What’s The Illinois And Iowa Good News For April, Quad-Cities?
There’s no April Fool’s here, just positive news about the Quad-Cities in our latest What’s The Good News column!
Want to read some uplifting, GOOD news about the Quad-Cities? Read on!
Rock Island Academy Starts Coding Camp
Rock Island Academy started a new club this year, Leopards Who Code. The club meets every week and meetings consist of friendship activities, learning the history of computers and coding, and coding projects like video games, apps, artistic design, and more.
The club is for any 3rd-6th grade Leopard who’s interested in learning about technology.
The club meets every Monday and meetings consist of friendship activities, learning the history of computers and coding, and coding projects like video games, apps, artistic design, and more.
East Moline’s Glenview Middle School Hosts Mariachi Band Program
Nearly one in every five East Moline residents is Hispanic or Latino, so it makes sense there is a solid Mariachi band program at Glenview Middle School, 3100 7th St., East Moline.
Formed in 2015 by Richard Clark, who retired last year, the Mexican music program is under the new direction of Monike Hill of Davenport, who has a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Western Illinois University and a master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting and Pedagogy from Sam Houston State University in Texas. She has 21 years of experience teaching elementary, middle, and high school ensembles in Illinois, Michigan, and Iowa.
Hill had played in different musical ensembles with Clark, is good friends with him, and has followed the Glenview Mariachi Band since it was launched. Clark was the one who encouraged her to apply to take over his position. Percussion is her principal instrument.
While East Moline’s total population is over 19 percent Hispanic, the Glenview Middle School has a Latino population of approximately 32 percent. The GMS Mariachi Band Program began to meet the musical and cultural needs of this population of students, as nearly half of the students in the band are from Latino families.
EveryChild announces Child Abuse Prevention Month programming
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. To spark conversations about childhood well-being and build awareness of the community resources available for ensuring safe, healthy childhoods for all, EveryChild, formerly known as the Child Abuse Council, is leading a variety of events, activities, and community trainings throughout the month.
“Childhood well-being is a community issue, and Child Abuse Prevention Month is an opportunity for us all to come together to celebrate the small steps we can take to strengthen children and families, not just this month but throughout the year—and far into the future,” said Mark Mathews, EveryChild’s executive director. “We take a proactive, strength-based approach to preventing child abuse, and that starts with a foundation of awareness and education.”
“This year, we’ve got the calendar jam-packed with different ways for anybody, no matter who they are, to get involved,” said Alyssa Acton, EveryChild’s community education program manager.
Major events include several Pinwheel Ceremonies at locations across the Quad Cities and the Celebrate Every Child Gala on April 28. Throughout the month, community members are encouraged to join a range of meetings, information sessions, and free trainings, while different family activities centered on wellness, safety, and relationship-building are suggested each week.
For Acton, the overarching goal of Child Abuse Prevention Month and the agency’s community education initiatives throughout the year is to build a common language the community can use to talk about childhood well-being and preventing child abuse.
“Childhood trauma, the challenges of parenting—these can be difficult things for people to discuss,” said Acton. “But if we all talk about the same topics with the same vocabulary, and we do it over and over again, these issues become normalized. When they lose that stigma and we become more willing to talk about them, that makes it easier to ask for help or find the information we need.”
EveryChild’s community education programming ranges from basic overviews and refreshers to more in-depth, targeted trainings. Acton’s team meets regularly with early childhood educators, case workers, law enforcement officers, parents, and even nonprofit administrators to equip them with the tools and knowledge they need to support community efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect and lay the foundation for every child to thrive.
“While we have great evidence-based licensed curriculums, we also have the ability to adapt our materials to suit the people we’re talking to,” said Acton. “We can go into a lot of different places and show how, if we train this particular group of people, it will benefit families and kids in our community.
“When you know better, you do better,” she added. “The more information you have, the more conversations you have, the more you’re able to make healthy decisions. That’s what we provide, and that’s how we’re setting our community up to succeed.”
Quad City River Bandits Partner With Group O To Celebrate Hispanic Culture
The Quad City River Bandits are celebrating the local Hispanic and Latino community with a new 2022 Copa de la Diversión identity…
¡Bandidos del Río!
The team is partnering with Group O to celebrate the Quad Cities’ Hispanic/Latino communities this summer by becoming “Bandidos del Rio” for each of the team’s 11 Wednesday home games. During the games, the players will wear special jerseys that include a serape-inspired design on the sleeves and caps featuring River Bandits mascot Rascal wearing a sombrero and mask that also include the serape-inspired design.
Check out the new jerseys and merchandise for the team:
Bandidos del Río de las Ciudades Cuádruples
https://atmilb.com/3NC9BKA
Development Association Of Rock Island Launches Scholarship Program
The Development Association of Rock Island, Inc. (DARI) is launching a scholarship program providing two $5,000 scholarships to Rock Island high school seniors to help kick off its community marketing campaign “Why Rock Island.” Applicants are asked to use
their imagination to create a video or other visual that tells the story Why Rock Island is a great place to live, work and play. DARI will then use the stories to help market Rock Island. The deadline for applications is April 22nd.
The scholarship was created using proceeds from the Divots FORE DARI golf outing that DARI hosted in 2021. DARI has hosted a golf outing since 2015 with proceeds raised going to a community–focused effort. The Executive Board of DARI decided to allocate the 2021 proceeds to a scholarship fund to support a Rock Island resident who attends a Rock Island high school to assist them as they enter into college.
Details of the scholarship program are available here.
