UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL IOWA BLOG

There are a lot of things a six-year-old can do with a bag of rocks. Build a castle. Lay out an imaginary battle. Roll them around like cars. Learn to read. That last one is what Bill, a kindergartner at Norwood Elementary in Des Moines, did with the help of his mentor Larry Collins.

When the sun rose on the longest day of the year—at 5:40 a.m., no less—it shone its first rays on 30 United Way staff and volunteers industriously coloring, cutting and assembling large quantities of paper. Fueled by caffeine and upbeat music, they channeled their long-lost childhood talents in order to kick off a groundbreaking effort from United Way of Central Iowa: The first-ever Literacy Solstice, with the goal of convening 1,000 central Iowans to build 4,000 literacy kits for the kids in our community.

On June 20 —Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year—more than 1,200 central Iowans will volunteer at sites across the community for Literacy Solstice, the signature event of United Way’s READ to SUCCEED campaign.

Standing desk. Treadmill desk. Office yoga. We invent so many ways to keep us active and healthy at work, when a little time spent outside in the sunshine would do us all good—and do good for others.

The week of April 10 is National Volunteer Week. United Way salutes the 10,000 central Iowans who each year volunteer their skills, knowledge and time to help United Way fulfill its mission and make progress toward Goals for 2020.