Rebecca McCarty: Her heart is in helping young people, promoting the arts

McCarty, 38, has been named to the 2022 class of 20 Under 40. It’s easy to see why.

“Rebecca is involved in so many different areas of community service to the Cedar Valley,” said Katie Sires, who nominated her for the award. “Not only does she do great work for the Boys & Girls Clubs, she also announces for the Waterloo Black Hawks, is on the Cedar Falls Rotary Club board, volunteers for both the Waterloo and Cedar Falls community theaters and volunteers her time dressing up as different superheroes for Heroes for Hope. Rebecca is also a loyal supporter and advocate for local business, live music and continued growth in the Cedar Valley.”

McCarty is director of mission engagement at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley.

She has her heart in many places, but her favorites are helping young people and promoting the arts. Her career and volunteer commitments allow her to do both.

“It’s about listening and helping youth develop,” she said. “If we choose to invest in youth we can build a lot of bridges.”

A lifelong fan of comic books, McCarty was approached by a local comic book store owner to volunteer with Heroes for Hope, an organization that promotes childhood literacy. To encourage children to read, she dresses up as Super Girl in the hopes of inspiring kids to share her love for reading.

“Literacy for kids? Yes!” she said. “Getting kids to read is a really big deal.”

McCarty as Super Girl also helped to bring joy to children in the burn unit at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Before the pandemic brought visits to a halt, she and her fellow superheroes volunteered in the halls of the Iowa City hospital.

“Some of those kids who were in a lot of pain, it just gave them a little bit of something fun. It was really one of the most impactful things I’ve done,” she explained.

“I love to be a youth advocate. For me, volunteering makes me spiritually fulfilled. It’s just who I am. I was a lifeguard for 11 years teaching kids how to swim. Everyone should reach out and do what they can to make our community the best it can be.”

Performance comes naturally to McCarty. The Maquoketa native earned a bachelor’s degree in theater and performance from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. As a champion of the local arts scene, her real-life presence is as big as her stage presence.

A longtime volunteer at Waterloo Community Playhouse and Cedar Falls Community Theatre, McCarty is no stranger to the behind-the-scenes effort it takes to bring a production from script to stage. The pandemic dramatically increased that workload, nearly bringing local theater to its knees.

“We weren’t sure if we could sell enough seats to keep things open,” she said. “People put hours and hours of time into performances and if people aren’t supporting it, well, it was scary for a while. It made me jump on the idea to keep the arts alive.

“We just want to see the arts thrive in the community. I’m standing firm in making sure that I’m supporting theater (and) anything locally people are working on. Keeping the arts alive in our community is so important. We’re a hub for talent.”

It’s that drive to see her community succeed that earned McCarty a 20 Under 40 award. She’s humbled by the honor and inspired to work even harder.

“I really appreciate this opportunity. This will come back to the community tenfold.”

McCarty and her husband of 13 years, Brian, have two dogs, Indiana and Jacket. They also have four chickens.

“If anyone needs eggs, let me know,” she said, laughing.