Hunt And Diane Harris Continue Legacy With New Foundation
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 Foundation Fund to enhance their giving, relieving them of the administrative burdens associated with running private foundations and allowing them to focus on what matters most—their philanthropic goals.
“With their deep history of giving, Hunt and Diane are philanthropic leaders in our community, and it’s an honor to partner with them in furthering their generosity,” said Anne Calder, vice president of development. “This is a pivotal step in ensuring their legacy of generosity lives on forever.”
“A donor-advised fund is so much easier than all the steps you have to go through with maintaining a private foundation,” said Hunt. From staying on top of annual distribution, tax, legal, and reporting requirements to hiring investment advisors, private foundations come with logistical hurdles and extensive costs that can cut into their philanthropic purpose. “With a donor-advised fund, all I have to do is log on, request the grant, and it’s processed,” he said, adding that the Community Foundation conducts due diligence on each grantee. “The system keeps a record of the organizations we’ve given to in the past, so we can go back and look up how much we gave and when.”
As part of the foundation conversion, they designated a percentage of their assets for charitable funds for their son, daughter-in-law, and daughter, who wanted to be involved with their family’s giving without inheriting the burden of running two private foundations. After the couple’s lifetimes, the remainder of their fund will convert to a permanent fund that their children will advise on and from which their grandchildren will have the opportunity to also make grants. “That helps keep them involved with the Community Foundation and gives them familiarity with the donor-advised fund methodology, so when we’re gone it’s easy for them to get involved,” Hunt said. And after the lifetimes of the family members, the Community Foundation has instructions from the couple for grants going forward to benefit the community as a whole through its grantmaking programs.
Guiyou Huang is president of Western Illinois University.
Anti-Racism Task Force Established At Western Illinois University
When Guiyou Huang started his tenure as Western Illinois University‘s 12th president in January 2021, one of his core initiatives was to further the University’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and efforts.
Huang has created a new Anti-Racism Task Force (ARTF), composed of approximately 22 faculty, staff, students from both campuses, as well as community members. The task force recently held its first meeting, which included training presentations from Jessica C. Harris, vice chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Jamie Ball, director of SIUE’s Office of EOA/Title IX Coordination and Gertrude Pannirselvam, associate professor in the Department of Management and Marketing. The WIU Task Force’s first objective will be to identify anti-racism initiatives and advise/support the creation of the University’s Diversity Plan.
“I shared in my DEI update letter last month that I am greatly appreciative to the individuals who accepted the nomination to be a part of this critical initiative. I was so pleased to get so many names from faculty, staff, and students who provided names and nominations,” Huang said. “I’m excited to get updates and reports from this most important task force, and to begin putting plans into action.”
In addition, the WIU Board of Trustees recently approved a new Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. A search will begin for a director of DEI, who will work in concert with the ARTF, Huang added.
ARTF initiatives will be available on the WIU website in the near future.
Visit Quad Cities Creates New Coffee Trail
Visit Quad Cities, the region’s official destination management and marketing organization (DMMO), announces a new initiative expanding the way visitors and Quad Citizens interact with destination assets. The brand-new QC Coffee Trail showcases nearly 30 local coffee shops and cafés in the Quad Cities regional destination that are participating in the new trail.
The QC Coffee Trail uses mobile-based code check-ins, special offers, and gamification to engage participants.
It’s free to register at www.QCcoffeetrail.com. As you visit the variety of coffee shops in the QC, you can check in at each location and track your progress. Participants who check in at five places will earn a QC Coffee Trail coaster for their vehicle cup holder. Continue the trail to visit 15 locations and receive a fleece blanket. Complete all the locations for a QC Coffee Trail insulated flask, and a place on the trail’s Caffeinated Wall of Fame.
“Visit Quad Cities will continue to drive new destination and tourism products that showcase our authentic and locally curated experiences,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO, Visit Quad Cities. “We have a tremendous and passionate coffee community in the QC and like our QC Ale Trail this is another opportunity to engage Quad Citizens and visitors with what our region has to offer as we all strive to improve quality of place.”
The QC Coffee Trail is ongoing, and people can sign up at any point. To view a list of the participating locations, visit www.QCcoffeetrail.com. Once registered, the mobile-friendly QC Coffee Trail will be instantly delivered to your smartphone via text and email and is ready to use immediately. There is no app to download. You can also save the pass to your phone’s home screen for easy one-tap access.
Based on research through its Tourism Master Plan, insights from visitors, and with the success of the QC Ale Trail, Visit Quad Cities has developed the QC Coffee Trail to further activate a fun experience for customers consuming the Quad Cities. Local coffee shops and cafés have long been meaningful gathering spots for friends, family, and business connections. It is where relationships are grown, and memories are created while further advancing resident pride and improving bragability. In addition, the support and promotion of the region’s hospitality industry is a priority for the private, non-profit DMMO.
Visit Quad Cities also leads other destination experiential products with the QC Ale Trail, QC Family Pass, QC Pro, and is currently developing a QC Public Art Trail with its partners at Quad City Arts. Visit Quad Cities used Bandwango for the development of the QC Coffee Trail, QC Family Pass and QC Advanced Pro. Bandwango is a travel technology-based platform that is designed to deliver access to places and experiences digitally. Bandwango currently works with destinations across the U.S. and Canada, including Denver, Houston, Phoenix, and the Iowa Office of Tourism, to name a few.
Continue the conversation about your QC Coffee Trail journey in the new Facebook group dedicated to coffee and the Quad Cities at https://www.facebook.com/groups/qccoffeetrail
If a local coffee shop is interested in joining the new QC Coffee Trail, please email info@visitquadcities.com.
