Theisen’s Stores Donate $100,000 to Cedar Rapids Disaster Recovery
An eastern Iowa home-farm-auto store, based in Dubuque and with two locations in Cedar Rapids, has donated $100,000 to disaster recovery in the Cedar Rapids area.
Theisen’s Home-Farm-Auto, with stores on 16th Avenue SW and 51st Street NE in Cedar Rapids, presented the check on Thursday to the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation (GCRCF). Chris Theisen, President and CEO of Theisen’s, made the donation to Michelle Beisker, Senior VP of Development, at the GCRCF.
“We know from first-hand experience that the derecho on August 10th caused millions of dollars of damage to homes and businesses, including ours, in Cedar Rapids. Our associates, their families and pets, and our customers and their families, were impacted by the devastating power of that storm. As a family, we have been very fortunate to have the Cedar Rapids community support us with not one, but two store locations. We knew it was important to lend our assistance where we could to the broader community. This donation is a way to give back to a community that has been so good to our company,” says Chris Theisen, President and CEO of Theisen’s.
Tony Theisen, COO and Board Chair for Theisen’s added, “The process of cleaning up and ‘getting back to normal’ will be a long one. Our donation of $100,000 is intended to help the GCRCF with their Disaster Recovery Fund, which will make grants to non-profit organizations who serve families and kids with their most basic needs. We are thankful we can do this for our associates, customers and families in the Cedar Rapids area.”
Karla Twedt-Ball, Senior VP, Programs and Community Investment for GCRCF, said, “The need is so great for so many in our area. Our Disaster Recovery Fund initially helped with the most immediate and direct needs of food, water and basic supplies to individuals and families right after the storm. As we move forward, philanthropic donations like this $100,000 from Theisen’s will be used to provide grants to non-profits who support those most impacted by the storm, for housing, basic needs, mental health services and much more.”
Michelle Beisker, Senior Vice President of Development at the GCRCF, thanked Theisen’s for their generosity. “With so many families in need, the Theisens have been so caring, to provide this significant donation to help with efforts in the Cedar Rapids area. We are so grateful to families and businesses like Theisen’s who step up and think of others in these critical times. Their generosity really helps to bring momentum to the disaster recovery efforts here. Donations like this speak volumes about the character of eastern Iowans. When we see how generous our neighbors in other communities are, it helps our community to know that we will get through this. We are most thankful and celebrate this generous gift.”