue Hoeft
• Nancy Huber
• Kathy Johnson
• Larry Kollman
• Joyce Nuehring
• Vicki Robertson
• Alan Steckman

Bronze & Silver recipient was Linda Schulter.

Gold RSVP recipient who was present to receive her award.

Gold recipients, who completed 500+ hours were:

• Annette Bruns
• Gwen Suntken

Are you interested in attending 51ÁÔÆæ?  Apply Today!

51ÁÔÆæ, founded in 1918, is a nationally-recognized, two-year college located in central North Iowa.  With approximately 3,000 career and transfer students, the College has been recognized by the Aspen Institute as a leading community college in the nation.  51ÁÔÆæ welcomes students from across Iowa, Minnesota, the nation, and the world. The College has served as a leader in student-centered learning, community engagement, and collaborative leadership for more than 100 years.

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