QC, THAT'S WHERE!
QC, THAT'S WHERE!
'QC, That's Where' we're nurturing tomorrow's leaders today
Rene Gellerman, President and CEO of United Way, joins us to share the inspiring journey behind her new book, "Adventures of Kids United: The Glass Bridge." Her personal story translates into a powerful narrative about five children discovering their unique superpowers. Through the lens of the iconic Sky Bridge (located in Davenport, Iowa in real life), Rene paints a vibrant picture of potential when community support meets youthful curiosity and talent.
This episode digs into the heart of empowering young minds through literacy and community engagement. We discuss United Way's dedicated initiatives, like distributing books to thousands of second graders and involving middle school students in meaningful conversations about their educational experiences. Our conversation highlights the transformative impact of giving children a voice and the tools they need to thrive in their educational journey, particularly following pandemic-related challenges.
We round out our conversation by exploring the vibrant cultural and educational landscape of the Quad Cities. From the lively music scene to significant community efforts funded by generous grants, the Quad Cities are a hub of opportunity and hope. Rene and I both express our dreams for a future where children are empowered to achieve their aspirations, backed by a community that believes in them. Tune in to hear how you can be part of this exciting movement that champions young dreamers and builds a brighter tomorrow.
Learn more about the programs you heard on this podcast: https://www.unitedwayqc.org/KidsUnited
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If you want to lead in any area, you have access and opportunity to do it. Here the competition is different if you're in Chicago or even Des Moines or Kansas City or St Louis. It's just different and I love that about the Quad Cities and my kids do too.
Intro:Where do you find a family of communities connected by the storied Mississippi River, where young explorers and dreamers, investors and entrepreneurs thrive? Where can you connect with real people living and creating in a place that's as genuine as it is quirky QC? That's where.
Katrina Keuning:Welcome to QC. That's where I'm Katrina, your host, and today I am with Renee Gellerman, the United Way President and CEO. Renee hello, how are you?
Rene Gellerman:Hi, katrina, I'm great Thank you.
Katrina Keuning:Thanks for joining this podcast. We were talking a little bit before we started recording and there's a lot of really important things going on that the United Way is tackling, that the United Way is tackling. Renee, you just authored your first book, Adventures of Kids United, the Glass Bridge. I want to just jump right in. Why did you write the book and how does that kind of intersect with United Way's mission in what you're trying to achieve?
Rene Gellerman:Well with my work with United Way. It's really shown me the potential that kids have when they're supported and encouraged. I happen to be a volunteer through our Read United program, so every week I go in and volunteer to read with a student for 30 minutes and I really better understood the potential that kids have, and sometimes you don't know you have potential until someone tells you that you do, and so my book is really inspired by all that. I want to bring a message to life that was fun and adventurous, the kids could relate to, while also showing them that their unique talents are really their own superpowers.
Katrina Keuning:So that's kind of what the book is about. So there's it's five kids from the Quad Cities and they all. I read the description. I haven't read the book yet, so I want to get my hands on a copy, and I've got two little boys of my own that I would love to share this with.
Rene Gellerman:I'm going to get you a copy, Katrina.
Katrina Keuning:Yes, thank you.
Rene Gellerman:Yeah, so tell me a little bit about the kids in the book without spoiling it. Well, there are five kids, and those kids are actually based on my own children. Each character in the book represents the unique talents and personalities of my own kids, and the book is really all about teaching kids that they have their own unique strengths and I call them superpowers. In the book and through the story, they work together and they learn, being kind and by believing in themselves that they can overcome any obstacle, and so I think the story is really a fun and engaging way for kids to learn that life skills that they need to grow up to be confident leaders and change makers.
Katrina Keuning:For any Quad citizens listening. Are there any familiar landmarks, quad City-isms that appear throughout the book?
