Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities - Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities ("MCC QC") is a spiritual home for many that is currently without a home. "We sold our facility on Harrison Street and we are currently looking for the right building," says the pastor, Rev. Rich Hendricks. MCC QC is currently holding its 11:00 a.m. worship services at the TriCity Jewish Center. "In the meantime," says Hendricks, "we are still growing and seeking financial support for our ministries." The annual chili cookoff is the church's biggest fundraiser. This year the event is being held at Fargo Lounge in Moline and the public is invited to come and enjoy all you can eat chili and fixings and homemade desserts for just $5.

In addition, there is no cost to enter your chili in the contest, which is judged by three independent judges not affiliated with MCC QC. The church offers $100 for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place. Mary Todtz, event organizer, says, "I am really excited about all the items we have for sale, about all the fun we are going to have and about the excellent entertainment!"

There will be both silent and live auction items available for purchase, including everything from free oil changes to works of art. Entertainment this year is a free will offering concert by Christian artist Shawn Thomas.

MCC QC is a member church of Churches United of the Quad Cities Area and the Church is involved in feeding the hungry ministries and supporting the works of many area nonprofit organizations.

The annual Chili Cook-Off will be held on Sunday, May 5h beginning at 5 p.m. at Fargo Lounge, 4204 Avenue of the Cities, Moline, Illinois. Doors open at 4:30 and all entries must arrive by 5:00 p.m. to be included as the chili judging takes place promptly at 5:15 p.m., followed by a time of feasting and fellowship during which people can bid on silent auction items. At the close of the silent auction will be a live auction, featuring several special items.

For more information, please call the Church office at 563.324.8281.

MCC QC: tearing down walls & building up hope!
MONTICELLO, IA --The annual Camp Courageous Omelet Breakfast and Open House will be Sunday, April 28, 2013. A breakfast of made-to-order omelets served with sausage, toast, coffee, juice, and milk will be served from 7AM to 1PM. Thirty trained omelet cooks will make an omelet with choices like ham, cheese, green peppers, and onions. It is recommended to come early for this wonderful breakfast. The cost is $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children under 12.

During the breakfast and open house guided tours will be provided of Camp Courageous, or one can go on their own. The Dixie-Notes-Plus will perform live in Sill Barn. They play a variety of 20's, 30's, and 40's big band music. Sets begin at 10 AM, 11 AM, and Noon.

There will be a live reenactment of a train robbery, performed by the Red Cedar Regulators - an old west reenactment group at the Train Depot at 9:00 AM, 9:45 AM, 10:45 AM, and 11:45 AM.

This year's Open House will feature construction-in-progress on the Lake Todd, and progress on the camp's HAVC Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Dehumidification System in the Pool.

An inspiring video presentation about the camp as well as new camp merchandise can be found in the camp's main office.

Camp Courageous is a year round recreational and respite care facility for individuals with special needs. It is run on donations, without government support, without paid fund raisers, and without formal sponsorship. Camp Courageous began serving individuals with special needs during the summer of 1974 with 211 campers served. Today the camp is open year-round and the campers number over 6,000!

The camp is located five miles southeast of Monticello off Highway 151, Exit 65 or Highway 38
Davenport, IA - On April 27 at 2:00 p.m., Relay For Life of Scott County will hold a special Survivors' Lap, a moving experience honoring those who have defeated cancer. Survivors will join together to take Relay's opening lap, unified in victory and hope, while the rest of the event's participants surround the track to cheer them on.

Relay For Life is a unique grassroots fundraising event in which individuals and teams of participants in nearly 5,100 communities nationwide walk around a track overnight to celebrate the lives of those who have faced cancer, remember loved one lost, and commit to fight back against the disease. The money raised through Relay For Life supports the American Cancer Society's efforts to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

If you are a cancer survivor or caregiver and would like to take part in the Relay For Life, please register via our website: www.RelayForLife.org/scottcountyia or call Tracy Kimler (Survivor Chair) at 563-579-3554. All survivors receive a free Relay For Life T-shirt and are invited to join us for a complimentary Survivor Luncheon to be served from noon-2pm.

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; by helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

###

The Alan Feinstein Foundation is giving away $1 Million dollars to fight hunger.

Churches United of the Quad City Area is one of the agencies that will receive a proportionate amount of the $1 million dollars based on what is raised between March 1 and April 30, 2012. We're in the final two weeks now and your help is needed even more!

Help Us, Help Others...

Your donation between March 1 and April 30 will help us raise needed dollars to help feed thousands of Quad Citians through our 24 food pantries on both sides of the river.

Mail your check to Churches United of the Quad City Area, 2535 Tech Dr, Suite 205, Bettendorf, Iowa 52722. Please indicate either Hunger or Feinstein Challenge in the memo line. If sending cash, please enclose a note stating Hunger or Feinstein Challenge.

Many thanks for caring!

BETTENDORF, Iowa - The Quad City Contributors Council has launched a new website - http://qccontributorscouncil.org - to give nonprofits in the Quad City area an easy way to apply for review of major capital and endowment campaigns.

The Quad Cities Contributors Council (QCCC) is a consortium of seventeen corporate and private foundation leaders. The QCCC does not award dollars, but is a group that works together to promote the success of Scott and Rock Island counties' non-profit organizations.

The QCCC reviews capital and endowment campaign applications. The group's goal is to provide guidance that will assist in assuring that approved projects are financially viable, fully fundable, non-duplicative and strengthening to the organization and the community.

The website provides the application that nonprofits use to seek review of their campaigns, and a listing of the approved projects.

"We hope that nonprofits will find it easy to apply for review through the website," says Kenny Massey, Chairman of the QCCC. "The Contributors Council believes that the review process for capital campaigns increases the capacity of nonprofits to be successful in their major fundraising efforts."

