United Way of East Central Iowa (UWECI) hosted its Time for Art: A Celebration of Volunteers on April 13.
The event brought in over 2,300 pledged volunteer hours, which is worth over $70,000 raised for the community. Time for Art aims to celebrate and raise awareness around volunteerism in Eastern Iowa.
“It’s impressive to see the number of volunteer hours increase from year to year, because it reflects how volunteerism is growing in Eastern Iowa,” said Angelica Vannatta, senior manager, community outreach and engagement, in a news release.
Time for Art began with UWECI’s annual volunteer awards ceremony, where nominees were recognized and honored for their work and dedication in their community.
Honored with volunteer awards were:
- Civic Business Volunteer Award: Rinderknecht Construction
- Community Family Volunteer Award: The Ridder Family
- Emerging Volunteer Award: Emily Bushman
- Hand Raisers Volunteer Award: Dr. Stephanie Cooper
- Lifetime of Service Volunteer Award: Lynette Richards
- Social Impact Volunteer Award: Jerry Bennett
After the program, attendees participated in a silent art auction. The auction gave a bidder an opportunity to bid on local art with volunteer hours instead of dollars. Featured local artwork included glasswork, paintings of nature and landscape, and woodwork and metal sculptures.
Three artists were recognized for their talent and generosity:
- Artists’ Choice Award: Brooke Peterson
- New Artist Award: Jeremy Brown
- Community Impact Award: John Kadlec
To learn more about volunteering, visit uweci.org/volunteernow.
