Vennard Alumni News and Events

www.vcaa.net

What does your Vennard College Alumni Association do?

Support our Association and Scholarships

You can donate by Credit Card, Paypal, Venmo, Text or Check

Online: For Credit Card, Paypal or Venmo CLICK HERE

or scan the QR code, and tap the givebutter link

Text: text VCAA to (202) 858-1233 (you'll be texted a link for payment)

For Checks: make payable to Vennard College Alumni Association

mail to: Prudy Olson, attn. VCAA, PO Box 255, University Park, IA 52595

WELCOME to the

Vennard College Alumni Association (VCAA) 2020 Fall Campaign

PAYING IT FORWARD

If you have been following the VCAA website you realize one of our goals is to raise scholarship funds for family members of CEI/Vennard College alumni who are attending college, post-graduate or continuing education programs. If you are new to the vcaa.net website, this will introduce you to one of the many reasons VCAA is continuing to move forward.

What many or our alumni do not realize: one of the many goals of the institution was to raise 40% to 60% of the tuition and fees each student had to pay to attend college. This effort continued throughout the ministry of CEI/Vennard; funds were raised from college alumni and friends.

From 1973 through 1987 (14 years) a major effort was made to raise much needed funding to offset tuition and fees (between $250k & $300k each year) and to meet the needs of a growing student population which included renovating aging buildings, increasing room for instruction, student housing, building a library/research facility, and the dedication of Memorial Hall which housed the dining hall, book store, and student center.

The ministry of Vennard College grew with the student population. Music Teams traveled throughout the history of CEI/Vennard College. During this era Outreach Ministries were added which included Student Pastors, Sunday School/Youth Ministries, Drama Teams, Puppet Ministry, Summer Camp Teams, Athletic Teams and more.

These ministries were vessels the Holy Spirit used in winning many to Christ, helping others as they grew in their Christian experience, and aided in the training of those who would enter Christian ministry after leaving the college - both in professional ministry and in para-church ministries.

In order to raise the necessary funds for tuition & fees and building needs, a Development Team was created and charged with the task of raising several million dollars during this era. This began the era of the Dinner Rally tours. This task included hours of planning an itinerary that would cover a large portion of the US.

In those 14 years of travel the Dinner Rally teams traveled over 161,000 miles or a distance of almost 6.5 times around the world. Over 400 Dinners Rallies took place with an estimated attendance over 24,000 people. And on Sundays and Wednesdays while traveling, services were held in the cities the tour was passing through. Hundreds, if not thousands, of lives were touched through the ministry of the Dinner Rally Team.

PAYING IT FORWARD: VCAA is continuing the ministry of the college. One form of ministry is directed toward family members whose relatives attended CEI/Vennard College. The Iowa campus closed but the ministry will continue to live on and grow. For the last nine years, Vennard alumni and friends have donated to a scholarship fund set up for students whose family attended CEI/Vennard. To date 40 scholarships have been given to recipients attending 21 different schools in 23 different fields of study.

We found, traveling around the country, that the ministry of CEI/Vennard was not confined to the 70-acre campus in Iowa. The ministry extended thousands of miles around the world while touching scores of lives. This ministry continues through the information shared on our web site and our Facebook and Instagram pages.

The Vennard Alumni Association Board of Directors ask you this year to consider

PAYING IT FORWARD.

We ask you to take a moment and pray for the families who touched your life then and now.

We ask you to consider helping the ministry continue by PAYING IT FORWARD.

And may God continue to bless you in your life and ministry,

Sincerely,

The Vennard Alumni Association Board of Directors