Rene Gellerman:Yeah, so not only my five kids who are raised here in the Quad Cities, but this book is actually called the Adventures of Kids United the Glass Bridge. The Glass Bridge, the inspiration was the Sky Bridge, and I know there are some you know goofy things said about the Sky Bridge, like the Sky Bridge to nowhere and stuff. But I've been around for a while so I know the history of that Sky Bridge and so it's really symbolic. There's a story story behind that. Maybe you and I can get to it, but it's the sky bridge that the kids see and they're inspired by and they find their way to the sky bridge and it's a mystery, uh bridge. They cross over and they end up opening the door at the end and they find a hovering spaceship.
Katrina Keuning:Oh, that's my kind of book. I love it. Yeah, the Sky Bridge to kind of go on that topic briefly, the Sky Bridge is quite an asset here and I know what you're saying. There's there is some like chitter chatter about what is it and you know the purpose behind it and that kind of thing which I would. I want to hear your, your take on it and what you know, because what I know, when I was like a very young teen, I believe, my family was from here and I did not live here yet in the Quad Cities and I would come and I remember my cousin told me about the Sky Bridge that had just finished building in Davenport and she's like I have to take you to go see the Sky Bridge.
Katrina Keuning:It's colorful, you can, it's a lookout, you can see the whole town. Come with me and see it. And so it was an adventure. We went. I'd never seen it before, I'd never seen anything like it before, never seen it before, I'd never seen anything like it before, and we really loved it and we had a great time.
Katrina Keuning:And you know, as the years have gone on, I mean it's it's become not only like a visual asset, it's kind of like a recognizable feature of our community, our Quad Cities, but it's also been used. It's been programmed. I mean Alternating Currents uses it and it's like I said it's it's a lookout, it's kind of a cool. It's kind of a cool asset visually for people to go hey, you can, you can climb up in there and you can look this way, you can look that way, you can get some great photography. I've seen some really great photography out of that bridge. So it is a cultural asset. It's something that we like to, you know, look at as far as like our arts and culture scene too. It's, it's an art piece, if nothing else.
Katrina Keuning:I'd love to hear the background of it too.
Rene Gellerman:Well, it's iconic and it's used for event. You know special events I have exercised in that sky bridge, gone up and down the steps on both sides, walk across stretch, so there's homecoming pictures are taken in that sky bridge. It's iconic. But the back history and why it's included in my book, beyond this iconic and recognizable structure, is the symbolism that relates to the theme of the book. So that sky bridge really was the result of a small group of people, regular people like you and me, who cared about their community, and they came together and talked about how do we make our downtown better? And this small group of people really were the drivers of the creation of the sky bridge and they had to, as part of the referendum funding, the state funding from the state of Iowa for River Vision. That actually was the funding that helped create the Figge Art Museum, the redevelopment and the rehab of the Redstone Building, which is where Common Core is located, and that Sky Bridge was all part of this and it is a lookout point.
Rene Gellerman:It's magnificent views of the Mississippi River, right where the Mississippi turns. You can see both directions. And it means a lot to me because I was around in sort of this community service role and I worked at the chamber at the time when all this happened so to see the community come together, just residents who care about the future of their region, they care about quality of life. They understood the economic ripple effect that development would have on the Mississippi River. I think that bridge is so symbolic that I wanted to use it as part of my story and I know kids won't know that, but for me I wanted to connect it and honestly I'm paying tribute to those people. I know a lot of the people that really were on the forefront of that first round of rehabilitation and enhancing of our downtown Davenport.
Katrina Keuning:And the fact that you were able to work in rotation and enhancing of our downtown Davenport and the fact that you were able to work in an asset and a piece of the community that, like adults, will know. Like you said, the kids don't know but the adults do, and I think half of the psychology of getting a children's book in somebody's hand is trying to appeal to their parents too, so that they'll pick it up and go. Hey, I know that thing. Let's take a look at this. And this book is driving a much larger purpose, and would you talk to us about the initiative with getting these books into the hands of as many second graders as possible?
