Iowa’s Good News of the Day

We have started doing a new segment every Friday on the K92.3 morning show where we find a good news story to share. Too often we were about all of the negative things going on in the world, so we'd like to hear about and share more stories like this! If you ever come across a good news story don't be afraid to share it with us, by messaging us on K92.3

As students at ISU file back into classrooms, now that spring break is over, there are about 40 students who had a different type of spring break experience you might normally hear from college students. They are called the Iowa State Pay it Forward group and have spent every spring break, since 2016, traveling across the country to give back. The group was started back in 2015 according to the president, Jacob Vos. Originally the group was called "Students Today, Leaders Forever"  but after dissolving back in 2018, they needed a new path, to continue their efforts to pay it forward. That was when a name change was needed.

“That’s why I really like the name Pay It Forward," Vos says. "It can really apply to everything in life, right? You can pay it forward whether it’s a small thing or big thing and so I think it’s a really good motto to have beyond the name of a club." - courtsey of cbs2iowa.com

What this group did over spring break was visit different cities, all across the country, spend mornings doing service projects, and then take a tour of the sites in each city. This year the group stopped in St Louis, Tennessee, Virginia Beach, and Washington D.C. Their projects ranged from building new enclosures for the World Bird Sanctuary, picking up trash, all the way to learning about recycling oyster shells.  President Vos says this is a memorable way to spend spring break.

“Not only are they volunteering, but they’re paying to come on this experience," he says.

To learn about ISU Pay it Forward, or to see options for you to volunteer, you can go to the ISU Pay it Forward website.