CR netWORK

Member of Jefferson NHS helping paint.

CR netWORK is proud to partner with Qwest Telecom Pioneers led by Ina Mae Wienola, and the Jefferson High School National Honor Society on our Map Projects. This ongoing effort to paint a colorful map of the United States on Westside elementary school playgrounds is collaboration at its best.

The map is a powerful geography learning tool for students and teachers at Harrison, in addition to being a fun place to play games during recess. Students can take trips from Vermont to California in just a few seconds! A document full of potential educational activities is also supplied to the school.

The Jefferson High School National Honor Society made this project a work of art! The first day of the project five kids showed up to help, the second day 13. When they finished three hours ahead of schedule our project leads wondered how they were going to contact the rest of the kids to tell them not to come. The kids came to the rescue again with their fast fingers and texted all other volunteers. Now that‟s team work. On the last day three more kids came to touch up the map and call it COMPLETE!

Members of the Jefferson National Honor Society that made this possible:

Member of the Jefferson NHS painting

• Alec Brown
• Ben Castle
• Jenni Chung
• Alyssa Dlouhy
• Courtney Eggers
• Hayley Graham
• Emily Huber
• Justin Lindauer
• Katrina Lovan
• Jordan McLaughlin
• Andrew Miller
• Nicole Novak
• Hunter Orton
• Nate Selberg
• Taylor Steckler
• Kilee Sullivan
• Nicole Werling

The HACAP Activity Fund was established in 2009 and its function was to supply funding for children’s activities to low income families.  The fund was initially supported by government funds; however those funds are no longer available to draw from.  It is HACAP’s plan to keep the Activity Fund going as long as there is money in it.  HACAP is currently looking for private and corporate sponsorships to support the future of the Activity Fund.  Please take a moment to read the narative (Youth Activity Fund Narrative.doc) supplied to us by Donna Castle of HACAP, the custodian of this fund.CR netWORK has awarded a $1,000 grant to the HACAP Activity Fund. In return, HACAP has agreed to keep the grant separate to help Westside families aligning with our vision. They also committed to report back to us on how the money is spent.  We plan to update the website with this information as it comes in.

CR netWORK is a locally based non-profit organization established in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  The group’s focus is to gather and utilize resources (money, time, and skills) to empower youth on the west side of Cedar Rapids. The structure for the group is that of a Giving Circle.  To read more about how this group got started and who we are, please see the “Our Story” link in the top right menu of this page.

St. James Kid's Club Project

The founding members of CR netWORK have close ties to the west side of Cedar Rapids and believe  there is a need, even an untapped demand for this type of organization.  We share in the opinion that rallying around unique needs of the west side communities could be a powerful conduit to achieve positive change.  Additionally, being an unaffiliated charity, CR netWORK has the flexibility to give to individuals, families, daycare facilities, schools and so on.

CR netWORK also partners with local businesses for donated or discounted goods and services for use in projects as well as the administration of the organization.  By leveraging these relationships, our hope is that the highest percentage of donations will go towards the youth projects and not into administrative costs.  (Please note the CR netWORK Board is comprised solely of volunteers).

Taylor School Map Project

To become a member of the CR netWORK Giving Circle the minimum giving level is $20 per month.  Membership means that you’ll have one vote in where resources are directed.  You will receive communications and status reports on projects that are in queue as well as ones that are completed.  Additionally, you will have the opportunity to get involved in committees as well as project planning and execution.  Basically, membership can be what you want it to be.  We also accept one time donations, which are greatly appreciated.  Because the circle is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, these donations are fully tax deductible.  Please email us at info@crnetwork.org to get the ball rolling.

Thanks for your support.

A youth mentoring and skills program, located at Living Waters Kingdom Church near the corner of 33rd Avenue and J St SW.  Please read the attached Word document (Generation Now Youth Movement.doc) describing the program.Three individuals from CR netWORK attended a Monday meeting (Feb 1st).  What we was very clear to us was:

• Many of these children qualify as at risk youth.
• Children attending the program are engaged and WANT to be there.

There were about 25 kids there the night of the 1st, which was the night of one of our lovely winter storms.  This number was a bit below average and Pastor Dawson spent the first 20 minutes of the program taking headcount and running out to pickup kids that had not made it yet.The CR netWORK Board sees this as an opportunity for our relatively small sized grant to make a huge impact for these children.  We have awarded them a grant of $1,000.  Some of the things the funds will be used for:

• Dance Costumes and music CD’s (they are looking at costumes that cost $30 each for their recital)
• Art Supplies
• Food for feeding the youth on Monday evenings – We are also talking to local grocery stores to see if we can get discounts or matching funds.
• Field Trip funding

Partnership with Elevate

Elevate is an organization dedicated to inspiring change, compassion and connection for foster and adoptive youth in Iowa.  Each year, Elevate holds an annual event: Elevate Our Youth to FamilyAdulthood Day.   This event presents youth who are aging out of foster care, a suitcase with items from their wish list.  These items help them to start a new and independent life in their own apartment and ranged from bedding to cutlery to floor lamps.   The funds Elevate received from CR netWORK was used to purchase many of the items on the wish lists of the five individuals who were honored.  Used items were also donated by students of a Social Work class at the University of Iowa.  On Saturday, April 3rd the event was held at the Four Oaks Center on 1st Ave.  CR netWORK members Don McDill and Candyce Lyman volunteered their time to help separate and pack items.  Following the work, the group enjoyed punch provided by Candyce as well as a cake she made for the occasion.

