Skip to main content
I Can Succeed

Need Financial Aid? Schedule a FAFSA session with an ICAN advisor.
ICAN is now accepting appointments to help the Class of 2025, and current college students, complete the FAFSA form. Schedule an advising session today for assistance. We are here to help. Schedule Now.

 

Main Content

Kick-off Iowa College Goal Sunday Events Draw Dozens

February 16, 2009

 Kick-off Iowa College Goal Sunday Events Draw Dozens 

Students, Families Receive Free Help Filing College Financial Aid Form
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA (Feb. 16, 2009) — Eighty students planning to attend college 
this fall received free assistance filling out and filing their federal financial aid forms Saturday 
at two Des Moines–area Iowa College Goal Sunday events. 
“This is the first year for this event in Iowa, and we’re very pleased with Saturday’s turnout,” 
said Juan Garcia, the 2009 Iowa College Goal Sunday state coordinator and manager of the 
Iowa College Access Network®
 (ICAN). “We want to help as many families apply for financial 
aid as possible, especially in today’s economy.” 
The inaugural Iowa College Goal Sunday program kicked off at two locations in the Des 
Moines area – the Des Moines Public Library in downtown Des Moines and the ICAN 
College Planning Center in West Des Moines. The program is part of a nationwide 
campaign in which volunteers provide free, on-site assistance in filing the Free Application 
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The FAFSA uses income, business, investment and 
bank records to determine eligibility for aid. While critical to the financial aid process, many 
students and families find the form confusing. 
“It seems so complicated with all the numbers,” said Christine Her, a Drake University 
freshman who attended Saturday’s Iowa College Goal Sunday event. “I went the easy route. 
It’s good that there’s a group of people willing to help high school and college students fill 
out the FAFSA, and they do it for free.” FAFSA asssistance will be available at four additional locations later this month. On 
Saturday, Feb. 21, families may attend Iowa College Goal Sunday at Indian Hills Community 
College in Ottumwa and at the University of Northern Iowa Center for Urban Education in 
Waterloo. The following Saturday, Feb. 28, Iowa College Goal Sunday will be held at Iowa 
Western Community College in Council Bluffs and at Western Iowa Tech Community 
College in Sioux City. All events run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are free. More information is 
available online at www.IowaCGS.org. 
Garcia advises students to file the FAFSA even if they don’t think they’ll qualify for aid. 
“Besides the federal government, states and schools look at the FAFSA to determine if they 
can help students with grants and scholarships,” he said. 
Chris Anderson of Pleasantville, who has a son attending a California community college 
and a daughter entering college this fall, agreed. “You never know. My kids probably won’t 
receive financial aid, but I think it’s important to fill it out every year.” Anderson received help 
with her children’s FAFSA forms at Saturday’s Iowa College Goal Sunday event. 
Iowa College Goal Sunday is part of the national College Goal Sunday program funded by 
grants from Lumina Foundation for Edcuation. Several Iowa organizations have partnered to 
plan and implement the event, including the Des Moines Schools GEAR UP program, Iowa 
Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Iowa College Access Network, Iowa 
College Student Aid Commission, Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Dollars for Scholars, 
Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates, Iowa TRIO programs and Scholarship America. College 
Goal Sunday events are often held on Saturdays, despite the program’s name, to better fit 
family schedules.

 

« Back

© 2025I Can Succeed. All rights reserved.