Corydon, IA

Belinda Willhite from Corydon participated in the Grassroots & Groundwork Conference in Bloomington, Minnesota from May 28 – 30 and learned how communities around the United States are tackling poverty reduction.

Donna Beegle, the daughter of migrant farmers, shared her personal journey from generational poverty to completing her PhD, becoming President of Communication Across Barriers and founder & CEO of PovertyBridge, a nonprofit dedicated to changing lives for people in poverty. She is a national presenter and author of “See Poverty, Be the Difference.”

“The conference had some real eye opening moments as we learned some of the different ways that communities around the country are tackling the debilitating problem with poverty in America”, said Belinda Willhite as she shared resources and her experiences at the conference with fellow members of the Welcome We Help, inc. organization.

Former Iowa Governor Thomas Vilsack presented an interactive session to close the conference – Linking Grassroots Poverty Reduction and Public Policy –and challenged participants to share what they learned when they return home.

Welcome We Help, inc. is active in recruiting new volunteers to help in the attack on poverty.  Information booths have been set up at the Hospital Health Fair, Wayne County Fair, and Summer on the Square.  During these events and at the Oscar celebration participants were asked to complete volunteer sheets if they can help with a project or have new ideas to suggest.  This along with weekly advertising to ensure community members know when the group is meeting maintain an open door policy to increase community participation.  The current membership reflects a balance of economic levels in the community.  This representation has helped the group focus on the poverty needs of the community.

Wayne Community citizens have great ideas when it comes to fixing problems. However, ideas are useless unless they are put into effect. The process of bringing these ideas is underway in our community.

Poverty is an unbiased, callous issue that gnaws at the lives of many of our own community members. It raises its ugly head to destroy the lives of the educated and uneducated people in our county. If left alone to continue its destructive behavior, poverty would eventually rip our small communities apart and turn them into ghost towns. We will not stand for this. Poverty has got to go. Because poverty is no respector of persons, it will take leaders and followers from all backgrounds to come together to make it go away.

Corydon has the resources and people it needs to suit up and arm itself against poverty. Leaders in the community are making a statement that change is possible by supporting non-profit groups that are at the forefront of the battle against poverty. Area business owners are donating time, talent, and treasure to help with this cause. There are leaders like JD and BJ Willhite, who have sacrificed much of their own resources to see that the needs of others in the community might be met. The married couple have been active in the fight against poverty; joining the Horizons program and working to inform the public. They are leaders that understand it takes commitment to get something accomplished. The Willhite’s are people who take ideas and find ways to utilize them. They have been instrumental in building support for a local group called Welcome, We Help, inc., which is focused on building a strong community of volunteers that works to meet the needs of the citizens.

A handful of ideas from a few concerned citizens have now become the mission of a community.