Rene Gellerman:Yes, I'd love to. So at Unite Away, we really mobilize people and resources so that everyone can thrive, and we focus in three very specific areas, and that would be youth opportunity and education. The second one is financial security and workforce and the third one is a healthy community. And in the area of education and youth opportunity, we want to make sure that the Quad Cities is the best it can be, so every kid has an opportunity to be successful at whatever they want to do, and literacy is a core piece of that. So you look across the globe and reading proficiency. There's a milestone it's third grade, that up until third grade, kids are learning to read, and then at third grade that up until third grade, kids are learning to read, and then at third grade, they have to read to be able to learn. And so we work really closely with all of our school districts in Scott County and Rock Island County to identify challenges that we're seeing in the schools and opportunities, and literacy is one of those opportunities.
Rene Gellerman:The pandemic really dampened the progress of kids academically everywhere.
Rene Gellerman:But what makes the Quad Cities different is that we do have these key leaders.
Rene Gellerman:All these superintendents are actually working together across cities, across the region and this is really unusual we're actually contacted frequently to kind of describe the model and use it as a best practice across the Quad City or across the country, and we really land on literacy being a key milestone that we want to work hard at improving in the Quad Cities. So the book really is to shine a light and raise awareness of the importance of reading proficiency. It's the biggest indicator whether somebody is going to graduate from high school. It's the biggest indicator on their lifetime earnings. It's the biggest indicator of whether they're going to change a generation trajectory if they come from a lower income poverty area, and so we've got this big focus on it. And so we're trying to sell enough books and raise enough money that we can put this book into the hands of 3000 second graders, that's every second grader in the Quad Cities. All the proceeds from the sale of this book I am donating back to United Way to fund literacy programs.
Katrina Keuning:And those literacy programs like I didn't know until today when I started looking at unitedwayqcorg to see those stats. I mean it's staggering. You know the fact that you put it into words as far as third before third grade, you learn to read. Third before third grade, you learn to read. And after you read, to learn, that's. That's so eye opening. And that that second grade mark, what? What is it? So 75% of students who struggle in third grade will continue to struggle into high school.
Rene Gellerman:Well, it makes sense. If you can't read well, it's hard to comprehend what you're learning.
Katrina Keuning:Absolutely, and so it's like you and others who are behind you in this. You know Kids United literacy effort. You've identified the key time to get those. You know get those books in kids' hands. You know second grade and earlier devoting the time talking about it. You know getting everybody on board and aware. I love that you and your team are being like thought leaders and and leaders in the country of how to tackle this problem, because it's not just a Quad Cities problem. You know it's something that the entire nation.
Rene Gellerman:Yeah, it really is and the fact that we do have people here in the Quad Cities that are activating to address this. Not only are we just doing this book, but right now we have about 800 people in the Quad Cities that meet with a student kindergarten through fourth grade every week for 30 minutes to read with them, to help them get caught up. We've improved reading proficiency about 15% since 2021. And so we have a community that cares about their kids. We want to be a standout community that prioritizes education and people are willing to give their time, talent and their money to help us, you know, improve those conditions for our kids.
Katrina Keuning:But Quad Cities can be positioned as such a powerhouse, given that we are along two states.
Katrina Keuning:We kind of get the benefits and perks of, you know the Iowa side, the Illinois side and these, you know five plus dozens of smaller communities all working together as one larger, like I said, powerhouse really. I mean we have all of these, all this effort, all these minds, you know initiatives like what you're doing, all together for the benefit of this by-state community. Can you talk a little bit about? You know just the benefits of having that Iowa and that Illinois. You know kind of give and take working together, collaborating.
