Raising awareness, opportunities, and connections.
Ankeny Community Champions is dedicated to giving back to our community. Our recent projects have focused on providing support and resources for local families in need. We are passionate about helping to make Ankeny a better place to live and work. Come learn more about our projects and how you can get involved! It's easy.
[2023] Jeff Wood Long-time Ankeny resident Jeff Wood was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer. Ankeny Community Champions assisted friends of the family to create an apparel webstore and collect cash donations to help the family with the medical bills. Join us in supporting a true commmunity warrior.
Fareway Round Up
[2024] The Ankeny Art Center Ankeny Community Champions partnered with the Fareway Ankeny stores. The Round Up program raises money for a local cause. This year's winner was the Ankeny Art Center. All money raised will be used for scholarship grants for underprivileged kids to attend summer camps. If enough money is raised, it will assist in improving the technology and art supplies used for these sessions..
EASTER SEALS
[2023] Easter Seals The donations from the annual Renée Murphy Foundation was presented to Easter Seals.
Dad's of Ankeny
[2023] Dads Giving for a Cause The Ankeny Dads Group got together and collected money to give a gift to the Ankeny Service Center. $2400 was raised to be used to assist individuals and families with personal care items, transportation, emergency financial assistants and more.
EVIE
[2023] Evie Goes to Disney This is Evie … a student in the Ankeny School District and is battling her SECOND round of medullablastoma after being cancer free for 7 years. One of Evie’s teachers asked her what she wanted to do the most and she said she wanted to go to Mario Land with her Circle of Friends/PEOPEL. She’s a teenager of course her friends needed to be with her! Evie was granted her wish. Evie, her family, friends and her Adaptive PE teacher (who took time off work to chaperone the friend group) went to California with the help of donations from friends (old and new), teachers and family. The money was used towards travel expenses. Thanks to everyone who played a part in making Evie’s dream come true.
RENEE
[2021] The Renée Murphy Legacy Scholarship Renée was an engaged, civic-minded citizen as well as an integral part of the Ankeny business community. She was the loving energy in any room with the biggest smile and the warmest heart. The Renée Murphy Legacy Scholarship will reward civic and community involvement, volunteerim, and celebrate Renée's life-long passion for helping others and will be awarded to two Ankeny graduates every year.
DONATE TODAY TO THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
If you would like to donate and provide this opportunity for more students, please scan today!
JOSHUA
[2019] A Car for the Win On a very cold and snowy evening, a man (Brian) makes his way out of a church group meeting, cleans the snow off his car and starts driving home. He sees a young man walking on the sidewalk on Ankeny Boulevard. He passes him while wondering why someone would be out walking in this weather. After a few minutes he turns around to offer him a ride but the man disappeared. Several months later Brian sees him again and stops to talk. He finds out the young man’s name is Joshua, he is a 17 years-old Ankeny Centennial Senior, and he is walking to work. No big deal right? Except Joshua lives north of NE 49th Street and works at a restaurant of SE Delaware! It takes him an hour and 40 minutes to walk the 5.5 miles each way. Brian offers a ride. As he heads over to Delaware, he also finds out that he does not live with family. He attends school and then works for the necessities, like rent and food, at night and on the weekends. The word gets out, a GoFundMe page was created and was posted on Facebook. The donations were over $10,000. One of our Board reached out to see what else needed to be done. He needed a car, a driver’s license, insurance, and someone to help manage his money. We were able to get a vehicle donated and helped him navigate the rest. He graduated from Centennial and attended DMACC.