Adult Mentoring
TAKING ACTION ON POVERTY
STRATEGY:
Project #4 Goal—to provide educational opportunities for career development and professional development.
Median household income in Van Buren County is $34,361 compared to $42,865 in the state of Iowa. There is a very low adult literacy rate in Van Buren County with only 82% of adults with a high school diploma and only 11% adults with a Bachelors degree compared to 21% in the state of Iowa. There are many reasons for establishing a program for professional development; better paying occupations, reduction of poverty, self esteem and encourage service to community.
Shelia Parsons, Maureen Sedlacek and Vicki Shepard are giving leadership to the Horizons project. Clientele identified for this project include nursing aides, accounting and clerical support staff at the Van Buren County Hospital and Good Samaritan Nursing home, educational aides at the Van Buren Community School District, day care providers and food service employees.
Four in-services have been identified to deliver the educational assistance to needy individuals. It is planned that the program will be delivered at the work sites for ease and convenience of the working families.
Community Resources identified to assist in this project include Indian Hills Community College, the State of Iowa TEACH program, Keosauqua City Council and the Iowa Work Force Center, Ottumwa.
Keosauqua leaders identified are Shelia Parsons, Maureen Sedlacek and Vicki Shepard
TAKING ACTION ON POVERTY
STRATEGY:
Project #5—Goal –To increase physical activity for senior citizens and to reduce depend on drugs for optimum personal health.
Nearly 1 in 3 Americans age 25 or older has high blood pressure. One-third of the people with high blood pressure don’t know they have it.
Wellness programs help residents make lifestyle changes in two areas that influence hypertension: weight, and physical activity. . Investing in personal wellness is good business. It can result in lower insurance premiums, lower turnover, increased productivity, and increased job satisfaction.
Shelia Parsons is exhibiting leadership to start an exercise group that researches area exercise areas to gather information for further development. An exercise room or center has been discussed in Keosauqua for many years. Past surveys with Keosauqua residents indicated a desire to locate an exercise center available to all families. The needed finances for establishing and maintaining an exercise center has presented issues for supporters of the activity.
It is the goal of this group to engage more residents in researching exercise centers in neighboring communities and see study open hours, fee schedule, possible funding streams, grants, etc.
Other exercise possibilities for further development include winter walking in the Robert’s Center, walking trail in Keosauqua Lacey State Park and the Keosauqua Loop Trail. There is interest being developed for a county wide walking/bicycle trail.
Horizons team members giving leadership to this project include Shelia Parsons and Sandy McLain.
Community partners include Van Buren County Hospital, and Senior Citizens