Greater Burlington Leadership strives to offer meaningful content to strengthen and develop leadership skills among professionals and those interested in bettering themselves and the Greater Burlington community. The class projects have proven to be successful in improving teamwork skills.
The class projects have also served the community in a variety of ways. To date, class projects have included a food drive, Shamrock Shuffle, a special event featuring Jack Hanna and creating local networking opportunities to connect volunteers and organizations. The purpose of these projects is to not only build teamwork and leadership skills, but to also make a positive impact on the community.
Smash for a Cause
2024 - 2025
The 2025 Smash for a Cause pickleball tournament, hosted by the Greater Burlington Leadership Class, brought the community together for a day of fun, friendly competition, and local pride. Held at the Burlington YMCA, the event raised $10,000 to fund new banners celebrating the vibrancy of Burlington and West Burlington. Participants of all skill levels enjoyed spirited matches while supporting a great cause.
Dodging Poverty
2023 - 2024
Dodging Poverty donated $13,190 to Building Bridges to support individuals in Greater Burlington as they transition into the workforce. These funds provide critical assistance to those striving to overcome poverty, helping them achieve financial stability and build a sustainable future.
Quiz for a Cause
2022 - 2023
Quiz for a cause donated $10,647 to the VIBE (Virtual Learning Program) facilitated by the Burlington Community School District. VIBE focuses on bringing a personalized, online learning experience to students, while also offering optional in-person enrichment lessons and activities. With over 300 students throughout Des Moines County, they have a wide impact on our community
Welcome To Burlington Mural
2021 - 2022
Members of the 2021-2022 Burlington Leadership Class are excited to announce their group project! They will be raising money for a ‘Welcome to Burlington’ Mural. Public Art helps bring culture and a vibrant welcome to the community. The mural will be located on the side of the building on Court St, between Main and Front Streets. The class would like to offer the opportunity for area businesses to get involved with the Greater Burlington Mural project. Please contact leadership@greaterburlington.com
Dodging Poverty
2023-2024
Tasked with a project benefiting a local organization, the class of 2023-2024 selected Burlington Building Bridges, emphasizing community support as a fundamental principle. Building Bridges empowers under-resourced families through tools, networking opportunities, social capital, and connections to sustainable living. Breaking down barriers and offering accessible resources are central to the organization's mission.
On April 13, the class organized and hosted Dodging Poverty, a successful dodgeball tournament at the new FunCity Courts, raising funds for Burlington Building Bridges. The goal was to raise $10,000 through sponsorships, team registrations, and donations. The class exceeded this target, contributing over $13,000 to Burlington Building Bridges. The donation will support initiatives providing household items, transportation, housing assistance, and more to families in need, facilitating their independence in Greater Burlington and enhancing contributions to the local workforce.
Welcome To Burlington Mural
2021 - 2022
Members of the 2021-2022 Burlington Leadership Class are excited to announce their group project! They will be raising money for a ‘Welcome to Burlington’ Mural. Public Art helps bring culture and a vibrant welcome to the community. The mural will be located on the side of the building on Court St, between Main and Front Streets. The class would like to offer the opportunity for area businesses to get involved with the Greater Burlington Mural project.
Kick-off to Little League Kickball Tournament
2020 - 2021
Thank you for your interest in the Kick-off to Little League Kickball Tournament. This event will be held on April 10, 2021, with a rain date being April 24, 2021, at Dankwardt Park Fields.
The day-long tournament is a family-friendly event that will bring everyone together for some great fun!! Pull your team together ages 5 and in Kindergarten and up can play. Come on out and support your local Burlington Little League.
The packet of information will give you the team roster and all other important details. Each packet will be due by March 31st, 2021 time stamped-if by electronic means to www.greaterburlington.com and postmarked if by mail, in order to guarantee a spot. You can mail the packet to the Greater Burlington Partnership office Located at Riverpark Place 610 N. 4th Street, Suite 200 Burlington, IA 52601. Email is our preferred method of communicating with the teams. We will also use this email address to communicate up to date COVID regulations that are put out by local and state health care officials.
This event is taking place in an alcohol and drug-free zone. City park code 57.11 prohibits alcohol. Please keep this in mind as a team player and spectator.
Virtual Lip Sync Battle For The Badge
2019 - 2020
Due to COVID-19, there are changes to this years event. The Greater Burlington Leadership class of 2019/2020 will now be hosting a VIRTUAL Lip Sync Battle Fundraiser in this years project. Funds for an interactive training simulator for Des Moines County law enforcement agencies will provide local officers with an efficient and cost-effective way to obtain scenario-based training. A special thanks to our Soloist sponsor, 5 Star Community Credit Union, for their support with this event!
CONTEST!
