The weather on Saturday followed the same blitzkrieg pattern of storms seen for the better part of a week, driving the Day of Giving event from the Iola square to the shelter of the old Iola Theatre. More than a dozen organizations gathered together to share information with the public; what they can do for the people of Iola, and what Iolans can do for them.
The organizations covered a broad range of services, including Allen County Animal Rescue Facility, Iola Public Library, Thrive Allen County and KS MIA, which urged people to support the veterans memorial.
Alison Leach, community resource specialist for KVC, was on hand to educate people about foster children in southeast Kansas. Currently, there are 18 licensed foster homes for 77 children in Allen County. There are also a total of 476 children seeking adoption in the state.
“We have a huge need for resources for these kids,” Leach said.
Leach said the biggest misconception about foster children is that they are “problem children,” but this is not the case. Some have suffered trauma and require a lot of love and attention for those willing to dedicate the time and energy toward learning how to be a foster parent.
Another organization dedicated to helping community members is Circles. The program teams up people struggling with poverty with allies in the middle class who help them to identify behaviors and habits that undermine their efforts to get out of poverty. Circles has almost 100 organizations nationwide, including eight in Kansas. The Allen County branch started last year, and five of the 10 first graduates are employed and doing better.
Georgia Masterson, director of Circles of Allen County, said their second graduating class of 11 would celebrate with a picnic today.
Masterson said those who have never experienced poverty have a lot of misconceptions about the poor. Namely, “that they’re there because they’re lazy and don’t want to work, and I don’t find that to be true at all,” she said. “Sometimes I think when you feel defeated and helpless that you give up. That leaves the impression that you’re too lazy to do anything about it. That’s not laziness, that’s hopelessness.”
Not all of the organizations at the Day of Giving were charged with saving people one family at a time; some were about celebrating what is already in the community. Power Up Iola is an organization geared toward the often underrepresented 21-to-39-year-old age group. They host events, such as an ice cream social, scavenger hunt and a dance, as well as take pictures of themselves in favorite locations holding a “rural by choice” sign.
Elyssa Jackson, organizer, said she would like to see Power Up Iola and the people they represent have a large community presence. She wants to be able to address the needs and wants of younger adults to make Allen County a place they want to live.
The next meeting of Power Up Iola is at 7 p.m. June 19 at Scooters.
