Matt Wettach honored by D.C. group

Matthew Wettach of Mt. Pleasant has been named a "Daily Point of Light" by the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.
Matthew has created an ongoing program to provide the basic school supplies for kindergarten children in the Mt. Pleasant area who have been identified as economically disadvantaged.
The need for the program was identified by area educators, the community Action Program and the Southeast Iowa Head Start Program.
These entities provided Wettach with suggestions on what types of supplies were needed, how to implement the project, and identify the group of students who would be attending kindergarten in the fall.
With this information, Wettach began his "Write Smart" project in August of 2005. Using the proceeds earned from his summer lawn mowing job, he decided to provide each student with a back-pack filled with the materials listed on area school supply lists.
In addition to the supplies, he enclosed a hand-written note encouraging the child to do their best in school throughout the year.
A total of 32 back-packs were filled with materials by project volunteers at the Tolson Community Action Center in Mt. Pleasant. The cost of each pack with materials was $71.42 and the total cost of the project was $2,285.44.
Extra back-packs were sent to Louisa and Des Moines County for distribution by their Community Action Directors.
In October, Wettach followed up on his "Write Smart" project with a Halloween book, stickers, pencil, small treat and a personalized note, which cost $2.95 per child. Community Action Director Sheila Church suggested that with winter here, a coat drive may also benefit area children.

You can read the entire story in the MPNEWS Dec. 28 issue.

[ Source: MPNEWS.net ]