Rene Gellerman:Yeah, I think you know, for someone who lives here, you have these unique characteristics of these different communities and you can decide what you want to live in, sort of the culture that you want for your community, which I think is fabulous, related to my work and you look about at education. You know, with communities that have one school district it would probably be easier to kind of align efforts and resources. But the benefit we have is when you have we have eight major school districts in Scott and Rock Island County when we can bring all those school districts together to talk about their challenges and their opportunities. Sometimes they're a little bit different, so they might be a challenge in one state and more of an opportunity in the other. It's an opportunity. It's a situation where people can talk about best practices and share them, and they do that in this region and we see that we also see in my work, and it's not just in education. We also, as I mentioned, we work in workforce and financial security and health too. But stakeholders in this space that are really trying to improve lives, give a hand up in situations, really understand that all boats will rise, and so we have superintendents and leaders in this community that realize that we may need to invest more in one area of our region versus the other on a particular initiative, because we need that boat to rise in that space. I think that's a real asset.
Rene Gellerman:One of the unique things that United Way has been able to create related to back to education is this education council, which has those superintendents.
Rene Gellerman:We have business leaders on that education council, we have other funders on that council and we have an agreement where all academic records from public schools goes into a data warehouse at St Ambrose University. So now we bring in St Ambrose University asa partner too to analyze the student data, to tell us where we are in different milestones of achievement, so that we can be faster and more nimble than any other region that doesn't have that kind of asset. Because what you otherwise would have to do Katrina is you really have to wait until the state gets all their reports and then they report them back out which is great, but that is probably an 18-month lag back out, which is great, but that is probably an 18-month lag. But here in the Quad Cities we're able to assess that quickly and we did that during COVID with the pandemic, and we were able to be very flexible and nimble, and immediately, as soon as we could, we got volunteers in the schools to start helping kids get back on track.
Katrina Keuning:And so one of the other like challenges that you guys have identified is the attendance. The attendance issue and you know, again, that's that's something that I think families and kids see and struggle with throughout the country. So here in the Quad Cities, you know, trying to talk to kids that are in the school system you mentioned, before we started this podcast, middle schoolers, getting their input and letting them be part of the solution Can you kind of talk about that goal and how you guys are working to tackle that?
Rene Gellerman:Yeah, you know you can turn on the news or pick up any newspaper across the country and you're going to read or hear about the challenges that our students are facing. You hear a lot more about mental health issues and attendance is an issue, like you said, across the globe and it really has gotten worse since the pandemic. And you can Google why is attendance increasing and you can find out all these reasons. And if you ask parents or counselors or teachers, all those reasons that you've Googled are you're going to see. But what we thought we would do here is how do we put our middle school students in a position to shape any solutions that may be needed to improve attendance or improve their school experiences, and we wanted to give them the opportunity to really leverage their own power, and so we are coordinating what we're calling student voices. And, if you remember, back several years ago, our region did an initiative called the Quad Cities Big Table.
Katrina Keuning:I was just thinking that that's so funny that popped into my head.
Rene Gellerman:Yeah, it was so successful. We had 5,000 people that got together on one day, and so Student Voices is really modeled at the Big Table. So today, this week, we're at 13 middle schools and 1,000 kids are around tables 10 kids to a table. We have volunteers that volunteered, about 100 volunteers that are facilitating a conversation, asking sixth, seventh and eighth graders what matters to them, what are the challenges they see in their school.
Rene Gellerman:But we also want to make sure that we're not just creating lists for community leaders or teachers or schools to do so. We're asking them what can you do as a student in the school? What would you be willing to do? What could you do, either individually or with a group of friends, to improve school? And I'm so excited we were partnering also with Western Illinois University. Who's going to analyze that data for us? I'm excited to see what the kids come up with. Analyze that data for us. I'm excited to see what the kids come up with. And on our side, you know we've been raising money to help fund this initiative, because we're really looking for some key themes that we can help realize and maybe even involve some middle school students to help realize some of those solutions that they come up with.
Katrina Keuning:They are like the next generation coming up and I don't know if it's the end of Gen Z or the upcoming of Gen Alpha, but they are like the most creative and funny and just wise like kids that I've ever seen and I'm really excited to see what you guys come up with, what they come up with. Do you have any projection of when that data, when those answers, will be available for people to check out?
Rene Gellerman:We're aiming for the end of January, first part of February.
