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Lt. Governor Adam Gregg inducted Kathy Waychoff into the 2022 Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame at the Iowa State Capitol building on Thursday, April 21 at 2:30pm. Kathy served as the District Volunteer Coordinator for College Community Schools for 16 years. This is the most prestigious state-level honor volunteers can receive.

Kathy Waychoff’s volunteer career began as a parent volunteer at College Community Schools and developed into one of Eastern Iowa’s biggest advocates for volunteerism. As a volunteer leader in many organizations, she has mentored both students and adults as they serve the community and become leaders themselves. Her involvement in Key Club, Gems of Hope, Leaders in Volunteerism, Catherine McAuley Center, Especially for You, the Prairie Foundation and many other organizations, where she has served as a volunteer and often as a board member, demonstrates her generosity of time that focuses on supporting people first.

Kathy served as the District Volunteer Coordinator for College Community Schools for 16 years. During her tenure, she initiated the first Key Club at Prairie High School which introduced many high school students to the importance and fulfillment of volunteering in the community. Over the years, Kathy facilitated projects that connected teenagers to local community organizations such as The Catherine McAuley Center, where they make blankets for women, children and refugees, and Families Helping Families, which serves foster families in the area. Kathy also guided students to think globally and support organizations across the world. Most notably they raised enough money for The Thirst Project to build a well at the Sikayne School in Swaziland, Africa. Many of these students continue to volunteer with the same organizations as well as serve in leadership positions in volunteer organizations at their colleges and universities and beyond.

When the 2008 floods came through Cedar Rapids, Kathy coordinated and managed the clothing and supply drive at Prairie High School that served the community utilizing the resources she had available and the contacts and experience that she has curated in a lifetime and career of serving the community on a daily basis.

As the District Volunteer Coordinator, Kathy built a culture of volunteerism and support with the students, parents and community for a school district serving over 5,800 students, at an estimated value of $180,000 each year. Her expertise in organizing and bringing people together for projects is only half of her commitment, because she is always right there working alongside volunteers on every project.

Kathy has served on the boards of Gems of Hope, the Metro America Reads Committee, Kiwanis, Fairfax Public Library, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Especially for You Race Against Breast Cancer, the National Council on Youth Leadership, Fairfax American Legion, and is a dedicated organizer of the Governor’s Volunteer Awards for Eastern Iowa. Her involvement in so many prominent community organizations in the area has forged connections and built relationships between groups that might not otherwise see their common purpose. Her connections have allowed events that she spearheads, such as America Reads and the Governor’s Volunteer Awards ceremony, to become true community events involving people from across a broad spectrum of organizations. Her relationships with leaders at United Way and Junior Achievement bring in classroom volunteers from all over Eastern Iowa.