Smart L iving Your Better Quality of Life Magazine • Rockford Region/Beloit/Freeport 95¢ • March 2021 • No. I
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Right in Our Region
How AmeriCorps Members are Hard at Work Right Here See Page 16
Tips to Prevent Water Damage Blood Bank, Food Bank Need Volunteers Shop & Dine Locally to Support Our Region
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In This Issue Right in Our Region ........................Cover & p. 16 How AmeriCorps is Helping Our Region Your Home ................................................... ..... 11 Water, Water, Everywhere Inspiration & Worship ......................................12 Who is My Neighbor?
Smart L iving ™
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Bill Hughes Executive Editor/Web Editor Chris Linden Managing Editor Jermaine Pigee Editor Emeritus Janine Pumilia Multimedia Editor Sara Myers Graphics Director Samantha Behling Graphic Designer Ashley Smith Contributing Writers Peggy Werner, Paula Kalivoda Furniss General Sales Manager Brent Hughes Sales Manager Brad Hughes Fort Wayne General Manager Sherri Cassedy Advertising Sales Representatives Brian Hughes, Jeremy Jones, Nita Lasky Administration & Circulation Manager Lisa Hughes Distribution Kelly Fairbairn Website www.SmartLivingWeekly.com Published by Hughes Media Corp. 222 Seventh St., Rockford, IL, 61104 (815) 316-2300, Fax: (815) 316-2301 lhughes@northwestquarterly.com Smart Living. Copyright 2021 by Hughes Media Corp., 222 Seventh St., Rockford, IL, 61104. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.
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We Are Needed
O
ur cover story highlights the local impact of the federal AmeriCorps program here. Kudos to Ann Wasser, director of Severson Dells, who is an AmeriCorp alumnus, for obtaining the grant which allows good souls to come here and serve. I’m sure they didn’t expect a pandemic when they signed up, but their work is all the more important because of it. Our community needs the rest of us to step up and serve, too. Here are two vital ways. Blood donations are urgently needed at Rock River Valley Blood Center. The blood that may save you or me, or our loved ones, during a surgery or after an accident, won’t magically appear on the shelf and the need won’t wait for the pandemic to end. If you have questions, go to RRVBC.org or call the blood center at (815) 965-8751. Whether or not we’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine, we’re eligible to donate. Another non-profit experiencing an urgent need for volunteers is Northern Illinois Food Bank. Many of our neighbors are hungry right now, some for the first time. In fact, between 30 and 50 percent of the people served by our food bank are new to using its network of food pantries and programs. Few of us realize how much Greater Rockford depends upon this food bank. Although it is largely supported by the counties nearest Chicago, we have the greatest need for food among the 13 counties it serves. The food bank does an amazing job of securing food for our residents, but needs volunteers to help distribute it. Lend a hand at the Rockford center or at mobile pantry distributions, where COVID-19 safety protocols are followed and many opportunities are outdoors. Learn more at SolveHungerToday.org/ volunteer or call (630) 443-6910 x211. Financial donations are needed, too, of course. Serving one another in love feels good, no matter how we go about it. And, it’s just the right thing to do. Have a great week! ❚ Janine Pumilia SLW Editor
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Your Home & Garden
How to Prevent Indoor Water Damage By Peggy Werner
W
ater damage can be incredibly destructive to your home. A few preventative steps can help you to avoid unwelcome surprises, damage, and expense. “People going away on vacation, whether for days or months, should turn off the water to their whole house,” says Chris Picot, vice president of Flood Pros, 11137 Bertram Road in Rockford. “People don’t always think to do that, but it only takes a couple hours to cause thousands of dollars worth of damage because of water.” Frozen pipes, worn-out appliances, and leaks or breaks in water lines, roofs and windows can all lead to water damage. Picot also suggests having a plumber change out water supply lines from plastic ones to rubber hoses encased in braided stainless steel, which prevents flexing.