For the second consecutive year, the Cedar Hills Booster Club, a fixture in little league baseball and softball on the Westside of Cedar Rapids for over forty years was experiencing difficulty in securing sponsorships for the upcoming 2010 season.  CR netWORK had sponsored a team in 2009 and with many local businesses still feeling the effects of a dragging economy, it made sense that our group would help keep the dream of ‘playing ball’ alive for hundreds of local youth.  CHBC continues to offer a low cost opportuntity for kids to participate on organized baseball and softball teams.  Our members are proud to support this cause.  Let the summer fun begin!

Recently, CR netWORK brought two people together to celebrate their love of music, specifically, playing the guitar. An 8th grade student at Taft Middle School, who has been self taught to this point, recently met up with a Cedar Rapids musician and guitarist, Brook Hoover who generously donated his time to give free lessons. The student is thrilled about this opportunity and when asked how he feels about the chance at learning from an accomplished musician his response was, “Awesome! I love it. We are rockin’!!, as a big smile swept across his face. The student and instructor will be meeting once every two weeks for the foreseeable future and both are excited about beginning this new relationship, all while sharing their love of music.

CR netWORK has been in contact with Harrison Elementary for quite some time in an effort to find the right project.   When we were put in contact with Chris Chicchelly (PE Teacher), he brought up the idea of a portable tennis system.  The tennis system is comprised of 3 portable nets and 25 rackets.  Here is an excerpt from a note from Chris:

“…I feel this type of equipment is something our school could really utilize.  I can envision my 2-5 grade physical education classes practicing ball/racquet activities to emphasize hand-eye coordination.  We can also incorporate three net systems into our gym and practice tennis game strategies.  I would also be able to use the portable net systems outdoors on the blacktop during recess times, as well as, after-school intramural program.  I see this as a wonderful opportunity to teach a lifelong sport activity to students who may not otherwise have these advantages…”

CR netWORK was excited to be able to purchase this system for the school.

Are the students of Cleveland Elementary destined for Broadway?  One never knows, but with the assistance of CR netWORK, these west side youngsters will now experience the anticipation of standing on stage as the curtain opens to reveal an audience of adoring fans.   For years, Cleveland has been unable to use their existing stage curtain due to it’s deteriorating condition.  When the request for assistance came to CR netWORK from Cleveland Elementary, members were quick to offer a $500 grant to supplement existing fundraising efforts.   This added “boost” from CR netWORK allowed Cleveland to install their new stage curtain in December 2009.  All of us at CR netWORK are proud to have played a role in this project, a project that will pay dividends for years to come as the students of Cleveland Elementary experience first hand the joy of performing on stage.

Member of the Jefferson NHS helping paint the US Map at Taylor

CR netWORK was pleased to partner with Telecom Pioneers and Jefferson High School’s National Playground ViewHonor Society on a recent project at Taylor Elementary.  Taylor is located at the corner of 6th St. SW and 7th Ave. SW.  The goal of the project was to create a giant map of the United States on Taylor’s playground for students to learn from and play on.  The map will be a powerful geography learning tool for students and teachers at Taylor, in addition to being a fun place to play games during recess.  Students can take trips from Vermont to California in just a few seconds!  A document full of potential educational activities is also supplied to the school.  The map project was completed over four sessions of painting by volunteers from each collaborating group.  According to Taylor Elementary principal (and CR netWORK Board Member) Brian Christoffersen, “the kids were already playing on the map when it just had Sunnyan outline.”  CR netWORK is proud to be a part of this project that will benefit the Taylor Community for years to come.  We would also like to thank Telecom Pioneers and the Jefferson High School National Honor Society for being a part of this effort.  We look forward to building on this partnership in the future by installing maps at other Westside schools.  CR netWORK looks forward to other community partnerships to fulfill our mission to empower Westside kids.

Key Helpers from the Jefferson National Honor Society who made the Taylor Map Possible:

• Katie Naber
• Kilee Sullivan
• Bethany Chambers
• Kaydee Brownlow
• Jordan McCormick
• Nate Selberg
• Alex Heying
• Nicole Werling
• Michael Rooney
• Chelsea Anderson
• Janessa Freeman
• Jarrod Utholff
• Ann Pham