March is bursting with activity. Board members are planning their yearly course after the Annual Meeting which placed them in new leadership positions. Agencies are putting the final touches on their 2011 funding requests before submission. Applications to participate in the Smile Mobile are filling the IN box. Plans are being made for the Community Volunteer Celebration. Committee meetings, volunteer interviews, sharing resource information, networking with other community agencies are all part of our community involvement.
Leading the way this year is our newly elected President, Bob Cappel. Complimenting the leadership team are Denny Fleer – President Elect, Gary Dybsetter – Past President, Sr. Denette Leifeld – Allocations Chair, Pam VanMeeteren – Campaign Chair, Patti Eisenbraun – Allocations Co-Chair and Rick Duimstra – Campaign Co-Chair. Joining the Board are Brad Dykes, Dr. Will Eidsness, Jay Gravholt and Jeff May. Continuing on the Board are Chad Bent, Lindsay Hovden, Linda Johnson, Terry Steichen, Kathy Wagner, Gary Wood and Larry Young. The Finance Committee was established at the Annual Meeting with Brad Dykes, Terry Steichen and Larry Young elected to serve as well as determine the on-going duties and responsibilities.
Next week the Delta Dental Smile Mobile will be sitting in front of Beadle Elementary School opening its doors to people ages 1 – 21 who will be “opening wide” to get their teeth cleaned, examined, treated and receive dental hygiene information. Entering with trepidation they leave with smiles knowing that their teeth are brighter and in improved condition and they have in their hands a few favors for daily dental reminders.
One of the very busy affiliated United Way agencies that assist our neighbors when faced with economic concerns is Lutheran Social Services Consumer Credit Counseling. Janette Ellis shares the following information:
According to the January 2010 Federal Reserve study on consumer credit, Americans are carrying $874 billion in revolving debt, down from a high of $975.2 billion in the third quarter of 2008.
Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) is a local, non-profit program of Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota. CCCS is dedicated to providing confidential and professional financial counseling including but not limited to: budgeting, debt management, and bankruptcy. The Housing Resource Center is a program of CCCS that provides pre and post purchase counseling as well as foreclosure prevention and mitigation approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homebuyer Express, offered as a class or by appointment, provides free homebuyer education covering affordability, credit reports and scores, and comprehensive coverage of the home buying process.