Katrina Keuning:That's great and, like you said, the speed that you guys are able to work within, instead of sending it off to your state whatever and waiting for a year and a half for anything to happen.
Katrina Keuning:So cool. I mean the assets and that's one of the things you know you've mentioned that you guys are working with Western, you worked with Ambrose like the higher ed sphere of the Quad Cities is enormous and that's one thing that I see just like anecdotally and that's one thing that I see just like anecdotally people like teens that come here for college. A lot of times they end up staying. They're not from here, but they came and they found work or they just liked it or you know people coming to the Quad Cities and just having that good experience as an adult and then kind of leaking that down into the middle school age, trying to foster your voice matters. Here's what's happening in our community, you know, bringing people up to be part of the Quad Cities so that they stay and it's not like a I mean sometimes a boomerang situation happens but I think the more stock you give somebody at a young age, the more they're going to hold on to that and really grow up feeling that ownership. You know.
Rene Gellerman:I think you're so right. We have a magnificent, diverse post-secondary education system, lots of opportunities, options, depending on what you're interested in. They also sit on our education council, as do the trades and unions. I keep talking about the education council but it's such a valuable asset and it's coveted across the country and I've realized in my time I've been at United Way for five years we haven't done enough to recognize the investment these individuals have put into our system and they come up with innovative interventions.
Rene Gellerman:Like you know, this focus on literacy or their student voices. And when you talk about college students wanting to stay here, not only can we embed that as kids are growing up and letting them know that we do care about them, we give their voice a platform and all of that. But I don't know if I was in college and I knew that my community cared so much about kids that they did all this work, that our kids were a priority and education was a priority, I'd want to stay here too. I'd want to raise my kids here. I want my kids to grow up in a place where people care about them, and I think these kinds of investments of time and people putting their reputation on the line, for some of this programming would inspire others to stay here and live in the Quad Cities.
Katrina Keuning:And taking off your United Way hat. You've got five kids of your own you mentioned. So kudos to you for choosing to, you know, raise them here and get them involved here. Why, you know? Why did you? What was the? What was the reason that you said the Quad Cities is the place for me to raise my family?
Rene Gellerman:Yeah, Well, a few things. I came to the Quad Cities for education. I come from a very dysfunctional childhood. I had lots of newspaper in my local community and there was a little ad in the newspaper the size of a business card that said Blackhawk College was accepting letters of interest for scholarships. So I wrote a letter, not having any idea what I was doing. Make a long story short they sent me back a letter and gave me a $600 scholarship. I didn't know that $600,. They sent me back a letter and gave me a $600 scholarship. I didn't know that $600,. They probably offered everyone $600.
Rene Gellerman:I'm not sure, but I thought I was very special and so I moved to the Quad Cities. So that is a link that really is really important to me. So it's probably one of the main reasons why I stayed here, because I had opportunity here and I saw different potential here and it broke kind of my paradigms of the way that I grew up. But then my career just took off. I think in the Quad Cities there's just so much opportunity to get plugged into the community and to make a difference. So either you do it to your job I'm lucky to be able to do that for my job, but I haven't always had a job like that. But I've been able to find opportunities to connect and make a difference, even though I wasn't working for like a nonprofit, like UniteAway. And if you want to lead in any area, you have access and opportunity to do it here. The competition is different if you're in Chicago or even Des Moines or Kansas City or St Louis. It's just different.
Rene Gellerman:And I love that about the Quad Cities, and my kids do too. One of our kids is a boomerang, lived in Chicago for eight years and he's back in the Quad Cities and he loves it. He's involved in all kinds of things and he's really making his way, having able to influence different programs and initiatives on a volunteer basis, being successful in business. I think that that is the big big thing. And then the other you know it's affordable. You know it's very affordable for our kids to live here and for us.
