Vera French Foundation to host Ribbon Cutting & Open House on Thursday, October 28, 2010

Bettendorf, IA - A milestone event will be held this Thursday for a local housing corporation dedicated to giving back to person with mental illness in the Quad Cities community. Vera French Housing Corporation will hold an open house to commemorate the completion of construction on the new Vera
French Court facility. Located at 3465 Holiday Court in Bettendorf, IA the open house will take place on Thursday, October 28 from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting at 2:00 p.m. Press are invited to attend.

If any press would prefer take a tour or photographs prior to the open house date, please contact Dean Drexel, Director of Vera French Housing Corporation at 563.445.7977 or vfhousing@netexpress.net.

Vera French Court, is a new 9,460 square foot ranch style building with 13 one bedroom apartments, a community room with computer learning center, cafeteria, public restrooms, office space, tenant storage area and laundry facilities. The housing development will provide additional supported housing
options for persons with persistent mental illness. Tours of the facility will be available to attendees. Established in 1949, originally as the Scott County Mental Health Center, Vera French Housing Corporation was created to provide safe, decent and affordable housing for those with persistent mental illness that is linked with ongoing services provided by the Vera French Mental Health Center Programs and other community service providers. For more information on the Vera French Housing Corporation, please visit their website at www.verafrenchmhc.org.

Russell Construction, located in Davenport, IA, served as the General Contractor on this project. In the past Russell has constructed two 10-unit Low Income Housing Tex Credit (LIHTC) projects, named Vera French Manor and Vera French Terrace. Robin Andrews, located in Huntley, IL served as the Architect.

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Churches United was the recipient of this award and received a $500 check.

Make sure to tune in to WQAD Channel 8 on Thursday, October 28th at 6:30 pm or Friday October 29th during "Good Morning Quad Cities (5-7 am) to check this out!

You can also log onto www.wqad.com or www.lujack.com

Please forward on to your friends, co-workers and family.

MOLINE, ILLINOIS - WQPT, Quad Cities PBS invites the public to join them for a night of fun and fundraising on Friday, November 5, 2010 when they hold a Trivia Night at the North Hall at the Highland Park Bowl located at 4202 Avenue of the Cities in Moline.

Participants can bring their own food and beverages are available through Highland Park Bowl. The fun starts at 6:00 p.m.  Cash prizes for first place is $150, $80 for second place and $40 for third place. Mulligans and "Phone a Friend" will be available, as well as prizes are awarded between each round.  Tables of 8 people must be reserved, $80.00 for a table. Please call WQPT at 309-764-2400 to reserve a table.

WQPT Trivia Night is a great night of fun and to help support local public television.

WQPT is a media service of Western Illinois University.

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MONTICELLO, IA - Camp Courageous Antique Show will be held on Sunday, November 7th at the Berndes Center on the fairgrounds in Monticello. Doors will be open from 9:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M.  Camp Courageous is seeking dealers and exhibitors to display quality antiques and collectibles.  Food and beverages are available for purchase throughout the day, including pie and ice cream.  A 10'x16' space is offered with four tables for $50.00

Chuck Wolf, a professional appraiser from Maquoketa, will be available to the public throughout the day to assess items for a $5.00 fee (excluding guns, military memorabilia, and Indian artifacts).  Proceeds from this event goes to benefit Camp Courageous, a recreational and respite care facility for individuals with disabilities of all ages.  It is run on donations, without government support, without paid fundraisers, and without formal sponsorship.

Admission for the public is $3.00 and parking is free!  For inquiries or dealer information contact Sharon Roller at Camp Courageous  (319-465-5916 Extension 2200). All proceeds for this event will benefit over 5,100 individuals with disabilities served by Camp Courageous each year.

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Des Moines, Iowa–A sea of green shirts at the IMT Des Moines Marathon will mean a river of money flowing all the way to Mozambique to build a school there. Iowans for Africa, a running team from the Orchard Hill Church in Cedar Falls, has already raised nearly $50,000 for World Vision and hopes to hit $100,000 by race day.

Between 135 and 145 athletes will make the trip to Des Moines, along with nearly 400 supporters wearing green Iowans for Africa shirts. The group will hold a worship service before the race at Nollen Plaza.

The team was founded by Don Williams, a church staffer who is also a running coach. "We have four main goals," Williams said. "One: Use this event to praise God and advance His kingdom. Two: Get everyone to the finish line healthy and happy! Three: Develop a team mentality through building community and relationships. Four: Raise money to build a school in Mozambique, Africa."

Last year the team ran the Chicago Marathon to raise money for HIV/AIDS research and prevention in Africa, also through World Vision.

"It's not unusual for a group of runners to raise money for a charity," said Chris Burch, IMT Des Moines Marathon director of racing and events. "But this is certainly one of the bigger groups we've seen, and the number of people coming to support them is inspiring."

To make a donation to Iowans for Africa, go to www.firstgiving.com/iowansforafrica.

The IMT Des Moines Marathon & Half Marathon and Bankers Trust Marathon Relay start at 8 a.m. Sunday, October 17. The Principal Financial Group 5K Road Race starts at 8:30 a.m. The Bankers Trust Kids Run Presented by Iowa Kidstrong starts at 1 p.m. All races start and finish at Nollen Plaza. Register to race or to volunteer at desmoinesmarathon.com.

