The Rotary Club of Bettendorf is spearheading the second annual Bettendorf Rotary Blanket Drive in the Quad Cities area from October 3 through December 2. The goal is to receive 4,000+ blankets in 2022 which is double the amount from last year. After blankets are dropped off at several drop-off box locations and received from various workplace blanket drives, they will be distributed to dozens of area non-profit agencies that help homeless and low-income individuals and families (including many children) in an effort to help them keep a little warmer this winter. Joe Campion, the Bettendorf Rotarian... Read More

Thanks to a generous donor, Earl Hanson was able to purchase a new playground for its students! On Friday, August 26, Earl Hanson Elementary School hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate its new playground. The PTO (parent-teacher organization) asked the school’s principal what are the school’s needs. She told them a playground, somewhere for the kids to play. The PTO members reached out to some of its community connections and found a donor. Seeing the need for a new playground, Heidi Huiskamp Collins generously donated funds through the Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation, so the... Read More

DAVENPORT, Iowa – July 7, 2022 – What began in 2019 as a way to give back to the Quad Cities region for Genesis Health System’s 150th anniversary continues to gain momentum in 2022. For a fourth year, Genesis will “Pack the Bus” and collect school supplies for students across the region. In the first three years,of a total 27,311 school items valued at nearly $47,000 have been collected from the public and Genesis employees. Donations will be collected at school buses parked at these locations August 1-4: GMC-East Campus, Monday, August 1, at the parking lot close to Rusholme Street,... Read More

The Rock Island-Milan School District is offering breakfast and lunch at no cost to children under the age of 18 for the month of June, regardless of income level or school district boundary area. Meals will be offered at Rock Island High School (1400 25th Avenue) from June 2 -29. Breakfast is from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and Lunch is from 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Meals must be consumed on site. Any questions can be directed to the RIMSD #41 Nutrition Services Department, 309-793-5900 x10220.  Read More

April is national Child Abuse Prevention Month and Project NOW’s Head Start children and staff are making sure everyone knows it.  They will be planting 200 pinwheels at the four local Head Start campuses on Thursday, March 31st beginning at 10 am. The media is invited to the planting event at the Floreciente campus (350 3rd St., Moline, IL 61265) at 10:00 am to see the children and talk to Project NOW’s Executive Director, Dwight Ford, about the importance of recognizing signs of abuse. Pinwheel gardens will also be planted at the following locations and times – 11:00 am Springbrook... Read More

Continuity matters. Just ask Hunt and Diane Harris, who recently moved from Moline to Naperville to be closer to their son and his family. As they settle into their new home, they’re making sure that their giving remains grounded in the Quad Cities, that generosity keeps thriving in their family, and that their legacy lives on after their lifetimes, too. How? By converting their two existing private foundations into a donor-advised fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation. With the support of the Community Foundation staff, Hunt and Diane will be able to use the newly established Harris Family... Read More

We continue to hear news reports of crime, abuse, and neglect. We often feel as though we are on the brink of disaster and unable to help, when in truth, we have never been closer to making a difference. It is one simple personal interaction away. A single positive comment, a lone hand extended in friendship and support, a smile and word of encouragement to motivate and mentor a young person. Preventing lost potential is the mission of The HAVlife Foundation. Preventing the lost potential of our community’s youth, those age 10-15 that may be currently living in an “at risk” world.... Read More

EMSSC is the recipient of a $1500 grant from the HAVlife Foundation! Director Jill Sanders-Colgan and Assistant Director Susy Hughes graciously accepted the grant. Thank you for supporting EMSSC!  Read More

Like many American children, Dean and Deb Mathias learned to ride bikes at an early age. Unlike most, however, the couple has cultivated that rite of passage into an enduring passion—one that has introduced them to lifelong friends, been shared with multiple family generations, taken them all over the globe, and guided them to give back to their community. Today, Deb and Dean are two of the biggest champions of bicycling and recreation in the Quad Cities. Deb is secretary of the Quad Cities Bicycle Club, while Dean sits on multiple local committees, advocating for projects that enhance the region’s... Read More

The Child Abuse Council is bringing new mental health and medical services to children and families in Muscatine and the surrounding southeast Iowa counties through its Mississippi Valley Child Protection Center. The program is part of a nation-wide network of child advocacy centers that provide services to mitigate the immediate and long-term negative impacts of child abuse and neglect on children, families, and their communities. The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust recently awarded a three-year, $175,000 grant to enhance the program’s coordinated approach and improve access to crucial resources... Read More