Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Meals from the Heartland

The Des Moines 'Meals from the Heartland' was a success! 24 people participated. There were several new faces and several families, which made it neat to have kids involved. The youngest was a 6 year old. Below are some of the paraphrased positive comments about doing this:

“I always thought about doing Meals From the Heartland, but never did until I saw that the Wartburg alumni group was going. It was so easy to sign up and then I was accountable for going.”

“We haven’t done anything with the alumni group before, but we thought Meals From the Heartland sounded like a good thing to do, so we signed up.”

“I thought my boys were going to give me a hard time for signing them up to volunteer on a Friday night, but they didn’t complain one bit!”
The group divided into 3 tables and we packed a total of:
34 cases = 1,224 meal packages = 7,344 meals (equal to an individual serving which is the quantity the event refers to)
During the 90 minutes we were packaging, the whole building packed about 400,000 meals. The event this year packed a total of 4,490,640 meals.

One participant said, "It was great to see how something so easy could be a great event and lots of fun!"

Check out pictures from the event here!

Alumni Board Spotlight-Abigail Smith

Graduation Year 2000
Major/Minors Biology

Family Information: I am married to Kevin Smith, also a 2000 graduate, and we have one son, Nicholas, who is 14 months old. We also have two dogs, Gizmo & Gadget, who are still adjusting to their demotion back to ‘doghood’ after Nicholas came home!

Work Information: I am an on-call pediatric Occupational Therapist at ChildServe in Johnston, IA.

About me: Being an on-call OT has allowed me time to volunteer in other activities, such as the Wartburg Alumni Board, church bell choir, and other church committees. I also volunteer with one of our dogs at ChildServe. Gizmo enjoys his weekly job: to bring smiles to kids’ faces and encourage them in their therapy.

What do you enjoy doing?
Previously I enjoyed reading, sewing, playing cards, and going on bike rides. However, now most of my time is taken up with playing with our son, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

What do you think makes Wartburg stand out from other schools?
I believe one of the many benefits Wartburg has to offer is faculty that are committed to teaching and demonstrate a sincere interest in the students’ personal success.

What is currently your favorite thing about Wartburg?
I really enjoy meeting some of the current Wartburg students when I am back on campus. It makes me realize that Wartburg is continuing to attract stellar students that are carrying on the Wartburg pride and traditions. They are just as cool as when we were there :-)

What does "Being Orange" mean to you?
Being Orange is always remembering what I learned at Wartburg. The faculty, staff, and entire Wartburg College experience, both on and off campus, challenged me to step outside my comfort zone and learn more about the world and my role in it than I ever could have imagined from a small college in a small town. Wartburg College provided me with four years of encouragement and growth that has impacted who I am today, how I live my life, and what I choose to do with my time and talents.