Rene Gellerman:And you know you can't ever forget about the Mississippi River. Sometimes I think we take it for granted, but it is world renowned. People come. I know you know this better than I do, katrina, but people come here just to dip their toe in the Mississippi River or to go on the Sky Bridge and look at it, or cross the iconic I-74 Bridge there's not another one like it in the whole world Another project that inspires me that that project got done, and so there's all kinds of reasons to stay here, and so there's all kinds of reasons to stay here.
Katrina Keuning:That is so interesting. So you are one of the real world stories of somebody who came here for, you know, a college or an opportunity. You know a college experience or an opportunity and you stayed and you know you found the Quad Cities was going to be the best, the best place to call home.
Rene Gellerman:Yes.
Katrina Keuning:I love that. We do see that all the time and, like you said, visitors come in and they want to know, you know what, what can we do while we're in town, whether you know, coming to our destination centers. We love to just have that conversation with people because it allows us to ask the question well, what are you interested in? And then we can kind of dive down into the specifics and you know, we, you know, being this, this bi-state market, where we have the natural asset of the Mississippi River and the innovation of things like the I-74 pedestrian access bridge, we can find something for everyone and it is such a blessing to be able to live in that space. And, like you said, it's easy to take for granted. So to remind ourselves in conversations, even like this, or, you know, listening to this podcast, of all the things that are at our fingertips, and not take for granted, but to take advantage of it while we're here and it's literally in our backyard, it's, it's so we're so fortunate to have that opportunity.
Rene Gellerman:We are All of our arts and culture. You know emerging musicians and blues. You know the parades of Mercado on Fifth. That was just extraordinary.
Katrina Keuning:Yes.
Rene Gellerman:Bix. You know the Bix actually this year partnered with us, united Way. So here we have a running organization partnered with United Way because they were really trying to find a way to activate more young people into the race. Yeah, and they wanted to get to kids who maybe wouldn't necessarily be able to because they didn't have the shoes. So they partnered with us and we were able to connect them with kids that really needed good quality shoes. So those kids got to participate in the Vicks for the very first time and you know it was just fabulous. But all of these the you know John Deere classic or the stuff's going on at TBK, there are lots of things to do, whether you're a visitor or just living here. All these assets are great exposure and gives you something to do on the weekends and really makes me really proud to live here.
Katrina Keuning:What is like? What is your ideal weekend of Quad City? Things you know, like a place to eat, a thing to do, what's your go-to?
Rene Gellerman:Well, I hate to say one place where I go to eat oh my gosh, somebody's going to get mad at me, it is hard.
Rene Gellerman:Yes, yes. Well, I think most people see my husband and I at Monarch a lot. It's not too far from our house, it's very convenient, it's local, they have great service there you can't. The food is fabulous and easy to park and all that stuff. So I guess I would say Monarch is one of our staples. My husband and I are big music fan. I have for years and years, and my music taste has evolved over the years, but we still enjoy alternating currents. So proud of the downtown partnership that really came up with that idea and they stuck with it through tough times and it was amazing. Now a bi-state regional arts, culture, comedy, all that stuff we love, but music is a real thing. So we'll go anywhere from. We love the grape life where you just have like a one or two person music, or we'll go down to Common Chord to listen to something, or we might end up at the Adler or the Capitol Theater to hear some great music as well, or a big concert over at the Mark.
Katrina Keuning:Yes, all great things. And yeah, like I shared earlier, I have two young sons, so you know pre-kids, you know going to the Adler and you know things like the Capitol are super fun and Redstone Room, that kind of thing. My husband's a musician so I'm definitely interested in the like local music scene and now with the boys, I find one of my favorite things to do is to take them to Tangled Wood during the summer because they do those Friday night concerts and there's just like room to run, you know.
Rene Gellerman:Yes, it's fabulous back there, yeah.
Katrina Keuning:That's what I love. I love the. You know the diverse opportunities and experiences that you know we're offering to our kids and you know, hey, you can't, you can't go and sit in a bar or a cocktail lounge at age four, but we can take you to Tangledwood and get you an experience of music really young, at an age appropriate place.
