Community Shred Day raises more than $2.3K for Newton lunch balances

Community Shred Day hadn’t even officially started and yet residents were already lining up outside Advantage Credit Union in Newton to properly discard sensitive documents. Jeff Holschuh, vice president of business services and marketing, recalled seeing almost a dozen cars queued outside the credit union.

“It’s always been good but this year’s was really good,” he said. “… This year at precisely 9 o’clock is when it started. That means people generally show up 20 minutes earlier and get in line. When it started we probably had 10 to 12 cars in the credit union parking lot, occupying a fair amount of West Fourth Street North.”

Which immediately made Holschuh nervous. He thought the congested traffic could catch the attention of local police officers. Thankfully, the shred process was quick. Advantage Credit Union has been organizing this community event enough times now to have an efficient system in place.

“You literally pull up, open your trunk. You don’t have to get out. We just grab stuff and start going,” Holschuh said of Community Shred Day, which took place June 22 and featured school district volunteers. “We did over 4,000 pounds this year. So we did over two tons of shred. It was the most that we’ve ever done.”

While the shred truck eviscerated documents, Advantage Credit Union was also soliciting donations to go toward Newton schools. In the past, the credit union has accepted donations for other community-based programs and organizations. This year the money collected would go towards deficit lunch balances.

Holschuh presented the $2,376.50 check to the Newton school board during its July 8 meeting. Of that total, about $1,000 was from Advantage Credit Union. The rest was donations received during Community Shred Day, which has been a regularly scheduled event for the past three or four years.

Previous reports by Newton News show the district had more than $23,000 in deficit lunch balances. Some of the overdue lunch balances — and equipment and textbook fees — were so high this year the district took at least 20 families to small claims court to recoup their costs.

According to the Iowa Department of Education, more than 54 percent of students in the Newton Community School District in the 2023-2024 school year are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The need is so great that Emerson Hough Elementary and WEST Academy offer free meals for its students.

Holschuh said Advantage Credit Union appreciated the opportunity to partner with the school district and give back to the community in some way. Newton Superintendent Tom Messinger was complimentary of the event and he spoke highly of Holschuh, who he called a true “school supporter.”