1000 Books Before Kindergarten

Hedrick Public Library has started 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten! It is a free, self-paced program that encourages parents and guardians to reach a goal of reading 1,000 books to their children before they enter kindergarten. Rereading the same books counts towards the goal as well!

Every 100 books you and your children read together, you can come into the library and get a prize, which can include fun stickers, bookmarks, fidgets, or a free children’s book! If you’re interested, you can come in and grab a reading log sheet!

Assistance, Retirement, and Student Aid

Disaster assistance.gov 
This government site helps you determine if your address is in a declared disaster area. It also links to local FEMA and Red Cross centers.

Social Security Administration (SSA) home page 
The SSA manages social security payments, which includes retirement, disability, and survivor benefits that is paid in through a payroll tax on your wages. This page includes tools to understand your contributions so far and estimate future payments. In order to start receiving retirement benefits, like with Medicare, you need to enroll. Here is the link to the SSA online application for receiving retirement benefits.

Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application 
The FAFSA is a free student aid application managed by the U.S. Department of Education. Most colleges and universities encourage students to fill out this application as part of their process for determining finanial aid. Aid packages typically include a combination of grants (money you don't have to pay back), loans, and work-study funds.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administers all benefits for U.S. military veterans, their families, and survivors. This includes health care, educational, and burial benefits. The VA Applying for Benefits page covers the different kinds of benefits and how to apply for each.

American Association of Retired Persons

AARP is a nonprofit membership organization of persons 50 and over dedicated to addressing their needs and interests. There is information on health and legal issues, travel, money and work, family and home, fun and games, learning and technology, and issues and elections.