East Central Iowa News

Iowa Valley Community College issued the following announcement on September 1.

During the Marshalltown Community College first week of class (dubbed the Week of Welcome), MCC recognized people and organizations that have made a notable contribution to the campus communities.

Director of Residence Life and Student Engagement, Chris Brees, presented the Ambassador of the Year award:

Ambassador of the Year: The Ambassador of the Year Awards are designed to recognize community members or organizations that have represented IVCCD’s Core Values through their service or accomplishments that have directly benefited IVCCD and/or its students.

Ambassador of the Year Award to Hope United Methodist Church of Marshalltown. The award nomination read, in part, “The collaboration between Marshalltown Community College and Hope United Methodist Church began over four years ago when church members recognized MCC as an essential part of the community and wanted to contribute to student success. Hope United Methodist Church recruited George Johnson to be involved and the relationship was born. The first collection for the Tiger Vault netted numerous items, including some too large for the giveaway closet. Over the years, Hope United Methodist Church has become more involved and engaged with the students of MCC including:

• Sponsoring five drives to collect thousands of healthcare, cleaning, kitchen, and household items for the Tiger Vault, as well as cash donations from church members. Our own employees have also generously participated in these church drives. Our international students often visit the Tiger Vault before their first trip to Walmart and homeless students often fulfill critical basic needs thru the Tiger Vault. This room full of supplies has provided a welcome greeting for students with limited resources.
• Hope United Methodist has also provided a “welcome back” cookie day with over 500 homemade cookies distributed that included inspirational messages for students.
• Church members also reached out to Chris Brees after the Derecho and during COVID-19 asking whether students had any specific needs in these difficult times.
• The Church Community has had a significant impact on MCC’s students, especially our international and housing students.

When students can worry less about meeting basic needs, they can focus on their educational goals. The care shown by United Methodist Church helps develop a student sense of belonging, improves student satisfaction and retention, and contributes to the family atmosphere that MCC’s students and employees value most.

Original source can be found here.