We are very excited as this is the first time Mentor Iowa has been awarded a grant from the Aviva USA Charitable Foundation.

Pictured are Karen Lynn (Aviva USA Head of Corporate Affairs) presenting the check to Marty Lester (Mentor Iowa Executive Director) and Matt Jacobson (Aviva USA Senior Tax Analyst and Mentor Iowa Board Member).

Pictured below from Alpha Ventures LLC are Tommy Bomstad, Rodney Bell, Derek Knudsen and Tony Rose presenting a check to Mentor Iowa Volunteer Coordinator, Kristen Gruntorad.

Mentor Iowa recently received $500 from the A.M. Rotary Club of Des Moines to help sponsor our upcoming March group event going to watch the Iowa Energy.  Our match pairs will receive a free ticket to the game, a meal and each mentee will receive a souvenir Iowa Energy t-shirt.  MidAmerican Energy provided the tickets for the game.  Pictured on the far left is Bill Burma, Past President of the A.M. Rotary Club of Des Moines.  Marty Lester, Executive Director for Mentor Iowa, is on the far right.

Mentor Iowa recently received a grant for $5,000 from Prairie Meadows!  Pictured in front row (L to R): Jenae Murphy – Mentor Iowa Board Vice-President, Marty Lester – Mentor Iowa Executive Director.  Back row (L to R):  Paul Rogness – Prairie Meadows Board of Director, Linda Grandquist – Prairie Meadows Board of Director and Grant Advisory Committee member, Dolph Pulliam – Prairie Meadows Grant Advisory Committee member.  Mentor Iowa is very appreciative for the many years of support given by Prairie Meadows.

Thank you to everyone who attended our 6th annual Grapevine event.  Over 100 people were in attendance and new matches are going to be created!

Every mentor in attendance received a $20 gift card to QuikTrip and also a certificate from Governor Branstad and the Iowa Mentoring Partnership in appreciation for their efforts in making a positive difference in their mentee’s life.

Doll Distributing LLC recently presented their funding award of $7,344! Mentor Iowa received $1 for every case of Anheuser-Busch product sold in QuikTrip stores starting in August through Labor Day. Pictured is Ken Pierce with QuikTrip, Marty Lester with Mentor Iowa and Jerry Braatz with Doll Distributing LLC.

Ernst & Young, LLP – $1,000

First National Bank of Iowa – $500

Jessica Heller with First National Bank of Iowa presents Marty Lester with Mentor Iowa a check for $500 to support Mentor Iowa’s mission.

GAP Inc. – $1,000

Megan Cooper and Angie Schlender from Old Navy at Merle Hay Mall presented Marty Lester with Mentor Iowa a check for $1,000.  Old Navy wrote a letter to GAP Inc. about the great partnership they have with Mentor Iowa through our Man Up program.  We were one of a few programs selected as one of the $1,000 recipients!

In Any Event – $500

Mindy Toyne of In Any Event presents Marty Lester (Mentor Iowa Executive Director) and Kevin Officer (Mentor Iowa Board Member) with a check for $500.  Mentor Iowa was a charity of choice from the Oktoberfest celebration held on September 28th and 29th.

ING Asian Employee Resource Group – $2,000

Mentor Iowa Board member and ING Asian Employee Resource Group representative, Jason Seehusen, presents Marty Lester with Mentor Iowa a check for $2,000 in support of the annual Holiday Party.

Lozier Heating & Cooling – $1,000

Gary (Lozier Heating and Cooling) presents Marty Lester with a check for $1,000 for Mentor Iowa’s annual holiday party.  Also in the picture is Max Schaeffer with the Des Moines Radio Group (KIOA – 93.3) who helped create this new partnership become a reality.

North Pole Entertainment LLC – $2,000

Jason Kiesau and John Johnson with North Pole Entertainment LLC present Marty Lester with a check for $2,000.  Mentor Iowa, along with Young Variety, were the charities of choice from the 10th annual Santa Pub Crawl.

Piper Jaffray – $4,000

Polk County Board of Supervisors – $2,000

Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino – $10,000

Principal Financial Group Foundation – $5,000

QuikTrip -Ken Pierce from QuikTrip (Mentor Iowa Board Member) presents Marty Lester with a check in the amount of $5,000.  These funds will be used to help Mentor Iowa continue its mission of finding more mentors for the children on our waiting list.

QuikTrip Charity Golf Classic – $19,174.04

On Saturday, October 6th, QuikTrip hosted their annual charity golf outing where Mentor Iowa was the charity of choice.  Ken Pierce and Mark Sullivan with QuikTrip present Marty Lester with a check for $19,174.04 from the proceeds of this golf outing!  This is the second largest check Mentor Iowa has received in its history.  Thank you QuikTrip for your many ways of support to help Mentor Iowa!

US Bank – $1,000

Deb Jetmund from US Bank presents Marty Lester with a check in the amount of $1,000.  These funds will be used to support the Jeans for Teens/Clothes for Kids program that is in conjunction with our annual holiday parties.

Variety – The Children’s Charity of Iowa – $12,500

Susan Hatten (Variety-The Children’s Charity of Iowa) presents Tyler Brady (Mentor Iowa Board Member) with a check for $12,500 to administer group events, the Teens for Jeans / Clothes for Kids program, mentee assistance fund and mentor activity fund.

Wells Fargo – $2,000

West Bank – $1,000

Young Professionals Connection (YPC) – $504 (Mentors & Mulligans 2012 golf proceeds)

Mike Banasiak (YPC President), Jaimie Miller (YPC Professional Development Chair) present Marty Lester (Mentor Iowa Executive Director) with a check for $504 from the 2nd annual Mentors & Mulligans golf outing.  Mentor Iowa was chosen as the charity of choice from the this event sponsored by the YPC on Wednesday, July 18th out at Copper Creek Golf Course in Pleasant Hill.