Cruisin' for Camp Courageous is a charity car show sponsored by a local car club-The Cedar Valley Street Rods. Located at Camp Courageous near Monticello IA, it is one of Iowa's largest charity car show with over 300 cars, trucks and motorcycles. It also includes a huge silent and live auction, games and activities for kids, food, music, a large craft show and more. All proceeds from this events goes to benefit Camp Courageous---a recreational and respite care facility for individuals with special needs. May 19, 2013 from 10 a.m.- 4p.m. at Camp Courageous, 12007 190th ST, Monticello, IA. Read More »

Eastern Iowa Freedom From Hunger is a community wide food drive to encourage community businesses and citizens to host a food drive during the end of May through the end of August. The food drive benefits the HACAP Food Reservoir and their partner agencies, including food pantries and on-site meal programs Read More »

Come join us for a fun-filled day at the 2nd Annual LBA Foundation Golf Tournament on Thursday, May 30, 2013 at the beautiful Hunter's Ridge Golf Course in Marion. Enjoy a complete program of special events, as well as 18 holes of golf, a dinner, and a gift bag for each golfer. Proceeds from the 2nd Annual LBA Foundation Golf Tournament will go to the Legacy Basketball Academy Foundation's general fund to support educational and athletic opportunities for area youth. Read More »

What’s more fun than FREE admission, FREE fun and FREE activities for the entire family! Saturday, June 1st, marks the 23rd annual Tanager Place Summer Fest. This event offers over 75 free activities with nominal fees for rides and concessions; it is a guaranteed good time! Kick off your summer by attending Summer Fest at the Rockwell Collins Sports Complex. Summer Fest supports the Tanager Place mission, to promote healthy families in the community. All proceeds of Summer Fest benefit Tanager Place a non-profit organization helping Iowa's children and families in need for more than 130 years. June 1, 2013 from 3:30-8:30 p.m. at Rockwell Collins Sports Complex. Read More »

Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society's signature event that supports, encourages and empowers cancer survivors to beat this deadly disease which is the second leading cause of death in Iowa. Relay offers everyone in the community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of 8-30 co-workers, friends and family members stay overnight and take turns walking or running around the track. Luminaria line the path representing those affected by the disease.
Relay For Life is held in nearly every Iowa county, with Linn and Johnson having two Relay events. Cornell College & University of Iowa students host their own Relay. Anyone can attend Relay For Life, but the demographic is all cancer survivors and their friends and families - every community has interested participants. Read More »

Dubuque's Cruisin' For A Cure is a car show which benefits Relay For Life and The American Cancer Society. ALL money raised from this event will benefit The American Cancer Society. Dubuque's Cruisin' For A Cure is Sunday, June 2nd, 2013 from 10am-3pm in the Dubuque Kennedy Mall parking lot. Admission is FREE!!! Donations are accepted! There are over 27 classes for this show (classes include mopars, classics, ponies, trucks, rat rods, etc) and 3 trophies per class Registration for your ride is only $15 in advance, $20 day of! Updates will be posted as they become available. Please note, this event is RAIN OR SHINE! Read More »

In honor of the Five Year Flood Anniversary - The City of Cedar Rapids encourages all residents to show they care on June 13 by volunteering to help others through community service projects. Then at 10:15 a.m., the time of the flood's crest in 2008, stop and share your flood recovery story with a neighbor or friend at this important moment. Read More »

Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control is participating in the 30th anniversary of Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival with Fido's Freedom 5K, a fun run/walk that will be held Saturday, June 22nd, along with the DockDogs event on the Kirkwood College Campus. The 5K will include a Pet Expo with pet supply and retail vendors, food vendors, music, pet contests, fly ball agility and nose work demonstrations, and loads of fun for the whole family - including Fido! Mark your calendars now, and get ready to register for this great event. Registrations will include string bags filled with lots of goodies for both you and Fido, as well as Freedom Festival buttons that will get you into other festival events like DockDogs. Fido gets in FREE. Read More »

“Whistle Stop Linn County: Life Along the Rails" is a brand new permanent exhibit on the railroad history of the county. Grand opening is on June 29th, including the dedication of a 24 ft. long model train of downtown Cedar Rapids as it appeared in the late 1940s-50s, the history of the railroads and model train building and children’s interactives make the exhibit come alive. In addition the new temporary exhibit “Oh the Places You’ll Go” expands on the transportation theme to include the past, present and future of other modes of transportation from the steamboat to the airplane. Additional opening day activities include classic cars on display in the parking lot (no admission required), admission ticket includes lunch (hot dog, chips, soda), Mark Stoffer Hunter available to talk railroad history (all day), children’s crafts and activities (all day), presentation by Darren Ferreter the railroad model builder (11:00 a.m.), book signing with author of The Cedar Valley Road, Linda McCann(1 p.m.) and of course, all day admittance into the exhibits! Read More »

