Ernest Hemingway
Meet Peter – Paramedic Specialist
Renda serves the community by tending to medical patients’ needs in emergency situations
As a part-time employee of the Indianola Fire Department and a paid-on-call paramedic specialist, Peter Renda lives an exciting life. He tends to critical patients through the use of advanced life support equipment.
The life of a paramedic is fast-paced and while he’s on-call, it’s hard to know when his services will be needed.
“We can’t determine when someone will dial 911, but we must always be ready to respond within a moment’s notice. This requires us to be out on the streets at all times of the day and night,” Renda said.
This means the families of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals must be without their loved ones for long periods of time. Paramedics are on-call for eight hours at a time, even overnight.
“Our families tend to bare the burden of our absence. I believe it’s important we recognize the sacrifice our friends and family make while we are gone,” Renda said.
But not every minute is spent in action.
Renda also writes detailed patient care reports after every EMS call and practices his skills as an advanced EMS practitioner during department training nights.
All paramedics are advised to stay up-to-date on their medical knowledge and skills as the field of medicine is continually advancing.
Renda gained his EMT-Basic certification through the University of Iowa and his paramedic degree from Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa. He has worked in EMS for two years and has been a paramedic for ten months.
Though the job can be challenging, it is also rewarding for the men and women who have the heart for it.
“The best part about being a paramedic is watching the improvements that patients make while in our care. It’s a great feeling to know you’ve helped play an integral part in saving a life,” Renda said.
Simpson Blood Drive
There is hardly any easier way to volunteer than donating blood.In less than an hour, donors will have given blood and have left with a snack. That’s what students experienced today in Great Hall at Simpson College where they took turns getting their blood drawn.
“It’s nice to be able to do something like this and help out,” Dakota Spurrier, freshman, said just after giving blood.
Spurrier, along with hundreds of his classmates, spent time giving away a pint of blood today. The blood will be needed to save the lives of accident survivors, surgery patients and sufferers of anemia or blood diseases, among other uses.
Eboney Anderson, phlebotomist at LifeServe and team lead, said every donation is beneficial.
Eboney Anderson, LifeServe team lead.
“They say a recipient needs blood every 2 seconds so it’s very important,” Anderson said.
The blood drive was sponsored by Simpson’s service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega (APO). Sophomore Cody Parmley was one of the many APO members who volunteered at the drive.
“We’re big on leadership, volunteering and friendship, so we just like to be involved with whatever type of things we can do on campus,” Parmley said.
Parmley makes sure to keep the canteen stocked.
They worked at the canteen, which has juice, sugary snacks and pretzels to stabilize blood sugar levels after donors have given blood.
If donors don’t stay properly hydrated or their blood sugar levels drop, it could cause them to feel faint and possibly pass out.
Spurrier says he always feels fine after giving blood, but he’s seen many people pass out after giving blood. This was almost the case for one donor, senior Hannah VanEvera, who says she gets dizzy every time she gives blood.
“I just told them I wanted my feet up and I was like, ‘I’m getting dizzy,’ and I said it right away so I didn’t pass out,” VanEvera said.
Simpson College’s Campus Day provides an opportunity for the students and faculty to take time away from school and work to volunteer. Classes are cancelled to give everyone the chance to improve the campus and the community. The weather was beautiful and the campus looks wonderful. Campus Day 2013 was a great day for everyone.
Campus Day 2013
Martin Luther King Jr.:
“Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
Meet Kathi – Kiya Koda Humane Society
“You get an awful lot back from animals that you don’t get back from people” – Kathi Pfeifer
Kathi Pfeifer holding one of the stray cats the shelter is currently housing.
For some service workers, volunteering takes up one afternoon each week or each month. For Kathi Pfeifer, volunteering is a lifetime commitment. Pfeifer took over at Kiya Koda Humane Society 30 years ago while the shelter was in financial trouble and to this day, does not take any compensation for her roles as president of the board and manager of the shelter.
