Rebuild and Grow was founded as community self-help initiative that combines a grassroots hands-on action program with a supportive and 'action-amplifying' on-line web community. We're in "on hold" mode at present as we cope with the monumental challenges of our personal and small business recovery. In the meantime (and see the brief article below), we are pleased to refer you to the Cedar Rapids Block by Block program.

Founded by New Bohemia, Cedar Rapids' residents Mike and Lynette Richards, sponsored and administered by Sohodojo, and affiliated with Beacon of Hope Resource Centers of New Orleans, our mission is to help people and organizations rebuild – to what was before and to what can become - our lives, our neighborhoods, and our beloved city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa following the Great Flood of 2008.   More on self-help...

Handing off to Cedar Rapids Block by Block!

November 23, 2009 - 1:38am — Jim Salmons

We started Rebuild and Grow with the best intentions and have done our best to move things forward. Truth is, recovering and rebuilding after the flood is a monumental challenge for all of us. While we each continue to contribute to Cedar Rapids recovery in our own personal way, we simply do not have the bandwidth to do it all. Most especially, we need to focus our attention to ensuring that our own small business, SoyaWax International, in the New Bohemia neighborhood is not yet another victim of small business failure after the flood.

Thankfully, there is a "cup half full" dimension to this announcement. That is, we are very pleased to acknowledge and encourage folks to visit the Cedar Rapids Block by Block web site. There you will learn about the tremendous (and thankfully well-funded) efforts by Cedar Rapids folks to self-help each other as we rebuild our neighborhoods and our city.

Green Building Training for Disaster Recovery

September 1, 2009 - 2:30am — Timlynn Babitsky

The Iowa Department of Economic Development has signed a $1 million contract with the Center on Sustainable Communities (COSC) to develop, coordinate and deliver green building related training programs. The Center on Sustainable Communities, a West Des Moines nonprofit, educates and empowers consumers and professionals to build with a focus on sustainability.

Congratulations Legion Arts!

September 1, 2009 - 6:21am — Timlynn Babitsky

This morning (8/31//09) Gov. Culver's I-JOBS program awarded Legion Arts a grant of $4.8 million toward the purchase, restoration and improvement of CSPS Hall on Third Street SE in the New Bohemia section of Cedar Rapids. 

The official announcement from Legion Arts says it all: 

"To say we're grateful is putting it mildly.

Congressman Loebsack and City Council Members Join In Time Check Clean-Up Blitz

May 3, 2009 - 4:48am — Mike Richards

U.S. Congressman Dave Loebsack and City Council members Monica Vernon, Brian Fagen, and Chuck Wieneke joined 65 citizen volunteers to clear flood debris from 12 blocks of Ellis Boulevard in the Time Check neighborhood. Our distinguished legislators helped to make this first of our Saturday Clean-Up Blitzes a rousing success.

Cedar Rapids Neighbors On Block-by-Block Clean-Up Blitz

May 3, 2009 - 3:54am — Mike Richards

Michael Richards, President of Oakhill Neighborhood Assoc. organized the Americorps Green Corp.Team and 80 volunteers to carry out a block by block clean-up blitz in the flooded zone of Oakhill/New Bohemia on Saturday April 18, 2009. Don Steichen of Harbor Neighbors did the same a week or so before in the Ellis Harbor District. Now, this citizen initiative is a citywide effort in all of the flooded neighborhoods.

Grand Reopening of the African American Museum of Iowa

December 31, 2008 - 1:06am — Timlynn Babitsky

The African American Museum of Iowa will reopen its doors on January 17, 2009 with the premiere of its long-awaited exhibit “No Roads Lead to Buxton,” and an all-day open house to see how the Museum has changed since the 2008 floods. 
 

Iowa Disaster Recovery Conference

November 8, 2008 - 10:33pm — Timlynn Babitsky

 Learning from the Past/Planning for the Future
(note: includes practical applications of sustainable models and green concepts)

December 9-10, 2008
Marriott Coralville Hotel & Convention Center
Coralville, Iowa

Green Communities

November 5, 2008 - 9:28pm — Timlynn Babitsky

 Green Communities is the first national green building program focused entirely on affordable housing. Launched by Enterprise in fall 2004, Green Communities is designed to help developers, investors, builders and policymakers make the transition to a greener future for affordable housing.

A comprehensive offering of Green Grants, loans, tax-credit equity, training and technical assistance gives developers and builders the resources to bring green projects to life....

Street Level Sustainability

November 1, 2008 - 11:08pm — Mike Richards

The Flood of 2008 in Cedar Rapids devastated the older core neighborhoods around Downtown Cedar Rapids. For one hundred years, these inter-generational, tight knit neighborhoods have provided modest, yet pleasant affordable homes. These are our working class, historic neighborhoods. Our City never officially designated these neighborhoods as historic districts, but the real fact is, the hands that built these historic homes are the very same hands that built the economic base of this City in factories, mills, machine shops and foundries.
 

City Council Listens and Responds

September 1, 2008 - 11:04pm — Mike Richards
This sentence captures the overall positive and supportive reply by Mayor Halloran to the Rebuild And Grow August 20th proposal to the Cedar Rapids City Council: "We share your confidence that the citizens of Cedar Rapids are capable of anything we undertake together, and we look forward to working together to help our neighbors." The full letter further explains some of the programs and resources available to our grassroots initiatives.
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