Plastic ice maker water lines can be changed to copper. Copper water lines leading to the outside in unheated areas of the home should be shut off in the winter. Water lines in exterior walls should be well insulated. Flood Pros has been in business since 1992 and works around the clock to respond to water problems quickly. A water damage specialist explains to customers the process of water damage restoration and helps with processing an insurance claim, if needed. The company has state-of-the-art equipment such as thermal imaging cameras and moisture meters to determine the source of water damage. It also uses high-powered dehumidifiers and large air movers to reduce drying time to three days or less, in most cases. By recording
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data on each damaged area, Flood Pros can determine what progress is being made. Totally drying an area eliminates mold or other pathogenic growths from developing. For more information, visit floodpros.net or call the Rockford office at (815) 398-2379. The Janesville location is at 2811 Milton Ave. and its phone number is (608) 756-9300. ❚
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Inspiration & Worship
Our Neighbors
T
he way we treat people is far more important to God than where we were born or what positions we hold. In Luke 10:25 we read, “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘What is written in the Law?’ he [Jesus] replied. ‘How do you read it?’ He [the law expert] answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘You have answered correctly,’ Jesus replied. ‘Do this and you will live.’ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ At this point, Jesus relays a story. It’s important to understand that priests and Levites held the highest positions in his Jewish society. Samaritans, on the other hand, had been despised enemies of the Jews since ancient times. Luke 10:30-37: In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. “But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” ❚ 12
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Right in Our Region
AmeriCorps Helps to Meet Local Needs By Peggy Werner
T
here are some helping hands in our region, thanks to the federal AmeriCorps program that enables people of all ages to further personal goals while helping communities across the United States. This is the second year AmeriCorps members placed at Severson Dells Nature Center will develop education programs and nature videos, lead hikes and work with community volunteers on restoration workdays, says Ann Wasser, director at Severson Dells and an alumnus of AmeriCorps. She applied for the grant that currently supports four AmeriCorps members here; they’ll soon be joined by 10 more in the summer. “I absolutely love the AmeriCorps program because it provides extra support to do more of everything we do while providing hands-on professional experience to the members,” Wasser says. The AmeriCorps members assigned
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to Severson Dells are also working at Boone County Conservation District, Forest Preserves of Winnebago County, DeKalb Forest Preserve and Natural Land Institute. They’ve also helped with youth development at Rockford YMCA and Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois. AmeriCorps places 270,000 members of any age with organizations across the country each year. Members receive a modest living allowance, cash awards for education, loan deferment, professional development and an alumni network. Among the key areas of need on which they focus are education, disaster response, independent living services for seniors, food banks, opioid crisis, homelessness, military family and veterans assistance, employment skills training and environmental stewardship. Although the pandemic interrupted most planned activities at Severson Dells
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last spring, it created other opportunities for service at the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Lifescape Community Service’s Meals on Wheels program and the production of nature-event videos. “We ended up providing services we hadn’t planned on, but the results have been great during a very challenging time,” says Wasser. “I was surprised to see how many people were craving to connect with nature through digital means.” For example, annual wildflower walks were offered online last year and are still available for viewing on the Severson Dells YouTube channel, as are other nature videos. This year, Severson Dells and the Natural Land Institute will offer wildflower walks in person April through June. Registration begins April 1; go to Seversondells.org, Naturalland.org or call Severson Dells at (815) 335-2915.
Right in Our Region
Ann Wasser, director at Severson Dells
In addition to supporting programs at the nature center, members have also started teaching at the Fairgrounds Boys and Girls Club, 609 Kilburn Ave., a continuation of a program that was developed in 2019 by former AmeriCorps members. Rockford native Julie Uram, 23, (pictured on cover) is among the AmeriCorps members working at Severson Dells. “This position seemed like a great opportunity for me to apply what I studied in college, while learning more about what I want to do for a career and giving back to the community that raised me,” she says.
Uram coordinates 815 Outside, organizes and leads hikes and manages social media and the newsletter. She began last May and will finish this coming August. Uram learned about AmeriCorps from a college advisor at Drake University, where she graduated in May 2020 with a B.A. in Environmental Science and is working toward a Master of Arts in Strategic Communications. “My personal passion is to make our community healthier,” she says. “As an AmeriCorps member, I hope I can inspire people to get outside and appreciate the abundant natural areas we have here.” Uram is helping to develop an 815 Outside initiative called Nature Prescription, which will work with local healthcare systems to get people outdoors to improve their physical, mental and emotional health. “Even those who like the outdoors may not know about all the options we have in Winnebago County, or may hesitate to go out alone,” says Uram. “815
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Outside is working to build up resources and programming so that anyone in the area who wants to get outside can do so safely and confidently.” Wasser served with AmeriCorps while earning her Master’s degree. “I grew up loving the outdoors and I think every kid should spend as much time as they can in nature because it’s a great natural learning lab,” she says. Wasser has been the director at Severson Dells since December 2016. She applied for the AmeriCorps grant in 2018 and recruited her first AmeriCorps volunteers in 2019. Her plan is to apply for the grant every year to keep the program going at the nature center. A bi-partisan bill pending in Congress, sponsored by U.S Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Roger Wicker (RMiss.), would dramatically expand AmeriCorps. The senators believe it’s ideally suited to help the country recover from many challenges posed by the aftermath of COVID-19. ❚
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