Rene Gellerman:So they've got that big screen back there too, and so we've gone there actually to watch baseball games. Oh, yeah, yeah. So on Sundays they'll have the games playing. So it's fabulous there.
Katrina Keuning:Opportunities are endless and so so kids united um. Circling back to to your book, um. Walk me through the the how to um. How are we? How are we getting our hands on the book? How are we distributing Um? How do we meet this goal of getting 3000 kids this book? How are we distributing? How do we meet this goal of getting 3,000 kids this book?
Rene Gellerman:Well, I'm grateful to have the opportunity to talk about it. The book is one piece of a whole bigger literacy campaign. We're really raising money as well. We have a goal to raise $200,000 so that we can accelerate some interventions and programs. But the book if somebody. Holidays are coming up, I hope people pick up the book for gifts at Christmas. It's a feel-good book with a great message, I think, and they can buy it at unitedwayqcorg or any online bookstore or they can contribute to our campaign. And the other thing is we're still looking for volunteers who will read, sit with the child, listen to them, read once a week for 30 minutes. It's so easy and it builds confidence in this child and gives them an opportunity to practice.
Katrina Keuning:Well, I really appreciate that. You know you're here kind of talking about and leading the efforts and you know, combating the literacy issues here, kind of talking about and leading the efforts and, you know, combating the literacy issues that everybody is facing. So really excited for this project, definitely want to help be part of the solution here. And is there, is there anything else people can look forward to as far as what Kids United is is up to over the next, you know, six 12 months?
Rene Gellerman:We're going to do in March is Dr Seuss's birthday, and so we're going to do a big reading week across the Quad Cities.
Rene Gellerman:We're going to ask celebrities and regular people like me to participate and just go in and make a statement and really promote reading proficiency.
Rene Gellerman:The other thing that I think might be interesting, that I feel like I'd be really remiss if I didn't mention, because we recently received a million dollar grant, a challenge grant, from the Balmer Group, and so it's money that's coming from outside the Quad Cities to inside our region to really to be used to remove the barriers that our kids are facing to be successful in school, and so we announced this a few weeks ago, and we have a program called United for Schools and it's in Title I campuses, which are low-income schools, and it's really all about activating the community in the school.
Rene Gellerman:We're serving as sort of a concierge to provide community resources inside the buildings to the children and the families, and I think it's another thing that differentiates our region from other communities that we're actually doing this public-private partnership right in our school buildings, because we cannot leave the future of our kids just to the schools, the teachers. It really requires all hands on deck, and I'm proud of our United for Schools program. I'd encourage people to go to our website and read about that as well. But really, as a region, we should be celebrating. We qualified for a million-dollar grant to help more of our kids be successful, not only in school, but in life.
Katrina Keuning:That is huge and, as a mother kind of starting to navigate the school systems, that has me so excited and really hopeful for what's to come for my boys. So that's so exciting and thank you for again helping to lead the charge in this. So I'll make sure to link the website in the description of this podcast. So, whatever platform you're listening to, go ahead and check the description. So unitedwayqcorg slash kids united is going to be probably your base place to start diving into all this information. I saw that the the book is for sale on. You know it's going to be probably your base place to start diving into all this information. I saw that the book is for sale on. You know it's easy to get. It's on Amazon. I saw it on other places, so it's definitely easy to get your hands on. So thank you again, renee, and per tradition on this podcast, I would love to have you fill in the blank QC. That's where.
Rene Gellerman:Well, I have to stick with the theme of my, my book. So I'm going to say QC, that's where kids have the power to make their dreams come true.
Katrina Keuning:I love it. Thank you so much for your time today, I wishing you all the best in this and looking forward to seeing what's ahead for kids United.
Rene Gellerman:Thank you so much, katrina, it was fun.
Outro:Thanks for listening to QC. That's when a podcast powered by Visit Quad Cities Text VISITQC to 38314 for insider events, activities and updates sent straight to your phone. That's V-I-S-I-T-Q-C, one word to 38314. Message and data rates may apply.
