Des Moines volunteer Scott Splavec found a way to make his volunteer service really pay off for IRIS! Scott's wife's employer (Meredith Publishing) has a program that recognizes the volunteer efforts of their employees and families. When Scott found out about the program, we did a little math, filled out a simple form verifying the number of hours he has given us and received a check for $300! Please check with your employer - and your spouse's employer to see if there are similar programs with those organizations. Thank you, Scott, for turning your voice into cold hard cash for IRIS!

Iowa Ranks 2nd in America for Volunteerism

With more than 300 IRIS volunteers in seven locations across the State, we know that Iowans are extraordinary when it comes to serving others. Here's some proof:

August 9, 2011(Des Moines) - Iowa Governor Terry Branstad announced today that for the second year in a row, Iowa has achieved the second-highest volunteer rate in the country with 37.9 percent of Iowans devoting time to help others in 2010. That surpasses the 2008 rank of fifth, according to the recent Volunteering in America report released by the Corporation for National and Community Service. "Volunteers are an amazing resource, and no state has more devoted or more passionate volunteers than Iowa," said Governor Branstad. "I am honored to tout this recognition on behalf of all Iowans who are making a tremendous difference in our state." Iowans devoted a total of 93.4 million hours to volunteering in 2010 and provided more than $2 billion in services to Iowa. Nearly 150,000 more Iowans volunteer today than they did in 1989. The spirit of Iowa's volunteerism is exemplified in individual cities as well. Iowa has more cities (four) than any other state in the top 20 of overall rankings.

Additional highlights from the report include: · Iowa City has the third-highest volunteer rate nationally for cities, with over 50 percent of residents volunteering · Des Moines has the seventh-highest volunteer rate nationally for cities, with 40 percent of residents volunteering · Cedar Falls/Waterloo has the 11th highest rate at 37.6 percent · Cedar Rapids has the 14th highest rate for midsized cities (16th overall) at 35.6 percent · "Generation X" Iowans and "Older" Iowans both ranked second for their age demographics, all other age demographics ranked in the top 10.

Would You Like to Become an IRIS Volunteer?

IRIS has reading locations in Des Moines, Sioux City, Mason City, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, Ames and soon - in Dubuque. If you would like to add your voice to our reading contingent, please call our office at 515-243-6833. Publications are read at varying times in each part of the state. We will set you up with the volunteer coordinator in your area. If you are not interested in reading on the air, please give us a call anyway. We are always looking for talented folks to help with our radio repair and delivery, newsletter preparation and other projects.