Christian Vandehaar
Art Instructor, Bondurant-Farrar High School
Under the direction of Christian Vandehaar, Bondurant-Farrar High School art teacher, and with the support of the Community Foundation of Great Des Moines, these six students were selected to create this year’s National Philanthropy Day awards. Each piece is inspired and embodies the philanthropic spirit of the recipient. This marks the fourth year Mr. Vandehaar’s students have created the artwork to celebrate philanthropy in the community, carrying on an over 20 year tradition. Thank you to Mr. Vandehaar and the students for providing such beautiful and unique pieces for this year’s celebration!
Student Awards
Emily Maffin
Des Moines Scheels – Outstanding Large Corporate Philanthropy
From hosting annual charity programs to lifting people´s spirits, Scheels has made various positive impacts on their community. The ‘ripple effect’ Scheels has demonstrates how one good deed can change lives for the better. This piece represents how one water droplet, or good deed, pushes those around you to do great things. Thank you Scheels for putting so much work into making a positive difference in others' lives and continuing the ripple to future generations.
Kaylen Torrence
Green State Credit Union – Outstanding Small Corporate Philanthropy
I created this piece to represent the numerous donations made by Green State Credit Union. The main focus of the piece is a house made from canned food, symbolizing the West Suburban Community Pantry purchased by Green State to address food insecurity. Additionally, I chose to depict a house to signify their efforts in helping foster youth transition into safe housing. The house has missing cans, symbolizing the company's commitment to filling societal gaps. Furthermore, the house is situated in a prairie field, signifying the prairie seeds they harvested last year, contributing to a greener and cleaner Iowa. Green State Credit Union consistently engages in donation-based projects that enhance and support the community.
Karissa Duden
Grant Kvalheim – Outstanding Individual Philanthropist
This piece honors the incredibly hard-working Grant Kvalheim, whose devotion to making a positive impact worldwide earned him the Outstanding Individual Philanthropist Award. Mr. Kvalheim has done incredible work through his affiliation with SolHealth and the Campbell School. Represented by the various African animals in this piece, SolHealth’s public health initiatives have done incredible work in Africa. They also captivate Mr. Kvalheim’s work with the Great Outdoors Foundation. I drew the animals in balloon-animal form, representing the special needs children and young adults in the Campbell School, which Mr. Kvalheim has been avidly donating to for over 20 years. The lightened rainbow color scheme demonstrates the spectrum of the children in the Campbell School, each with their unique personalities, difficulties, and life experiences, as well as the amount of work Mr. Kvalheim has done for the community.
Maddison Martin
Christine Hensley – Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser
I created this piece to convey Christine Hensley’s love for Des Moines. I knew that I wanted to include the iconic 801 Grand building in some sort of skyline, which, as a former Des Moines City Council member of twenty-four years, Ms. Hensley had a big role in creating. She also helped coordinate fundraising for Pappajohn Sculpture Park, so I toyed with different ways to incorporate the Park. I decided to use the ‘frames’ of my piece, which follow the same lines as the paths in the Park. All in all, I created this piece to portray Des Moines in recognition of Ms. Hensley’s contributions to the city.
Aubrey McMahan
Audrey Whalin – Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy
The egg represents the beginning of all the donations/charity that Audrey has given to her community. Each missing piece throughout the egg is a sliver of hope and optimism in each family she’s helped. Audrey is a light that has touched more than just her community but beyond. She inspired me to create this piece to show the stabilization and dedication she had given to her cause.
Addisyn Marvin
J. Scott Raecker – Spirit of Philanthropy
I created these 6 pieces to represent former Representative Scott Raecker’s generous contributions to national and international education, government, and well-being.
The first panel (red) represents Mr. Raecker’s time in office at the Iowa State Capitol. Mr. Raecker worked for the people of Iowa as a State Representative for 14 years, contributing to the Ethics Committee, Housing Appropriations Committee, and the Midwest Council of Government’s Legislative Leadership Institute.
The second panel (purple) I created is representative of Mr. Raecker’s contribution on the board of the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Studies. Mr. Raecker’s time and involvement allowed the Smithsonian to continue to work with communities in the United States and around the world to encourage the understanding, appreciation, and vitality of humanity’s diverse heritage.
The third panel (blue) in the piece is indicative of Mr. Raecker’s time and participation involving Drake University. Mr. Raecker currently stands as the Executive Director of the Robert D. & Billie Ray Center at Drake, and the Co-Director of the Olson Center for Public Democracy. Mr. Raecker also stood as a Board Member of the Drake University School of Education International Advisory Board.
The fourth panel (yellow), and my favorite, is representative of The Shining City Foundation, of which Mr. Raecker stands as both the Co-Founder and board member. When doing my research for Mr. Raecker’s pieces, I looked thoroughly into the Shining City Foundation specifically. I was in complete and total admiration of the work The Shining City Foundation has continued to contribute to underserved communities across the globe. I saw many photos of international children and orphans playing, dancing, and being provided with blankets, food, and toys. I created this panel to show the children that Mr. Raecker’s work has helped and his impact on them and their communities.
The fifth panel (green) represents Mr. Raecker’s participation in the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and his place on the board. Because of Mr. Raecker’s involvement in the Foundation, over 20,000 hours of volunteer work have been completed with the intention to support Iowa Wildlife.
Finally, the sixth and final panel is a portrait of Representative Raecker. Mr. Raecker’s contributions to promoting Drake’s Pillars of Character inspired the coloring of this piece; red - caring, purple - citizenship, blue - trust, yellow - respect, green - responsibility, and, finally, orange - fairness. These characteristics can be seen everywhere within Mr. Raecker’s work, and shows how he is truly indicative of the model citizen. Furthermore, Mr. Raecker’s involvement in his church and his dedication to religious studies inspired the stained-glass style of the portraits I have created. The foundations and charities that I chose to represent within these pieces are merely a small portion of the groups and people that Mr. Raecker has helped, and it’s my sincere belief that none of this would be possible without him. An avid member of his community and church, Mr. Raecker is a great role model for his family and anyone who may have the pleasure of working with him.
Infinite thanks to Representative Raecker for his generous contributions to countless people across the globe, and I am so grateful to be the artist privileged to create this piece.