Category: Nonprofit

Pet Wellness and patient health go hand in hand at The Project of the Quad Cities

Guest Writer
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QUAD CITIES — The pandemic has reminded us that having a pet can be important for one’s mental and physical health. It has also revealed that the financial burden of pet ownership is harder for many. The Project of the Quad Cities is tackling this challenge with a fundraising campaign for its Pet Wellness Program. This nonprofit organization, which advocates for health equity and provides health services to people living with HIV and sexually-transmitted diseases, aims to help more of its clients consider adopting a pet by helping with the…

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Iowa City’s Trumpet Blossom finds new ways to support local groups

Christine Hawes
trumpet blossom giving to corridor community action network this week

IOWA CITY — Fresh off of unprecedented recognition in Little Village’s CRANDIC awards, Trumpet Blossom Cafe is focusing anew on supporting others. Starting the first week of December, Iowa City’s only all-vegan cafe began donating 10 percent of sales of its “Take & Bake” weekly menu to a community group in eastern Iowa. This week’s recipient is the Domestic Violence Intervention Program. Last week’s beneficiary was Corridor Community Action Network (CCAN), formed in 2019 to help connect nonprofit groups with each other, volunteers, donors and those in need. CCAN will…

trumpet blossom giving to corridor community action network this week
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Queer, BIPOC activists unpack white privilege, white urgency in “Dah Tea”

Christine Hawes
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Burnout among Black activists and community leaders is real, and so is the role that white privilege can play — even among “woke” white people active in the fight for racial justice — in triggering it, worsening it, and covering it over. That’s the theme of “Dah Tea,” a new Instagram Live discussion, where queer Black/Indigenous/People of Color activists unpack the challenges of maintaining self-care and healthy boundaries while simultaneously responding to greater awareness of systemic racism among historically privileged whites. “These are meant to be quick, light-hearted chats, and…

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Velvet Lotus kicks off two weeks of fundraising with tattoo session

Christine Hawes
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The tattooing is over — but the fundraising has just begun. Take a look below at the artists from Velvet Lotus Tattoo, hard at work during Friday’s “Tats for Tots” tattoo session. The staff applied 13 tattoos to donors who entered a raffle to not only receive a tattoo, but also donate at least $50 to “Tats for Tots” and the families and children it benefits. Tats for Tots happens every year at Velvet Lotus; Founded almost eight years ago by social worker Annie Ventullo, the event has been at…

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Quad Cities “Count Every Vote” ONLINE vigil leads post-election events in Iowa, Illinois

Christine Hawes
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(UPDATED NOV. 6, 2020) DAVENPORT — Almost a dozen vigils, rallies or strategy events are already scheduled in Illinois and Iowa to help people cope with or respond to post-election uncertainty. They include this Saturday’s virtual Count Every Vote/Defend our Democracy Rally, hosted by Quad Cities Interfaith. Organizers decided Friday to convert the event into an online rally “due to alarmingly high rates of COVID and our health services being overwhelmed,” the group wrote. Quad Cities Faith involves almost a dozen different groups representing academia, various spiritual faiths and organized…

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“What if …?” Event Zooms on nonviolent civil disobedience, post-election

Christine Hawes
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A Quad Cities pacifist/activist is inviting Midwesterners to fine-tune their understanding of nonviolent civil disobedience in anticipation of possible resistance from President Donald Trump to the results of the Nov. 3 election. Acknowledging the possibility that Trump may still win a second term, Rev. Rich Hendricks of Davenport says the greater likelihood and difficulty is that Trump proposes or attempts civil rights suppression “post-election and pre-end of term.” Hendricks is holding two Zoom sessions — one at 7 p.m. Monday (Oct. 26) and the other at 2 p.m. Tuesday (Oct.…

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Winter clothing drive, new vegan offerings at Iowa City’s Trumpet Blossom Cafe

Christine Hawes
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IOWA CITY — Trumpet Blossom Cafe and Katy Meyer already reinvented the way they provide all-vegan, all-local food in Iowa City, in response to COVID-19. Now, the 8.5-year-old restaurant and bar is reinventing its charity work, one of its pivotal qualities over time. Earlier this week, Trumpet Blossom hosted a winter clothing drive for the Iowa City Tenants Union and Shelter House. Meyer provided a complementary vegan treat to anyone who swung by to drop off winter clothes of any kind that they no longer need. The need for these…

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Leash on Life steps up support during coronavirus crisis

Guest Writer
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IOWA CITY and NORTH LIBERTY — Leash on Life has given back to its communities for 15 years through donations to animal shelters throughout Johnson County. But when the coronavirus crisis hit, it was a “whole new beast,” says owner Laurie Smith. So Leash on Life stepped up its volunteer efforts: it began donating and transporting pet food to not just animal shelters, but also human food pantries, throughout Johnson County. Customers began volunteering to buy bags of pet food for those in need, and have been responsible for the…

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Bartender’s fight against cancer during coronavirus crisis gets a boost Oct. 10

Christine Hawes
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IOWA CITY – We’ve known for months that bar and restaurant workers are hit especially hard during the coronavirus crisis. But some such workers are getting hit even harder than others. And one of those is Lis Wolf. A long-time bartender in the Iowa City area, Wolf was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in June, after a fast-growing tumor caused her leg to swell up to the point of interfering with her blood circulation. Now undergoing aggressive chemotherapy while still trying to squeeze in a few hours of work each week…

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