The latest news featuring Missouri River Relief Camp going virtual, Columbia College in-person classes, Hy-Vee partnering to end summer hunger, giving back, and more.
Giving Back
U.S. Cellular Donates Tablets to Organization
As part of U.S. Cellular’s ongoing commitment to local communities, the company has donated Samsung tablets to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri. Tyree, Dashawn, and Jaden of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri were three among 18 to receive a tablet to help keep them connected during the stay-at-home orders throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Tablets were used to complete school assignments, join their class via Zoom, participate in mentor meetings, and take part in one-on-one sessions with their respective Big Brother or Big Sister.
Community
Missouri River Relief Camp Goes Virtual
Missouri River Relief pivoted to a virtual camp experience this summer. Watershed Expedition at Home is the organization’s innovative answer for cancelled in-person summer camps: Missouri River Relief invited youth from across the community to join a month-long watershed expedition. Watershed Expedition at Home consisted of a 4-week combination of Camp in a Box and Virtual Camp for fourth through seventh graders and eighth through twelfth graders in July that brought the fun of a camp to families’ homes.
“Our goal is to bring our incredible staff, instruction, and the community that families love at Missouri River Relief to children at home! We believe our families and campers need camp more than ever.”
— Kristen Schulte,
Education Director of
Missouri River Relief
Education
Columbia College to Resume In-Person Classes
Columbia College plans to welcome students back to campus for the fall semester for in-seat classes. Social distancing, mask-wearing, deep cleaning, and several other measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will be implemented. In-seat instruction is set to begin on August 31 with a virtual option for some classes, and will continue until Thanksgiving break, which starts on November 20. Classes will then transition to an all-virtual platform through the remainder of the semester, including finals.
Giving Back
Hy-Vee Joins Partnership to End Summer Hunger
Hy-Vee, in partnership with Kellogg’s and Keurig Dr. Pepper, announced its End Summer Hunger campaign to provide food for children and families in need. During the month of July, for every qualifying purchase at a Hy-Vee grocery store, one meal was donated to Feeding America food banks in Hy-Vee’s eight-state region. The program’s goal was to donate 1.5 million meals.
New Leadership
The Salvation Army Welcomes New Officers
The Salvation Army transfers officers every few years, and Columbia will be welcoming a new regional command and a new set of corps officers in July. The previous officers have served in Boone County for the past three to four years. Major Jack Holloway and Major Nancy Holloway have served as the regional command for Central Missouri since July 2016, and Lieutenant Carmon Camp has served as the corps officer for Boone County since July 2017.
Community
Boone County Historical Society Launches Online Collection
The Boone County Historical Society has launched a free, open-access, digital online collection. The collection includes 2,500 vintage portraits of Boone Countians scanned from glass plate negatives produced between 1910 and 1936, as well as thousands of pages of the earliest Boone County court records from 1821 through 1840. This was made possible through donations, grants, and thousands of hours of work put in by volunteers.
