We’re all in this together. This summer’s storms that hit Iowa caused mass devastation. In the course of just a few weeks people lost their entire livelihoods. Homes. Businesses. Crops. All gone. As a local business with employees who live and work right in these communities, Mediacom felt compelled to get involved in the recovery efforts. "Our hearts went out to the residents and the businesses that were just ruined in the flooding" said Ed Pardini, Mediacom’s Senior Vice President of the North Central Division.

From simple grass-roots donation drives to full-fledged celebrity events, Mediacom to date has raised almost $200,000 for local area flood relief. Most recently, Mediacom teamed up with the University of Iowa and the Big Ten Network to bring in Olympic gold medalist and hometown hero Shawn Johnson along with Iowa’s own actor/producer Ashton Kutcher to headline events in Iowa City to aid in the relief effort.

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Shawn Johnson, who's gym in West Des Moines suffered the effects of flood damage, felt especially close to the cause. She signed autographs and posed for pictures with local fans at a Meet and Greet event with proceeds going to support Mediacom’s Make a Difference campaign.

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Though he’s a Hollywood Star, Ashton Kutcher still calls Eastern Iowa home. And like he said, “There’s a difference between a neighbor in Iowa and a neighbor in anywhere else in the country, a neighbor in Iowa – when you need help they help." And that’s exactly what Ashton did. People purchased raffle tickets to win a chance to personally meet Ashton at the premiere of his new movie, Personal Effects, shown at The Englert Theater in Iowa City.