Raising money through acts of kindness

Random acts of kindness happen every day, but often go unnoticed. However, any act of kindness is worth $10 to Iowa State Savings Bank (ISSB).

“This is the first time we’ve ever done this campaign or anything along these lines,” said ISSB Marketing Officer Hannah West. “Our mission statement has ‘Make things better’ in it.”

The “Make things better campaign” was sparked by a desire to emphasize the ISSB mission statement and live by example.

Individuals are encouraged to report every act of kindness they witness, no matter how small, to ISSB. Each act of kindness received before Feb. 14 is worth a $10 donation, up to $5,000, to be put toward the purchase of new computers and iPads for The Learning Center of Southwest Iowa (TLC).

“No act is too small to make a difference,” West said. “We would like to hear from you even if you held the door open for a stranger or picked up a piece of trash in a parking lot. When we all rally together, little acts add up to make our communities a better place to live.”

TLC currently has two iPads available for teachers to check out for sessions. The addition of new computers and iPads will help TLC stay current with the technology and curriculum students need.

“The curriculum that we use has apps on the iPad that students really love,” said Tiffany Ossian, assistant director of TLC. “So that sometimes gets their attention even more, and they learn even more, and quickly, if it’s something they’re interested in.”

“We believe that what they do is very beneficial for our whole community,” West said. “We have banks in several locations in four different communities, and so we really wanted to find a place that affects all of our communities and The Learning Center of Southwest Iowa serves all of our areas.

“We also wanted to make sure our donation was going to have a big impact, so instead of splitting the $5,000 donation several different ways, we thought it would make a bigger impact by doing one lump sum to one organization.”

TLC is a nonprofit tutoring center specializing in reading and math. The goal of TLC is to close the gap for children with different learning needs.

“We have created a safe, fun and positive learning environment here at the center. Lots of students learn differently and we provide a multi-sensory, kinesthetic learning environment. We want our students to walk through our doors and feel welcome and part of our TLC family. We are here to help our students become the very best they can be.”

“ISSB tries to live our mission every day, and we believe in leading by example,” said ISSB CEO Adam Snodgrass. “We hope our donation will make things better for those involved with The Learning Center of Southwest Iowa and we believe our efforts will inspire others to find their own way to make things better for someone else.”

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Acts of kindness can be submitted by:

1. Filling out an Acts of Kindness card at TLC.

2. Filling out an Acts of Kindness card at any of the ISSB branches.

3. Calling into one of the ISSB branches.

4. Commenting on Facebook with the hashtag #ISSBcares.

5. Filling out the Contact Us form on the ISSB website.