Kiya Koda Humane Society in Indianola, Iowa is home to dogs and cats Warren County citizens find wandering around their neighborhoods. Kiya Koda is a non-profit organization whose goal is to ” find loving, safe homes for [their] precious pets”.
The shelter provides a home for any stray animal that come in, does investigative service for the sheriff’s department of Indianola, holds rabies suspects and is obligated to pick up any strays that are found. There is always someone on-call for the shelter even during holidays.
Pfeifer takes on all the responsibilities any other employee at the shelter would, such as cleaning kennels, boarding animals, going on complaint calls or picking up stray animals. She is also in charge of administering vaccinations, which is required for all new strays.
Pfeifer’s love of animals has kept her at the shelter for three decades. She says her motivation to continue her work is the incredible love animals can give.
“Animals can give back to you unconditional love. They don’t ask for anything out of you. The don’t care what color you are, they don’t care if you’re handicapped, they don’t care about any of that. All they want is love,” Pfeifer said.
She noted that pets aren’t for everyone. She says some people just don’t like the upkeep or the smell of animals, but that’s that there’s nothing wrong with that. Pfeifer stresses the importance of being being a responsible pet owner.
Because Kiya Koda is located in Indianola, the home of Simpson College, college students have the advantage of having the shelter within driving distance and encourages them to stop by and visit the animals.
“We want to encourage young people to come here. It’s very good for the animals,” Pfeifer said.
Not only does it benefit the animals, but also the students. Studies show that animals bring down blood pressure and de-stress, and volunteers are always welcome at the shelter. Over the years, the shelter has seen many college students who miss their pets come in just to interact with the animals.
“We really do appreciate all the kids that have volunteered here in the last few years and if any student wants to volunteer, all they have to do is call or come down and we’d love to have them”
Even for people who have never done volunteer work before, Pfeifer encourages all people to just show up and someone will show them how to do any task they’re given such as brushing cats or walking dogs. The interaction with the animals is what Pfeifer believes to be most important.
Kiya Koda is always accepting volunteers.
Visit their website or their Facebook page to find out if there’s a cat or dog you want to take home.
Mother Teresa:
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”
Meet Jayci – One Iowa Lobby Day
Volunteering doesn’t have to be a daunting or intimidating experience no matter how involved you have been with it in the past. For one Des Moines resident, Jayci Adams, it was as easy as going to the Des Moines capitol for a day of lobbying with OneIowa, an organization formed in 2005 “to support full equality for LGBT individuals living in Iowa through grassroots efforts and education.”
On February 25, OneIowa held its annual Lobby Day. The goal of Lobby Day is to get volunteers in contact with their legislatures about the importance of marriage equality. In addition to marriage equality, the lobbyists will be working to educate Iowa legislators about the importance of reforming Iowa’s HIV Criminalization law.
Adams talks more about this, “Currently, under Iowa Code 139A.20 and 139A.25, the knowing exposure to a communicable disease with the intent of transmitting that disease is punishable as a simple misdemeanor. However, Iowa Code 709C singles out the transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus as a separate criminal offense, classified as a class “B” felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.”
Here, supporters can sign a petition to repeal Iowa’s HIV-specific crimilization law.
Adams is currently working for her Master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Iowa. She is also the State of Iowa Youth Advisory Council Coordinator (IYACC). IYACC is a group of youth that works with the Governor and General Assembly to promote Iowa youth issues. The students focus on cyberbullying, education, and other harassment and health issues in Iowa.
With her focus on social work, Adams makes it a point to volunteer with causes when she can, but is taking a break while she finishes her degree. In the meantime, she stays busy as an AmeriCorps volunteer through the Department of Human Rights . She will serve through August as the State of Iowa Youth Advisory Council Coordinator with the organization. Note: all of Adams’ lobbying and political partisanship issues are personal and are not affiliated with AmeriCorps.
Though she stays busy with her studies and her upcoming wedding (yay!), Adams finds time to give back to her community and play an active role in the issues that matter to her.
Mahatma Gandhi
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Give Serve Live 