St. Charles mayoral candidate John Rabchuk issued the following news release:
Community volunteers are a critical component of the fabric that makes St. Charles "the number one place for families" per Family Circle magazine. It is often difficult for someone interested in contributing to our volunteer infrastructure to find a place where their particular skills and available time are matched to a community need. This can include Eagle scouts attempting to identify the community project required for their certification, National Honor Society high school students seeking to earn community service hours, or senior citizens seeking daily fulfillment without the pressures of employment.
Over the past twenty years, I have devoted hundreds of man hours as a volunteer to a variety of civic boards and organizations within the St. Charles community. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve St. Charles as chairman of the 708 Mental Health Board, chairman of the committee that designed the plaza and public spaces for the First Street Development, treasurer of the River Corridor Foundation and additionally as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society, Special Olympics and LivingWell Cancer Resource Center. I have enjoyed my service to my community and take great pride in playing a role in the accomplishments of these groups.
To develop and enhance this important aspect of our city, as your mayor, I will establish STC Corps. STC Corps will match local resources with local projects and needs. STC Corps will be managed and operated entirely by volunteers, and provide a way to give back to our community. The city will provide basic oversight and resources such as office space, telephone and IT services, but no funding. It will serve as a public bulletin board of projects and tasks that can benefit our community. This might include river bank clean-up efforts, identifying residents that could use a helping hand in maintaining their residences or neighborhood walk-abouts with city officials to pinpoint neighborhood issues. It might also include opportunities to join civic task forces or committees such as the Youth Commission, the Planning Commission or the Kiwanis Day in the Park.
Similarly, STC Corps will serve as a registry for individuals and groups looking for a place and method to volunteer in their community. Individuals with extra time due to retirement or changing employment situations, church youth groups and service groups such as the Key Club or the Leos are just a few examples of volunteers looking for an project for which STC Corps could serve as a coordinator.
An additional goal of STC Corps is providing a methodology to integrate and involve our youth with our community by providing them with meaningful ways to contribute and learn while instilling the spirit of Charlemagne. It is important to all of us that the youth of "the number one city to raise families" want to stay and raise their own families in the community that they have helped build.
STC Corps will serve as an integral component of the civic infrastructure in St. Charles, providing benefits to both those who give and those that need, while helping to enhance the vibrancy and health of our community.