In recent years, the QCCC has approved 16 capital campaigns for Quad City nonprofits.

If you have questions, please contact the QCCC at info@qccontributorscouncil.org.

###
MADDIE CASE is a 7th grader at North Scott Junior High in Elridge who is running in for the LIVE UNCOMMON Race Team.  Her 2013 efforts are about much more than just winning race (which she does a lot of - she is currently the 7th Grade Girls Iowa State Cross Country Champion) -- Maddie is running to raise awareness and funds for her Charity of Choice - Make-A-Wish.  Since January, her LIVE UNCOMMON Race Team efforts have raised over $2,000.  Her goal is $4,000 - which is the cost to grant a Wish.

Maddie's school, North Scott Junior High, announced its intention to help Maddie reach her goal.  They have posted a bigger-than-lifesize poster of Maddie in the school, which students sign when they donate $1 to Maddie's effort.  This is a ONE WEEK fundraiser which began on Monday and runs through tomorrow (Friday, April 12).

Take home a treasure from Brucemore's greenhouse at the annual Brucemore Plant Sale during Mother's Day weekend on Saturday, May 11, from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Several plants seen in Brucemore's formal garden will be available for sale, including annuals, perennials, and hanging baskets. Featured plants include Lobelia, pansies, ornamental cabbage, bleeding hearts, and early blooming salvia. A variety of herbs will also be available, including basil, thyme, and rosemary. Plant Sale prices range from $3.50 to $30.00, with all the proceeds benefiting garden and landscape rehabilitation projects at Brucemore. The Plant Sale will be located around the 1915 Lord & Burnham Greenhouse. The garden staff will be on hand to provide expert advice on the selection, placement, and care of plants. For further information on the Brucemore Plant Sale, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

About Brucemore

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.
SEVENTH ANNUAL BETTENDORF ROTARY "LOBSTERFEST" SET FOR JUNE 8TH
THE National Bank presents the meal that serves the community

BETTENDORF, IA - As it prepares to host the Seventh Annual "Lobsterfest" presented by THE National Bank, the Bettendorf Rotary Club looks toward another successful year of serving the meal that provides service to the Quad City Area community (www.bettendorfrotary.com/lobsterfest).

The New England-style lobster boil is set for Saturday, June 8th - 5:30 to 10 PM - at Rivermont Collegiate, 1821 Sunset Drive in Bettendorf. Tickets are priced at $75.00 each or a table of eight for $520.00 (a savings of $10 per ticket). They can be purchased by calling (563) 445-4264 or visiting

www.bettendorfrotary.com/tickets. The event is open to the general public.

THE National Bank (www.thenb.com) is in its second consecutive year as presenting sponsor and is pleased to add to its service to the community with this event. The club also values its involvement with Scott Community College's Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management programs (http://www.eicc.edu/adultlearning/programs/career/culinary/culinary.html). These members help prepare the meal and, with a newly expanded relationship with Bettendorf Rotary, will result in further scholarship opportunities for SCC students.

In addition, "Lobsterfest" involves several groups such as the Culinary Kids of Family Resources, Inc. and Boy Scout Troop 24 that assist other volunteers in delivering the fresh meal of Maine lobsters.

Thanks to funds raised at last year's event, the Bettendorf Rotary Club's Charitable Giving Board awarded direct grants to area charities totaling $20,000. The club also awarded $6,000 in scholarships to students pursuing higher education.

Bettendorf Rotary Club (www.bettendorfrotary.com), chartered on May 22, 1957, has more than 100 members fulfilling the Rotary motto of "Service Above Self" in a variety of local, regional and national community volunteer projects. The club meets each Wednesday at Noon at Fortune Garden Restaurant, 2211 Kimberly Road, Bettendorf. The club also has a page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/bettendorfrotary).

All clubs are part of Rotary International (www.rotary.org), founded in 1905 by Paul Harris, a Chicago businessman and University of Iowa alumnus. The international organization, now based in Evanston, IL, has more than one million members participating with 32,000 clubs located in more than 200 countries.

-30-

BBBS Plant Sale

Description: Since 1990, the BBBS Plant Sale has been an important community event to raise the dollars necessary to support one-to-one mentoring programs in the local community.  With over 150 varieties plus specialty items to choose from, the Plant Sale is a great opportunity for homeowners and businesses to purchase beautiful flowers and plants for their spring landscaping projects and support a great cause.  Flowers are sold in flats and half flats with hanging baskets, wave/easy wave petunias and geraniums sold individually. Group orders are welcome and all orders of $150-plus are eligible for FREE delivery.  To learn more, please visit www.bbbs-mv.org and click on the blue Plant Sale box.  Questions, please contact Kayla Kiesey at BBBS at 563-323-8006.

Retail Sales:

Retail sale dates:   May 4 - 12, 2013

Retail times:  8 a.m. - 7 p.m. each day

Retail location:  Northwest Bank & Trust Tower, corner of Kimberly and Welcome Way (outside of Northpark Mall)

Pre-order Sales:

To guarantee selection and color, BBBS is accepting pre-orders from now until Mon., April 22.  To download a brochure or submit an order online, please go to www.bbbs-mv.org and click on the blue Plant Sale box.

Saturday May 18, 2013 at the Long Grove Community Center

121 North 1st Street

Long Grove, IA

Dinner Served from 5:30 pm till 8 pm

Dinner Includes 3 beef enchiladas, beans, rice, and drink

$8.00 Adults

$5.00 Children under 18

All proceeds raised will go directly to the purchase of the Long Grove Volunteer Fire Departments New Tanker Truck to be delivered in June.

Pages