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Monticello, IA– On Sunday, October 10, 2010, the East Central Federation and Cedar Valley Callers Association will sponsor the 21st Anniversary of the Annual Square Dance Benefit for Camp Courageous.  The calling begins at 1:30 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m. in the main lodge at Camp Courageous.

Callers and cuers are invited from all over eastern Iowa and the surrounding areas.  Dance clubs as well as individuals and couples are welcome to enjoy the afternoon dancing or just observing in the spacious camp lodge.  Tours will be available for anyone interested in seeing all that camp offers including the camp train, the barn and the indoor swimming pool!  Admission fee is a donation to camp.  Participants are asked to bring along cookies, or a snack to share---beverages are provided.

Camp Courageous is a year-round recreational and respite care facility for individuals with mental and physical disabilities, located near Monticello, Iowa.  The camp was built and continues to operate on donations, without government support, without formal sponsorship, and without paid fundraisers.  The camp serves over 5,000 campers with special needs annually.



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What:  39th Annual Quad City CROP WALK

When:   Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

Concert:  12:45pm,  Walk:  2 pm

Where:   Modern Woodman Park, Davenport (Gaines & River Drive)

Event: Join this bi-state effort as Churches United hosts its 39th QC CROP WALK.  This 6 mile/10K walk run will begins and ends at Modern Woodman Park in Davenport will have hundreds and hundreds of walkers.  This is a bi state effort that benefits local hunger organizations including Churches United. This truly is an interfaith event.   Concert with Lojo Russo begins at 12:45 as she entertains the walkers after they register.

For further information contact Anne Wachal at 332-5002 or view our website at www.cuqca.org.

MOLINE, ILLINOIS - WQPT is pleased to announce that Donna Allman has been named the 2010 WQPT Volunteer of the Year. The award ceremony was held at Ryan's Family Steak House on August 24, 2010 during a special luncheon held for WQPT volunteers. 

Donna, who greets everyone with a hearty "Glad to have you," has been a loyal volunteer at WQPT for the last 16 years. She has helped with monthly mailings, pledge drives and special events. "We are very fortunate to have someone like Donna volunteer for the station and it was a special pleasure to honor her in this way," said Special Projects Coordinator, Bea Brasel.

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Groundbreaking Ceremony Scheduled for September 23, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.

Davenport, IA - Family Resources, Inc. is poised to begin an extensive phased renovation project at the historical Annie Wittenmyer campus, located at 2800 Eastern Avenue in Davenport. A groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for Thursday, September 23 at 9:00 a.m. Press is invited to attend.

Built in 1919, the 7,300 s.f. gymnasium facility, located on the southeast corner of campus, has had little to no remodeling work done to it since it was originally constructed 91 years ago. The upper level is used exclusively as a gymnasium, while the lower level currently contains a pool, locker rooms, and mechanical room. Both levels of the building will undergo extensive renovation work, while also remaining accessible to staff and students who use the building daily.

This phased construction on this project will include : removal and installation of windows and doors, construction of new lower level west entrance and north canopy, repair of missing and damaged exterior brick, roof, foundation, sidewalk and ramp repairs. Interior renovations include : patching and refinishing of the exiting gymnasium floor, removal of the existing unusable pool and painting around all windows and exposed surfaces. This project will also make the entire building handicapped accessible.

Since the entire Family Resources campus is listed on the National Register of Historic places the exterior renovation was required to recapture the original look of the building in order to receive approval by the City of Davenport's Historic Preservation Commission.

Partial funding for this $1.3 million dollar phased project was provided through the City of Davenport. Family Resources is working with several previous major donors to raise the additional funds needed to complete the project. Construction will be completed by May 2011.

"The gymnasium allows us to carry out our mission everyday with 150 plus young people in our alternative education program and 24 hour care facilities. We are grateful that the City of Davenport has identified this as a need and budgeted federal stimulus funding to help us launch the restoration. We are hopeful that we can leverage these dollars with local foundations and grants in order to complete all three phases of the project," stated Cheryl Goodwin, CEO of Family Resources.

Family Resources, Inc. is a not-for-profit social service agency with roots in the Quad Cities dating back to 1849. The services they provide have evolved based on the needs of our local communities and align with their mission to strengthen children, families and individuals by providing quality services that engage community resources to create effectives solutions. For more information on Family Resources, please visit their website at www.famres.org.

Russell Construction, located in Davenport, IA is serving as the General Contractor on this project. In the past Russell constructed two residential additions for Family Resources, totaling $2.6 million. Gere Dismer will serve as the Architect.

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Thunder Bay will host a premiere 5 course wine dinner at The Figge on Wednesday September 29, 2010 at 6:30pm.

The wine dinner will be presented by Chefs Andy Wildermuth of Thunder Bay and Dave Micklewright of the Figge. Robert Mondavi wines will pair with each
Galleries open for tour at 5pm with a 6:30 reception and seating for dinner to follow.

Whether you are an experienced wine connoisseur or a novice, this dinner will celebrate remarkable wine, impressive culinary talents and the arts.
The cost per guest is $70 all inclusive. Call Dave or Kim to purchase tickets at  563.326.7804 ext. 1227.



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