August 3, 2020 Following Imagine Grinnell’s mission to create healthier people and a healthier environment in Grinnell, the local nonprofit has set out to support a new initiative: Plate to Plant. This community compost initiative aims to reduce the city’s landfill waste while simultaneously creating nutrient-rich soil. Bella Kugel and Sage Kaplan-Goland, two recent [...]
July 7, 2020 As the COVID-19 pandemic reached Iowa in March and emergency closures triggered unemployment, Grinnell residents began discussing how they could help fellow townspeople in need. Those discussions quickly resulted in formation of the Grinnell Food Coalition, a public-private church partnership which is now regularly providing vouchers and information to people who [...]
July 3, 2020 Grinnell received a visit at the offices of the Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation on June 22, from Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg. Reynolds said she had read of the Grinnell Food Coalition and wanted to hear about it first-hand. The state officials heard Grinnellians describing how [...]
July 1, 2020 Kathy Kessler, an experienced instructor and seamstress of beautiful quilts, has donated sixteen of her own creations and co-creations to serve the cause of the Poweshiek Housing Coalition. Funds generated through an online auction of these quilts during the month of July will be collected and distributed by the Poweshiek County [...]
June 30, 2020 Nominations are open for the 2020 “Leave It Better Than You Found It” awards from the Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation. All Grinnell area nonprofit, social, civic, fraternal, and community groups making a difference in the local community are eligible to be nominated by the Aug. 1 deadline. The 2020 [...]
June 23, 2020 The community garden project that began in 2013 at Grinnell Regional Medical Center has bloomed into 11 Giving Gardens--nine in the city of Grinnell and two in Brooklyn. The Giving Gardens are a collaborative effort of local organizations and individuals to improve the health of Poweshiek County residents by providing access [...]
June 12, 2020 Grinnell Games, presented by the Claude W. & Dolly Ahrens Foundation, is going virtual in June! In 2020 participants are invited to join as an active community both near and far to come together to celebrate our front-line healthcare employees by running and walking virtually together. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [...]
June 10, 2020 In collaboration with community partners, Grinnell College and the Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation will be setting up a fund to match donations that support communities of color and fight for racial justice locally. Grinnell College will donate $25,000 and the Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation will donate $5,000 [...]
May 22, 2020 A new program fund administered by the Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation (CDAF) will support housing related needs for eligible Poweshiek County residents. The Poweshiek Housing Assistance Fund will provide those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with support for rental deposits, utilities, legal documents needed to rent, [...]
