Listed below are the nominated nonprofit organizations. Learn more about each nonprofit by clicking on the links below...
Area Residential Care is a private, non-profit, 501(c) 3 organization, created in 1968 by a group of parents and other interested parties. Its mission is to empower people with intellectual disabilities to achieve their highest quality of life. From its inception, Area Residential Care’s purpose has been to provide community-based services for persons with intellectual disabilities. The organization has grown over the past 50 years to serve an average of 250 people with disabilities annually; providing residential, vocational, and day services in Dubuque and Dyersville communities. Through a variety of community-based residential and vocational programs, Area Residential Care helps people with disabilities become active, participating members of the community. Giving people with disabilities choices about where and how they live, work and socialize with their non-disabled peers is the essence of Area Residential Care’s purpose.
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dubuque provides the Dubuque-area youth with programs that promote health and wellness, educational, social and cultural, and leadership and character development skills. We place an emphasis on areas with the greatest potential impact, in an environment that enables our members to become responsible, productive, and positive citizens. Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dubuque provides fun, friendship, education, character building, and a safe haven for the youth of the Dubuque community. The Club was one of the first 53 clubs in the country and one of the first five West of the Mississippi River.
Community Solutions of Eastern Iowa (CSEI) promotes and encourages public well-being; provides homeless prevention resources to those living in poverty and threatened with homelessness; helps individuals and families survive and exit homelessness; and expands opportunities and empowers people to be self-sufficient in east central Iowa cities and counties. CSEI has three key programs, all which serve individuals and families experiencing a housing crisis in critical ways: Housing Helpline, Housing Programs and Street Outreach. CSEI values collaborative partnerships to reach their goals, and this includes the diversity of knowledge and experience provided by their leadership and team. CSEI works to ensure that their dollars serve their community efficiently. Thanks to their funding partners, they are able to dedicate over 80% of their budget to directly assisting individuals and families experiencing homelessness or a housing crisis through direct financial assistance, items to meet basic needs, planning services, and intensive case management. CSEI is a nonprofit subsidiary of the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA).
Dubuque County Fair Association (DCFA) exists to bring people together and provide an atmosphere where family traditions are created and continued. DCFA is a non-profit organization established in 1953, to plan and operate the Annual Dubuque County Fair. The Association has grown immensely in 71 years and the DCFA now offers visitors 96 acres of acutely manicured property, 3 rental facilities with a combined square footage of over 32,000 square feet of indoor space, adequate parking for thousands of cars, a 3/8 mile dirt race track, an outdoor Festival Area, experienced event planners and full service food and beverage amenities.
Dubuque County Friends of the Library is a nonprofit (501c3) volunteer organization that supports the Dubuque County Library District through advocacy, education, and fundraising. Friends of the Library have done the following: painted and refurbished the Epworth branch, supplemented funds for Library collections, purchased the Library's subscription to Ancestry.com, supported the Summer Reading Program, applied for and received grants on behalf of the Library, participated in community parades, hosted and funded library receptions and purchased library equipment.
Dubuque Regional Humane Society (DRHS) is committed to building bonds between people and animals through adoptions, community outreach, humane education and cruelty prevention. Operating as a 501(c)3 non-profit, open admission, no-kill shelter the DRHS provides critical medical and behavioral interventions and compassionate care for over 2,900 animals annually that are lost, abandoned, surrendered by owners, or rescued from neglect. Their commitment, in tandem with their community, which spans three counties in three states and backs their mission, creates pathways to new homes and brighter futures for 100% of the healthy, safe and treatable animals in their care.
Honor Flight of Dubuque and the Tri-States is a non-profit organization created solely to honor veterans living in Northeast Iowa, Southwest Wisconsin, and Northwest Illinois for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect on their memorials. Of all of the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation and as a culturally diverse, free society. Now, with so many World War II, Korean, and Vietnam veterans dying each day, our time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out.
