Davenport, IA: The Salvation Army of the Quad Cities once again met its Red Kettle Campaign goal thanks to the remarkable generosity of the Quad Cities community. A total of $752,561 was collected.

That goal consisted of direct mail, red kettle donations and year-end contributions. The $750,000 fund-raising goal accounts for approximately 60 percent of the local Salvation Army's operating budget that is generated from public support.

The funds will help The Salvation Army meet the demand for services for shelter, food, clothing and other basic human needs here in the Quad Cities.

"The Salvation Army's work is simply not possible without the people of this community who believe in what we do. And I'd like to share with them the greatest joys of the season: the warm embraces, tears of joy, handshakes and 'thank yous' from the thousands of families they helped serve," said Major Gary Felton, Quad Cities Coordinator.

During the 2013 Christmas season, The Salvation Army makes Christmas much brighter for thousands of families in need locally. And more than 4,000 volunteer hours were given in order to make all of the Christmas season's programs possible.

More than 5,000 toys (games, books, stuffed animals and toys of all kinds) were donated through the Angel Tree program. Through the 2013 Christmas Distribution program 2,032 children from 902 families had a happy Christmas morning. Food boxes were also distributed to an additional 405 households without children. Combined, The Salvation Army distributed food and gifts to 1,307 families totaling 4,623 people in need in the Quad Cities.

"The statistics mentioned are only a reflection of the many people whose lives were impacted because of YOU! We are grateful to everyone who supported this year's Christmas program, either by supporting the red kettles, purchasing gifts for families, volunteering your precious time, supporting our efforts by spreading the word and encouraging others to participate or praying for the program itself and those we have the honor of serving," said the Major.

Two special match programs contributed to the success of this year's campaign. Hiland Toyota made a large gift that was matched through the Toyota Dealer Match Program. And for the second year in a row, Von Maur matched all donations placed in the Red Kettles at the malls on December 22nd.

The Red Kettle Campaign, the oldest annual charitable fund raiser of its kind in the United States, helps raise money to support programs for the very neediest in communities nationwide providing toys for kids, food for the hungry and countless social service programs year-round. From its humble beginnings as a fund raiser started by a Salvation Army captain in San Francisco in 1891, the Red Kettle Campaign has grown into one of the most recognizable and important charitable outreach efforts in the United States.

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NormaLeah Ovarian Cancer Foundation invites all volunteers -- past, present, and future -- to their 3nd annual Cocoa & Cookies Social. The event will take place on Saturday, February 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the foundation's new storefront offices at 1612 2nd Avenue in downtown Rock Island.

The Cocoa & Cookies Social is free to attend and is open to both men and women. "We encourage everyone to bring a friend and help us celebrate our grass roots efforts and learn how we are moving forward with our mission to rise up against ovarian cancer," said Jodie Shagrin Kavensky, the Executive Director of the foundation.

Ovarian cancer has long been considered a silent killer because the symptoms are vague; it is hard to detect, difficult to treat, and there is no reliable screening test. The mission of NormaLeah Ovarian Cancer Foundation, headquartered in Rock Island, is to create public awareness, promote early detection, and support research for ovarian cancer.

All women are at risk for ovarian cancer and approximately 1 in 70 women will develop the disease during her lifetime. In 2013 more than 22,000 American women were diagnosed with the disease and about 13,500 women died from it. The foundation honors the memory of Mrs. Kavensky's mother, Norma Yecies Shagrin and her aunt, Leah Yecies Hantman, whose lives were cut short by the deadly disease. "Sisters share a lot of things but ovarian cancer should not be one of them," Kavensky said.

For more information or to get involved call the NormaLeah Ovarian Cancer Foundation at 309.794.0009, visit our website at www.normaleahfoundation.org or email us at normaleahfoundation@gmail.com

It is easy to forget that this Sunday - January 12 - marks four years since Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake. With crises in Syria, Africa and Asia, and this year's record- breaking winter temperatures affecting Europe and North America, the world's focus has - understandably - long since moved on from Haiti.

But four years later, hundreds of thousands of Haitians still are directly facing the consequences of a dire disaster.

History has demonstrated that it takes a long time to recover from disaster of any magnitude. By all accounts, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti viciously shook up conventional ideas of what it means to be human community. Never has there been such an outpouring of compassionate response.

Yet the recovery in Haiti still is incomplete.

Let's take stock. After the quake, world attention was focused almost entirely on Haiti. Shocked televised spectacle of one of the world's poorest countries grappling to respond to a catastrophic natural disaster, the public took action with a combination of compassion, anger and solidarity.

Hundreds of humanitarian agencies flew in, thousands of personal pledges were made, governments promised international aid and millions of dollars were donated to charities around the world. At least half of America's households made donations to organizations responding to the crisis in what remains the most significant public response to a humanitarian disaster in American history.

For our part, we at CWS are proud of what we accomplished.  We delivered more than $2 million in material aid and initiated solid, sustaining programs that, among other things, built and repaired houses, many for people with disabilities. We also expanded support for 13 food cooperatives in Haiti's Northwest and Artibonite regions.

More broadly, President Obama called for a global humanitarian response and stressed that the United States would accompany Haiti "in its time of need." The U.S. government provided more than $3 billion in combined aid. "Build Back Better" became the anthem of this global cry for action to build a new Haiti.

But in January 2014, hundreds of thousands of Haitians still await the building of their better world, with no idea when it will occur. Certainly, some progress has been made, but who has benefitted? More than 800,000 Haitians today still depend on humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations. At least 145,000 still live in the "temporary camps" built to accommodate families internally displaced after the earthquake. And still there exists no comprehensive national housing plan.

Hunger and malnutrition, especially in Haiti's far west, remain acute. One-third of Haitians are food "insecure" - meaning they have difficulty accessing food - yet funders repeatedly fail to support Haitian plans for agricultural development and food security.

More than 60 percent of Haiti's population depends on agriculture, yet international donors instead have poured millions of dollars into the establishment of free trade zones on Haiti's best arable land.

Those watching Syria and other disasters should take note of what has happened in Haiti over these past four years. The manner in which the international community responded to Haiti will remain the litmus test for how natural and manmade disasters are addressed elsewhere.

The systematic policy failures, lack of leadership and unclear political action - in Haiti and in international centers where policy towards Haiti is decided - explains why so many Haitians today are still waiting for their country and their lives to be "built back better."

Rev. John L. McCullough is President and CEO of CWS.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

8:00am -3:00pm

Holiday Inn Mercy Campus 1050 6th Ave, Des Moines, IA 50314

With Special Guest:

Dave Woodmansee

ACS CAN's Associate Director of the Affordable Care Act Implementation and Access to Care Issues

You will:

• Advocate for  important legislation to reduce the burden of cancer in Iowa
• Learn about ACS CAN's legislative priorities
• Meet your elected officials and other advocacy volunteers from across Iowa

 

For more information please contact Cassandra Furlong at cassie.furlong@cancer.org or 515-727-0057.  Breakfast, lunch and transportation to the capitol will be provided.

If you are a volunteer and you live more than 90 miles from Des Moines we have a limited number of hotel rooms reserved for the night before.  We do ask that you share a room with another volunteer.

Register online today!