Upload your own lip sync or singing video to BATTLE FOR THE BADGE! Cash prizes for First, Second & Third place winners. Contest starts Monday April 20, 2020 and will run until May 8, 2020 at 11:59PM. Join the fun by viewing and voting (like or donate) on other’s videos in the event. See how you can join the fun below.
Lucky Duck Dash
2018 - 2019
The Greater Burlington Leadership Class of 2018 - 2019 has developed an event to raise money for improvements at Camp McBride, our local camp facility, operated by the YMCA of Burlington. We present the Lucky Duck Dash!
The Lucky Duck Dash is rubber duck race that will be held on May 4th from 11 AM - 1 PM at Lake Starker in Crapo Park. We will invite members of the community to purchase a duck for $10, giving them the chance to win prizes including the $1,000 grand prize.
Lucky Duck Dash will be the source of funding for the equipment and supplies needed for improvements at Camp McBride. CNH Industrial and their employees will provide the manpower and heavy equipment necessary for installation and improvements. Greater Burlington Leadership is a program of the Chamber of Commerce, a division of the Greater Burlington Partnership.
Prepared Active Shooter Response Seminar
2017 - 2018
The Greater Burlington Leadership Class of 2017-2018 is presenting an Active Shooter Preparedness Seminar to community businesses on Thursday, April 26, 2018. Two sessions will be offered, 8:30-11:30 AM and 1:30-4:30 PM at PZAZZ! Convention & Event Center in Burlington, Iowa. In order to provide the best experience for attendees, seating is limited.
Objective: Prepare community businesses and their associates on what to do in the event of an active shooter incident. Educating our community members helps us promote a Greater Burlington that is friendly to business and unfriendly to crime.
All proceeds will benefit community safety programs.
Light The Way
2016-2017
The Greater Burlington Leadership Class of 2016-2017 will enhance alley ways in downtown Burlington through cleanup, removal of debris and graffiti, and by adding lighting and murals.
The class along with volunteers will be cleaning up the areas on Friday, April 21st from 9 am – 3 pm. To Volunteer for Clean Up Day, contact Michelle McGraw.
A reveal of the alleys will be held on Thursday, May 11th. A small program and networking reception will begin at 5 pm at the Art Center of Burlington followed by a walking tour of the alleys. To rsvp for the reveal, contact Austin Schwartz.
To support the project through sponsorships, contact Jessica Dean.
Cracked Plastic Classic
2015-2016
The Greater Burlington Leadership Class of 2016 will host the first ever Cracked Plastic Classic Disc Tournament on April 17, 1 PM at the Disc Golf Course located in Dankwardt Park.
The tournament is open to all players regardless of ability.
To register, visit GetMeRegistered.com.
Proceeds will provide scholarships to Southeastern Community College's KidTechU program.
Like us on Facebook and keep up to date.
For more information, contact Brent Hartley at 319-208-2661.
Volunteer NOW!
2014-2015
Fulfilling a need…community buy-in…having a positive impact…were all motivators for the 2014-2015 Greater Burlington Leadership class when they determined their group project. After hearing from numerous community organizations, the common denominator was that all of the organizations indicated a need for volunteers.
After careful consideration, Volunteer NOW! was born. The mission of Volunteer NOW! was to raise awareness for local non-profits and increase volunteer hours in order to have a lasting, positive impact in Des Moines County and the surrounding communities.
Overall the Volunteer NOW! campaign pledged 11,250 hours. Which totaled pay of $244,688.00 that was volunteered to the Des Moines County community.
After the Greater Burlington Leadership class graduated, the Iowa State Extension Office took over the Volunteer NOW! campaign. For more information, visit www.extension.iastate.edu.
Jack Hanna's Into The Wild
2013-2014
What started as a required activity of Greater Burlington Leadership blossomed into a rewarding and successful experience for many. In October 2013, the classmates of Greater Burlington Leadership were told they needed to complete a group project.
The participants began putting ideas together, outlining what they would like to do and how they could involve the community. After a lot of thought, emails, meetings and effort, bringing Jack Hanna and his "Into the Wild Live" show was selected as the project, and plans began to fall into place. The finale of the project was $26,641.43 raised to support the Des Moines County Humane Society! The monies raised will be used to start a medical fund at the Humane Society.
Congratulations to the 2013 - 2014 Greater Burlington Leadership class for a successful group project that benefited the community!
Shamrock Shuffle
2012-2013
The Shamrock Shuffle was a huge success. The Greater Burlington Leadership class of 2012-2013 welcomed more than 900 walkers/runners on March 16, 2013 to Crapo Park for a 5K to raise money for after school middle school programs. With the help of sponsorships covering all expenses, proceeds benefiting the after school middle school programs raised $21,000. Greater Burlington Leadership appreciates the tremendous support of the numerous sponsors and volunteers who helped make the Shamrock Shuffle a success.