Hospice of Dubuque helps those with serious illness and declining health cherish time with the people they love and participate in the activities they enjoy. To help patients achieve their goals, Hospice of Dubuque Care Team provides expert pain and symptom management, caregiver education, spiritual guidance, and emotional support. Hospice of Dubuque works with patients and families to design the care they need, in the manner they choose, on their terms. As a local nonprofit hospice since 1983, Hospice of Dubuque is here to serve the tri-state community with a mission of compassionate care. Hospice of Dubuque has carried out its sacred covenant with the tri-state community with an unwavering commitment to five core values: Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence, and Professionalism. These core values represent what Hospice of Dubuque has held dear since its inception and also define how the mission is enacted each day with clients, colleagues, and the community.
Platteville Community Arboretum (PCA), established in 2004, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with over 150 members. Its mission is to connect the Platteville community to the Rountree Branch corridor, through recreation, conservation, and environmental education. In the early 1990s, David Canny envisioned a trail that connected Platteville from west to east and created a corridor from which the people of Platteville could enjoy the natural world. Today this trail is our reality. The Platteville Community Arboretum is part of Platteville's more than 10 miles of trails and nearly 200 acres of public open space. In Fall 2018, the Platteville trail system was connected to trails across the state and takes users to Governor Dodge State Park, New Glarus and Madison, Wisconsin; Freeport, Illinois and beyond. The Platteville Community Arboretum maintains and manages over four miles of the trail network and adjacent arboretum.
Resources Unite strengthens the Dubuque community by creating connections. Resources Unite helps connect people to volunteer opportunities and resources that lead to a happier and more engaged way of life. They can help you change the world. Resources Unite keeps hearing from everyone in the community about how they want to help make the world a better place, but they don't know where to start. Well, that's what Resources Unite is here for...to help make those connections to engage and strengthen the community.
St. Mark Youth Enrichment provides innovative programs and services that cultivate the educational and social-emotional growth of youth and families. St. Mark Youth Enrichment s a non-profit organization that has served the Dubuque Community for over 35 years. They provide after school programming in three Title 1 elementary schools in the Dubuque Community School District, as well as providing after school programs in Peosta. They also provide an energetic 5 week summer program, St. Mark Heroes Camp. Located in both the Dubuque and Western Dubuque school districts. The 5 week program allows them to make a huge impact on the academic and social growth of the lives of the students. St Mark’s Heroes Camp gives children the opportunity to increase their reading and math scores, but to also experience learning in a hands on, enriching experience, including amazing field trips throughout the tri-states. St. Mark also engages the student’s families in these learning processes to maximize the opportunities for academic and social-emotional growth at home, including breathing techniques and yoga, to help in teaching better self regulation in school and at home.
The Workshop has been promoting the general welfare of individuals with disabilities in Jo Daviess County since 1961 when a small group of parents started The Workshop and, through perseverance, kept it going for the first ten years. The founding group of parents sought to establish a day program, which would teach basic skills and provide activities for their children with disabilities. In a larger sense, the parents hoped to see their children develop potential and receive the respect of others in society. Establishing The Workshop was no easy task. The motivated parents, and organization leaders that came after them, faced stumbling blocks, achieved milestones and took an immeasurable number of actions; all of which has lead to The Workshop evolving into something quite remarkable. The Workshop strives to enhance the lives and families of adults with disabilities by creating opportunities for independence.
Whispurring Hope Animal Rescue helps animals that are lost, abandoned, abused, sick, injured or simply just can't survive on their own. We strive to help in any way we can. We also work to help educate the public about the importance of spay/neuter and the proper care of animals. We rely heavily on volunteers and fosters. We believe animals should be housed in a home with a loving family whenever possible over being in a shelter or kennel situation. Our staff, volunteers, fosters & vets work endlessly to do everything possible to give each and every animal that comes through our doors the love and care they need to properly adjust into a new home and have a long, healthy life.
Wisconsin Badger Camp's mission is to serve individuals with developmental disabilities by providing quality outdoor recreational experiences. Wisconsin Badger Camp provides a positive natural environment where individuals with developmental disabilities can learn about their surroundings and realize their full potential. Through a group living experience, campers develop friendships and expand their social skills. Everyone, regardless of the severity of their disability, is welcome at Badger Camp.