Mentor Iowa - Every Child Deserves a Future |

About Us

Welcome to the Mentor Iowa Web Site! The mission of Mentor Iowa is to provide trained volunteer mentors to at-risk children in need of a positive adult role model. We will do this by working in partnership with the children, their families and the community.

Mentor Iowa is a 501(c)(3) Iowa Nonprofit corporation. Iowa Code Chapter 504A. Tax ID # – 23-7329212.

Upcoming Events

January 31 – Iowa Wild hockey game – Mentor Iowa non-profit of the game night

February 22 – Iowa Wolves basketball at The Casey’s Center

March 1 – “The Outsiders” performance at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines

Ways You Can Help & Updates

23rd annual Mentor Iowa auction presented by GreenState Credit Union

The 23rd annual Mentor Iowa auction presented by GreenState Credit Union will take place on Sunday, April 26th at Toad Valley golf course. There are sponsorship opportunities available along with other ways to support this major fundrasier for Mentor Iowa. Mentor Iowa is looking for items to be used in our live and silent auctions. If you would like to be a sponsor or donate an item, please reach out to Mentor Iowa Executive Director, Marty Lester, and he will send you the details. The silent auction will be held again online and you can bid on items even if you will not be able to attend. Mr. Lester can be reached at 515-277-9797 or marty@mentoriowa.org.

VARIETY – the Children’s Charity grant award

Mentor Iowa is a recent recipient of a 2025 grant award from Variety – the Children’s Charity of Iowa! This funding award from Variety will help sponsor six group events (Back to School Bash – August, Menagerie Stables – September, Howell’s Pumpkin Patch – October, Iowa Wolves – February, “The Outsiders” performance – March, Iowa Cubs – May), Jeans for Teens/Clothes for Kids program, Mentor Activity Fund, Mentee Assistance Fund and new Mentor Iowa t-shirts. These funds are instrumental for Mentor Iowa to provide a wide range of fun activities for our match pairs to participate in at no expense to our mentors.

Variety – the Children’s Charity is dedicated to improving the lives of children who are underprivileged, at-risk, critically ill or living with special needs. Grant funding is provided to programs and initiatives that directly impact the well-being of children in our community. For more information on how you can be a part of Variety’s work, please visit www.varietyiowa.com..

The 52nd Variety Telethon will air on Tuesday, February 24th, 2026, on KCCI and will highlight the incredible impact made for the children in Iowa. If you would like to consider making a donation to Variety, please contact Mentor Iowa Executive Director, Marty Lester and he can explain the process of making a donation.

Thank you so much to Variety for their many ways of support to Mentor Iowa!

O’DONNELL & FRIENDS CHARITIES

Mentor Iowa is honored to keep this post on our home page as this is our largest one day check we have received in our history. We would like to thank O’Donnell & Friends Charities for selecting Mentor Iowa as the charity of choice from their golf outing in 2016. As a result of their hard work and efforts, Mentor Iowa received $103,198.25 to help create the Dan & Dee O’Donnell scholarship. This scholarship will benefit Mentor Iowa mentees who are in their Sophomore, Junior and Senior years in college.

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