ROCK ISLAND, Illinois - Twenty-seven area nonprofit organizations will be awarded $338,950 on Wednesday, April 24th during The Amy Helpenstell Foundation's Spring Grant Reception at 8:30 a.m. at the Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island. This is the largest amount of funding awarded by the Foundation in a single grant cycle.

The Amy Helpenstell Foundation promotes awareness, understanding, diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders in the greater Quad Cities area. Amy Helpenstell passed away in 2003 from complications related to an eating disorder. Ms. Helpenstell created the Foundation through her estate to support causes related to health, education, youth development, community development and cultural activities within a 60-mile radius of Rock Island, where she lived and worked.

"Amy's Foundation has given nearly $4 million back to the community since 2005, all to causes that she cared about very much," said Franz "Bud" Helpenstell, Amy's father and President of The Amy Helpenstell Foundation. "With the full impact of state cutbacks to nonprofits being especially noticeable now, we are happy to support these organizations in every way we can. The important work they do can be felt in the lives of real people every day."

The Spring Grant recipients and the programs that received funding include :

• Aldridge Early Learning Center - Parent Education, $2,000

• Arrowhead Ranch - Computer Based Learning Program for Arrowhead Academy, $10,750
• Augustana College - Amy Helpenstell Student Interns Program, $20,000
• Bethany for Children and Families - Youth Transitional Housing for Homeless Youth (Rock Island), $8,000
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley - One-to-One Mentoring, $15,000
• Black Hawk College Foundation - Nursing Education: Extending Simulation into the Classroom and Beyond, $3,000
• Black Hawk College Optional Education Program - Adult Education English as a Second Language Coordination, $20,000
• Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley - Core Mission Grant, $16,000
• Child Abuse Council - Building Capacity for the Future, $10,000
• Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities - Enhanced Feeding Therapy Program, $16,000
• Community Housing Services - JumpStart After School Program, $10,000
• Community Resource and Learning Center, Inc. - Preschool Project, $5,000
• Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities - Children in Need Continuation and Expansion, $15,000
• Hand in Hand - Adapted Enrichment Programs for Children With Disabilities, $4,200
• Henry County Youth Services Bureau - Free Home-Based and School-Based Counseling, $12,000
• Junior Achievement of the Heartland - Building a Stronger Community-Junior Achievement Core-Mission Programs, $15,000
• Junior High Drop-In Center / South Park Presbyterian Church - Healthy Eating Program, $3,000
• Marriage and Family Counseling Service - Spanish Family Therapy Program, $10,000
• National Alliance on Mental Illness, Scott County - NAMI Scott County Office Expansion; Bringing NAMI's Signature Education Classes In-House, $5,000
• New Kingdom Trail Riders - 2012-2014 Horse Care Project, $10,000
• Rick's House of Hope - Ongoing Training of Volunteers and Staff, $4,000
• Robert Young Center for Community Mental Health - Quad Cities Eating Disorders Consortium, $50,000
• School Health LINK, Inc. - Behavioral Health Specialist, $15,000
• Spring Forward Learning Center - After-School Tutoring and Mentoring, $15,000
• St. Ambrose University - The Amy Helpenstell Scholars Program at St. Ambrose University, $10,000
• theplace2b - theplace2b Community Outreach Project, $15,000
• Vera French Foundation - School-Based Mental Health Therapy Program, $20,000

 

For more information about The Amy Helpenstell Foundation, visit www.amyhelpenstell.org orcall 563-326-2840. The Amy Helpenstell Foundation is administered by the CommunityFoundation of the Great River Bend.

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!

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.

###

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.

###