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Schildberg Foundation Contributes to Stanton's Viking Center

Stanton Friends is pleased to announce Schildberg Foundation has made a donation of $10,000 for the Viking Center. Stanton Iowa will soon have a facility that will provide benefits for all residents in the community. The City of Stanton's Viking Center will house the Good Shepherd Preschool, Stanton Public Library, wellness center, gymnasium and a storm shelter.

The Schildberg Construction Company of Greenfield, Iowa was founded in 1937 by a great husband and wife team, E.F. and Sylvia Schildberg. They valued hard work, honesty, loyalty, and a desire to help others. The company prospered over the years and the list of employees and customers grew. E.F. and Sylvia always gave a great share of the credit for their success to these employees and customers.

On September 30, 1986 after the founding of the Schildberg Construction Company, the Schildberg Foundation was created by Sylvia Schildberg as an ongoing expression of appreciation to the people of this area. The purpose of the Foundation is to give financial assistance to non-profit, charitable, educational or other causes that better the human condition and encourage community betterment. It was the hope of both E.F. and Sylvia that in helping others the ultimate reward would be for that same dedication to be passed on to future generations.

The Schildberg Foundation directors believe in the "pass it forward" movement and their generosity goes to great lengths to prove that.

We encourage you to stay up to date on the progress of the Viking Center and it's sprint toward the finish line on this monumental effort. The most current news, fundraising tally, programming, and construction planning is at www.stantonfriends.org. For more information contact us at stantonfriends@myfmtc.com.

WASHINGTON, February 8, 2011 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of 16 projects in 10 states for funding to create jobs and provide new economic opportunities. The projects are being funded through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program (REDLG), which is administered by USDA Rural Development.

"The funding I am announcing today will help rural communities create jobs, support agricultural education, expand access to quality health care and support business development," Vilsack said. "As the President said in his State of the Union Address last week, these investments plant the seeds of progress for our country, and good-paying, private-sector jobs for the American people as we work to win the future."

The Farmers Mutual Telephone Company of Stanton — $300,000 grant to help build a multi-purpose community center which will include a preschool center, library, recreation and fitness facility and a safe shelter for residents. Hartland Power Cooperative —$740,000 loan to help fund a biodiesel refinery that will be located outside of Forest City, Iowa. This project will create an estimated 16 jobs. Linn County Rural Electric Cooperative — $300,000 grant to help finance a library expansion that will offer more educational programming and training opportunities. Sanborn Electric and Telecommunications Utility — $176,000 grant to enlarge Prairie View Home, nursing home facility. Western Iowa Telephone Association — $300,000 grant to capitalize a local revolving loan fund to help develop office space in Moville.

Stanton Iowa-On January 21, 2011, the Board of Trustees of the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust met and awarded $60,000 to be applied towards the construction of a new library in Stanton. The library will be part of the the new Viking Center, a multi-purpose building which will give new life to the area and provide benefits for all residents in the community. The 25,350 square foot Viking Center will house the Good Shepherd Preschool, Stanton Public Library, wellness center, gymnasium and a storm shelter-all of which residents feel are a priority at this time.

The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust is one of the largest private philanthropic foundations in the state of Iowa with assets of more than $250 million and annual grant distributions of over $11 million. It was created through the will of Roy J. Carver, a Muscatine industrialist and philanthropist, who died in 1981.

Since the beginning of the Trust's grant-making activities in 1987, more than $246 million has been distributed in the form of 1,900 individual grants. Biomedical and scientific research; primary, secondary and higher education; and other issues related to the needs of youth are the program areas of greatest interest to the Carver Charitable Trust.

Educated as an engineer and possessing the drive and tenacity of the classic business entrepreneur, Mr. Carver began his career in the late 1930s and 1940s making high quality contractor pumps at the Carver Pump Company in Matherville, Illinois and later in Muscatine, Iowa. In the early 1950s, he launched Carver Foundry Products to supply the molds for his pump company. Then in the late 1950s and 1960s, he started the Bandag Company in Muscatine, a business that eventually became the world's largest producer of tire retread materials and equipment for the transportation industry.

Mr. Carver had a passion for quality in all that he undertook. He had a lifelong interest in aviation and world travel, and spoke five languages fluently. He was a generous man, always willing to help people in need. He was especially interested in helping young people get a good education, as well as in supporting research activities to advance scientific knowledge and improve human health.

Mr. Carver remained active in his various businesses and philanthropic efforts until his death in 1981 at the age of 71. His commitment to youth, education and research forms the cornerstones of the Charitable Trust he established to fund these and other interests in perpetuity.