“If you pull up any report where it talks about finances, when it talks about wealth, when it talks about home ownership, when it talks about employment, Black people are not thriving at the rates of their white counterparts. So how can we continuously see those data sets, where it shows that African Americans are on the bottom of the list, and not do something to challenge that?”
“The idea of Cedar Valley Kids is to be a model of offering daycare support as an employer benefit and really thinking about this as a business initiative and a community initiative. It’s really trying to solve the day care desert issue, but also leveraging the power of our employers, the community, and our government, so we can come together to solve this.”
– Kyle Roed, vice president for global human resources, CPM Roskamp
“People were so excited to get out of their house and to see live performances again. They were just so delighted to have an actual band in their neighborhood, and they were really excited to see their neighbors, because everybody had been cloistered in their home. It was an overwhelming sense of joy.”
“Our mission statement is to improve quality of life through programs of education and conservation. Fontana Park is at the center of all of that. It is a real draw for Buchanan County. It helps with economic development. It helps retain people in our county, and it brings people into the region who want things to do and to have a good quality of life.”
– Dan Cohen, executive director of the Buchanan County Conservation Board
“The scholarship just relieved a lot of pressure and stress. My parents were not able to help pay for anything, so I knew I’d have to fund it all myself through working, scholarships, and student loans. I knew the more scholarships I got, the more it would benefit my future self by having less loan payments after I graduated college.” – Liesbeth Almendarez, 2017 James W. and Jvone E. Maxwell Memorial Scholarship Recipient
“I just love making grants. It gives me that sense that I’m doing something to be purposeful in life. I feel good remembering Scott and remembering how he touched people’s lives and that we can continue that even though he is gone. I also enjoy being a role model for the kids so they can continue the same thing.”