The Aiming for a Cure Fun Run/Walk is an annual event held to raise additional funds for the Aiming for a Cure Foundation’s mission of helping to fight childhood cancer. The Fun Run & Walk is a great way to support the needs of both children with cancer and their families. You also get the additional benefits of meeting some wonderful people and spending some time outdoors in the beautiful late summer sunshine! All Are Welcome! There’s a spot for you at the Fun Run & Walk regardless of your fitness level. Whether you’re racing against the clock or just taking a sociable walk with friends, you’ll have plenty of happy faces to keep you company. The event gets a little bigger each year but there’s always room for you. Come on out and donate a little of your time for this wonderful charity event. August 25th at Pleasant Creek State Park – Palo, IA. Race Day Sign-In starts at 7:00 am. Race Start Time is 8:00 am. Read More »

As a local provider of services to adults and children with intellectual, physical and other types of disabilities and barriers to independence, Mayor's Youth Empowerment Program's fundraising efforts directly benefit the clients we work with. Burgers and hot-dogs are provided and grilled by Iowa River Power Company and a live DJ will provide entertainment. There will be a raffle and a silent auction. A variety of kid-oriented activities will be taking place such as use of the City Park Carnival Rides, a Bouncy House, face painting, and other games. Held at the Iowa City, IA Lower City Park, Shelter 9. Read More »

10th Annual Men Who Cook event: Pathways Cooks up a Cabaret. Approximately 20 local area men will cook and serve up their specialty dish for guests to sample. Tickets are $50 each and include unlimited food and drink. We will have Broadway inspired entertainment as well as a Silent Auction, Games of Chance, and a raffle. Tickets are limited and can be purchased by contacting Jeff Kellbach at 319-339-6162 or by e-mail at jkellbach@abbe.org. Read More »

This music and arts festival held in Gateway Park, Cedar Falls, benefits the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. Every dollar donated helps to provide 5 meals. Local visual and musical artists donate talent or art. There's a silent art auction, craft sale, acoustic music, poetry contests and kids activities throughout the day. Monetary or non-perishable food donations are admission. We will have The Cedar Valley Acoustic Guitar Association musicians and others play. Tapping into the talents of local artists and musicians brings with it a bigger sense of community which is important. Read More »

This is our annual Scouting for Food Drive that will be held on October 12, 2013. On October 5th Scouts will put out 100,000 bags in the 7 county area and return on Octorber 12th to collect the bags filled with food. Also, food will be collected at Rockwell Collins, and locations throughout Benton, Iowa, Jones, Linn, Cedar, Johnson and Washington Counties, as well as the Waterloo, Cedar Falls area. Food collected will go to area food banks to help support the hungry. Your support of this program will continue to help the scouts and areas volunteers reach out to more homes and provide much needed for. Scouts from the Hawkeye Area Council and Winnebago Council(Waterloo) will help with this event. Read More »

Through this race, we have had a presence and have been educating the community for over 20 years. The race has become a yearly event for many families as they gather to walk in memory or support a special loved one who has been affected by breast cancer. Many people, contribute hundreds of volunteer hours in pre and post race activities. Each year the numbers continue to grow, with last year’s race numbering 15,245 registrations from 427 cities and 31 states. The race also provides educational opportunities and raises awareness about the importance of screening mammography and early detection. When requested, community and business groups are provided with on-site education. Especially For you Race Against Breast Cancer has raised funds for financially disadvantaged women and men and increased awareness in the community about the importance of early detection of breast cancer. In 2011, the EFY Fund helped 628 individuals in our community, receive 889 services. Sunday, October 13, 2013 at 7:30 a.m. at Mercy Medical Center on 10th Street SE, Cedar Rapids. Read More »

Roughly 5,000 individuals accessed emergency shelters and transitional housing programs in Linn County in 2012. The Sleep Out is a fun, educational, and engaging opportunity to address local homelessness by raising funds to support the local shelters and programs that help thousands of people escape homelessness each year. Held at the Veterans Memorial Baseball Stadium, Sleep out for the Homeless is organized by the Linn County Veterans Affairs to support all 9 local homeless and transitional programs. Participants construct makeshift shelters out of cardboard that is provided. Those participating should dress appropriately for the weather and bring sleeping bags or blankets as needed. Unlike those actually experiencing homelessness, we will have access to indoor restrooms and warming stations. Security will be on site. Hot soup, snacks and beverages are donated by local partners. Participants spend the night outside. This is an opportunity for community members to raise funds as well as to discuss, think and learn about homelessness in our community and throughout the nation. Read More »

Tannenbaum Forest has over 40 live Christmas trees all decorated by local businesses and organizations. Santa and his live reindeer make several appearances, there is live music during the weekends, a nativity scene, St. Nick's Cafe and Wreaths for Wishes, which is a silent auction of over 30 donated wreaths. An admission charge is not required, we only ask for a donation for a local child that has been selected to make their wish come true through Eastern Iowa's Make a Wish Foundation. This is a wonderful, family friendly event that many return to year after year. Held at Festhalle Barn in the Amana Colonies. Read More »