Special Olympics Polar Plunge
Every year, UI REACH students come out to support Special Olympics Iowa during their annual "Polar Plunge” event. This year, several REACH students made the jump into frigid waters to support the fundraising initiative, and many more came to cheer on their friends and classmates.
Puerto Rico Trip
This spring, UI REACH student Gavin Carlson traveled to Puerto Rico alongside UI REACH Director Bill Loyd. Highlights from the trip included the opportunity for Carlson to speak on a panel for the University of Puerto Rico’s Institute of Developmental Disabilities and co-present with Loyd on self-determination at a legislative town hall meeting in San Juan. “I was excited to speak on the panel,” Carlson says. “I wasn’t nervous because I knew there were no wrong answers. I was just sharing about my experiences.” Carlson also got to hike the rainforests, sample local cuisine, tour local sites, and make new friends all while staying in Old San Juan. One of his favorite activities was getting freshly made ice cream from a local shop. “The most memorable opportunity,” Carlson says, “was just learning about a different culture and telling people about the UI REACH program.”
Senegal Trip
Caroline Keenan, a recent UI REACH graduate, recently returned from a 14-day trip to Senegal, West Africa with 11 other College of Education students and four staff/faculty. While there, she was able to visit several schools across the country, frequent local museums and monuments, attend a celebration for high achieving girls in the Dakar school system, hear and see rap and drumming performances, and visit with the Minister of Education for the country.
Community Service
Our graduating seniors were charged with each contributing 10 hours of service to the community this year as part of their senior capstone project. They completed tasks like tree planting, outside cleaning projects, food drives, and general volunteer support.
Food Drive With the Wright House of Fashion
Each semester, UI REACH students have many opportunities to engage in service work for the university community and beyond. This semester, UI REACH Student Life Program Specialist Bart Sonnenberg organized several service-learning opportunities, including a collaborative food drive with the Wright House of Fashion on Martin Luther King Day. Four of our students gathered early in the morning to help collect and sort donations while learning about more community-centered work they can engage in with the Wright House.
Jenny McGinn also coordinated food collections from staff for the food pantry at the Iowa Memorial Union. More than five boxes of food were donated by UI REACH through this effort.
Student Council Advocacy Trips
Advocacy Trips to Des Moines and Washington D.C.
For UI REACH students, one of the most exciting aspects of being a part of student council is the opportunity to go on advocacy trips to our state and national capital. This spring, student council members visited both Des Moines and Washington, D.C. to share their stories with elected officials. Students met with several representatives, advocating for resources and reforms aimed at providing support for people with disabilities. Their advocacy topics included a scholarship for students attending programs like UI REACH, “work without worry” legislation that would allow persons with disabilities to retain benefits while working, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) reform, and saving Medicaid. Students also visited with Rob Sand, Chad Ingles, and several other legislators while in Des Moines and attended the Disability Policy Seminar in Washington, D.C. Special thanks to the Iowa DD Council, UI REACH advisory board member, Sara Russel and spouse, and Andrew Turner for underwriting and coordinating a portion of the cost for these trips.
Des Moines Trip
Washington DC Trip
