The Flower Garden Thrives

Have you seen it recently?  The lovely flower garden at the corner of 20th Street and Grand Avenue was sponsored by Ames Noon Kiwanis Club beginning in 1995.  Then,  in 1999, Ames Golden K Kiwanis with the support of the City of Ames who provides the bedding plants– began planting and maintaining the garden and has done so continuously for the past 18 years.  Until recently, Golden K members Vaughn Speer and Tom Peter had primary responsibility for maintaining the garden.  Pictured is Tom Peter and his wife Judy Peter who do an outstanding job of making the Golden K flower garden a landmark that the entire community  as well as visitors to Ames can enjoy.

Read the 2015 post about the garden HERE.

The Latest on the Paper Project

This is an article submitted for publication in the Story County SUN.

The Ames Golden K Paper Recycling Project began in the fall of 2012.  The collection site is located at the CENEX Station at 809 East Lincoln Way in Ames.  Newspapers, soft-backed books, catalogs, magazines and clean flattened cardboard are collected and sold to a recycler  who shreds the paper, adds a fire retardant,then converts the shreds into insulation for homes and businesses.

As of July 13, the Golden K has collected a total of 1,079,800 {540 tons} of paper– 39 truckloads. They are filling a fresh trailer every four weeks. Total funds raised to date are $17,278.19.   All proceeds after project operating expenses are used to help fund Golden K’s annual Charity Donations to 15 Ames and Story County organizations who are involved in supporting children.

This project involves many individuals!  Contributor collectors, sorters and then haulers and recyclers.  Anyone can contribute paper. The Golden K would love for  readers of this publication to help the Golden K help others.

Pictured are some of the Golden K members who generously donate their time to this project.  Front, left to right- John Abrams, Project Coordinator John Slaughter, Howard McPhail, Harry Budd, Tom Peter, Lonnie Mannes, Terry Wycoff, John Arthur, and Alan Spohnheimer.  Rear, left to right, Don Muff, Pete Peterson, Ed Augustine, Gene Pollmann, and Dennis Senne.  Jim Penney, a great worker in this project, took the photo and is not pictured!

Friendship Ark donation 2017

On June 29, Ames Golden K Kiwanis presented a donation of $350 to support the efforts and programs of Friendship Ark.

Pictured, left to right: Golden K member Duane Brodie, Friendship Ark Board President Sarah Buck, and Golden K member Terry Wycoff.

Read about Friendship Ark HERE.

Golden K Listeners Finish 2nd Year

Ames Golden K has just completed our second year working with elementary children in the Golden K Listeners Program.  Those shown served.  They are— Rear, left to right: Don Muff, Dennis Smith, Dick Wilson, Pete Peterson. Front, left to right: Bruce Wight, Bob Sperry and Larry Trede. Not pictured: Kent Ziebell and Keith Folkmann.

Beginning with the 2015-16 School Year, Ames Golden K volunteers, have helped Edwards School 1st Grade teachers improve the reading proficiency of their students. Noticing the positive results obtained from the 1st Grade class, Principal David Peterson and his staff asked Golden K to expand this program to include Edwards Kindergarten students for the 2016-17 School Year.

The Golden K volunteers, at the direction of the Edwards School Kindergarten and First Grade teachers, are primarily  “Listeners” to the first graders to assist them in improving their reading abilities.  Golden K member Larry Trede remarked: “Working with 1st graders for the last two years has been an extremely worthwhile experience. It was very satisfying to see the improvement in the reading ability of the students from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.  They became more confident in their ability to sound out words and reading stories or passages above their assigned level of reading.”  Golden K member Pete Peterson added “As a Listener, I could tell that the 1st Graders word pronunciation, rhythm, and expressiveness showed improvement as the school year went by. We gave the students an opportunity to practice reading out loud to a willing set of ears. It was fun for both the students and myself.”

Golden K member Bob Sperry assisted students in the Kindergarten class after their teachers had evaluated the skills and ability of each student with letters, sounds, numbers and other basics.  Bob commented that “the teachers devised learning games to be used with individuals  or a small group (2 to 5) to focus on their particular deficient areas and have fun at the same time. It was very effective, instilled a little competitive spirit and soon, they were putting simple 2-3 letter words together and able to begin reading. Then a combination of more advanced learning games and reading to us was used to further sharpen their skills.  As you might imagine, some kindergartners  were doing quite well  and some were still working with pretty basic  reading, but all had advanced considerably from where they began the year.”  Golden K member Kent Ziebell observed ” I really looked forward to seeing and working with the Kindergartners each week.  They are so honest, love playing games, and are eager to learn.  And they never failed to make   me laugh. What I am saying is that working with the kids is as much fun for us older people {many of whom have grandchildren} as it is for the kids.    It gives us a purpose and makes us feel that we are helping. By the end of the year it was amazing and so rewarding to see how much the kids had progressed.”

Emergency Residence Project 2017

Ames Golden K Kiwanis presented a check for $1,500 to the Emergency Residence Project  on June 22 to support their efforts to provide emergency shelter to individuals and families.  The recent closing of emergency residence homes in Boone and Marshalltown makes the Golden K donation very significant.  Pictured left to right, Golden K member Lowell Richardson, ERP Director Carrie Dunnwald , and Golden K’s Jerry Solbeck.