Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 25

Our community has supported Local 25 for over a century, and its members believe in giving something back to their community. They volunteer their skills and resources for a variety of projects.

Currently, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 25 is pitching in on the West Little League concession stand, located in Davenport. Local 25 and the Mechanical Contractors Association (MCA) are spending every weekend in April donating their labor and materials to the concession for plumbing needs.

Local 25 and the MCA are working together to build a $10,000 interactive water display for Discovery Depot, a children’s museum in Galesburg. Local 25 is also supplying the materials and labor needed to build three new bathrooms in the Nachusa Lutheran Home.

In 1996, the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and Nehlsen Communications, a Quad City marketing firm, developed a Volunteer Partnership Program to encourage corporations, labor unions, and service organizations to form partnerships with non-profits in their areas. One of the first partnerships developed was for Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 387 (now the current Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 25) in the Quad Cities and the Mechanical Contractors Association (MCA). The two groups identified youth programs as their priority and created "Building For Kids" to help youth in the area. "Building For Kids" proved to be a huge success for Local 387 and the area’s youth. With the merger of Local 387 and Local 25, the Local continued its "Building For Kids" program, making it more successful than ever.

Each year a worthwhile project is chosen and the two groups donate thousands of dollars and hours of labor to build something to benefit Quad City youth. In 1996, they purchased and installed playground equipment at Sister Concetta Park, a run-down playground in a disadvantaged area of Davenport, Iowa. In 1997, they helped bring a much-needed Boys & Girls Club to the community. In 1998, they rebuilt the bathrooms at Valley Shelter, the only shelter for displaced and disadvantaged youth in the Quad Cities.

"Building For Kids" received so much community support the groups expanded it to include several projects in the summer of 1999. They built a playground at Credit Island Park in Davenport, repaired the restrooms and showers at the Galesburg Rescue Mission, and built bathrooms for another new Boys & Girls Club.

Local NBC affiliate, KWQC-TV, has supported the effort since its inception, donating $20,000–$25,000 in commercial time to promote the program and encourage the community to get involved. Local newspapers have offered extensive coverage with front page stories and continuous feature articles.

In 1998, the two organizations were honored by Governor Branstad at the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame Awards. In 1999, all their efforts culminated in Local 25 and MCA earning the prestigious President’s Service Award.

The President’s Service Award was created as the President’s Volunteer Action Award in 1982 to honor outstanding individuals and organizations engaged in volunteer service and to call public attention to the contribution made by the nation’s 93 million volunteers.

The award is co-sponsored by The Points of Light Foundation, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization devoted to promoting volunteerism, and the Corporation for National Service. In 1999, more than 3,700 nominations were submitted and reviewed in four activity areas: human needs, environment, education, and public safety. Special consideration was given to those activities that either benefit or involve young people.

At a White House ceremony, President Bill Clinton presented twenty-one award winners with sterling silver medallions and a certificate with his signature.