Category: A Message From The Board - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

Save the Date for our 14th Annual Picnic and Pie Auction

7/12/2026

Save the Date - 14th Annual Picnic and Pie Auction
Sunday, September 13 from noon to 3 pm

Longview Park
1300 17th ST
Rock Island, IL (map)

A Message from the Board

We are having our Annual Picnic and Pie Auction on Sunday, September 13th from noon to 3 pm at Longview Park in Rock Island. This is a fun event and we would love to have volunteers who are willing to help out. Join us to connect with old friends and make new ones. To volunteer, email us at [email protected]. Registration will be open soon. We look forward to seeing you there.

David Anderson (he/him)

Chip in to support PACG in "Birdies for Charity 2026" - A Message from the Board

5/25/2026

**Support PACG through Birdies for Charity 2026**

2026_birdies_for_charity_pledge_form.pdf
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A Message from the Board

Birdie #2363 - Donate here

Chip in for a chance to win in 2026!

Once again, PACG is participating in the John Deere Birdies for Charity drive! The John Deere Classic runs from July 1st through July 5th this year.

John Deere Classic week is always exciting. Not just for the tournament, but also for what the tournament means for charities. Since 1971, the John Deere Classic has delivered over $159 million to regional charities, most of it through its innovative Birdies for Charity program. No other event on the PGA TOUR does it better - and it's the generous and hardworking nature of this area that makes it happen!

What Birdies for Charity means for PACG
When you chip in to help PACG, you could win! But PACG will be the real winner. PACG receives 100% of the donations pledged to us in this program, plus a bonus from the Birdies for Charity Bonus Fund which is guaranteed to be at least a 5% match. The 2025 Birdies for Charity match was 9%!

Donate several ways
Fill out a pledge donation (the file above). This will enter you in the contest. If you guess the correct number of birdies in the tournament, you can win a two-year lease on a new car. Submit your pledge donation by July 1st. If you send in the pledge without a donation, you will be billed by Birdies for Charity.

Click this link (or the blue button above) to donate online to PACG. Our "Birdie" is #2363. (Birdies for Charity is aware of a compatibility issue with Internet Explorer and recommends using Chrome, Safari, or Firefox when processing your donation. If you have questions or experience difficulties, contact them at [email protected]).

Send a check. Use a pledge form (or download the 2026 Simplified Pledge Form at the top of this page). Make your check out to Birdies for Charity, annotate that it is for PACG Birdie #2363, and send it to 15623 Coaltown Rd, East Moline, IL 61244.

Send your donation through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) directly from your IRA. Make sure that your IRA custodian makes the check out to Birdies For Charity, annotates the QCD is for PACG, Birdie #2363, and sends the check directly to 15623 Coaltown Rd, East Moline, IL 61244.

Important dates
Wednesday, July 1st: Pledges and Guesses for the Grand Prize Contest are due.
July 1st to July 5th: John Deere Classic Tournament Week

Ann McCluskey (she/her)
Treasurer, PACG

Register for our 20th Anniversary Gala!

9/3/2025

Our 20th Anniversary Gala is Sunday!
Sunday, October 19th at 4:00 pm

Holiday Inn - Rock Island
226 17th ST
Rock Island, IL (map)

A Message from the Board

Join PACG as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary on Sunday, October 19th. Social Hour begins at 4:00 pm, with our dinner beginning at 5:00.

This is a black tie and blue jeans event (i.e., dress as you please).

Registration is closed! We are keeping this information here in case you need it before Sunday.

This event showcases some of the highlights of the past 20 years and includes a lot of fun elements. You will have a chance to mingle with progressive-minded folks you may not have seen in years; enjoy some good food; help us recognize people who've been involved with us over the years; play a PACG Trivia game; listen to some powerful speakers; and watch a short PACG film to close out the evening.

Email us at [email protected] with questions.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

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No Kings rally confusion-A Message from the Board

6/10/2025

No Kings rally confusion

Although PACG is not sponsoring a No Kings Rally, many of our members and readers may be interested in attending one. The official Quad Cities Indivisible group (IndivisibleQC) is sponsoring the rally at Schwiebert Park in Rock Island at 1 pm (information below). On the Indivisible.org website, the other No Kings Rally in Davenport covers the icon for the Illinois one. You need to zoom in to see both.

The IndivisibleQC group planned their rally for 1 pm because they are also marching in the QC Unity Parade sponsored by QC Pride. The QC Unity Parade starts in Davenport at 11 am and ends near Schwiebert Park in Illinois in time for the No Kings Rally. If you want to add a 2.5 mile walk to your day, join the parade!

Alta Price (she/her)

Chip in to support PACG in "Birdies for Charity 2025" - A Message from the Board

6/4/2025

**Support PACG through Birdies for Charity 2025**

2025_birdies_for_charity_pledge_form.pdf
File Size:	11955 kb
File Type:	pdf

A Message from the Board

Birdie #2363 - Donate Here

Chip in for a chance to win in 2025!

Once again, this year PACG is participating in the John Deere Birdies for Charity drive! The John Deere Classic runs from June 30th through July 6th this year. Here is some information from the Birdies for Charity website about what this means for us:

When you chip in to help area charities, you could win! But your favorite charity will be the real winner. That’s because participating charities receive 100% of the donations pledged to them in this program, plus a bonus from the Birdies for Charity Bonus Fund which is a guaranteed 5% match.

John Deere Classic week is always exciting. Not just for the tournament, but also for what the tournament means for charities. Since 1971, the John Deere Classic has delivered over $159 million to regional charities, most of it through its innovative Birdies for Charity program. No other event on the PGA TOUR does it better - and it's the generous and hardworking nature of this area that makes it happen!

Progressive Action Update readers, you can win a two-year lease on a new car by submitting your pledge donation by June 27th!

And whatever you give to PACG through Birdies for Charity increases your donation by 5% through their generous matching offer.

Click this link (or the button above) to donate online to PACG! Our "Bird" is #2363. (Birdies for Charity is aware of a compatibility issue with Internet Explorer and recommends using Chrome, Safari, or Firefox when processing your donation. If you have questions or experience difficulties, contact them at [email protected]).

If you want to send a check, use a pledge form (or download the 2024 Simplified Pledge Form at the top of this page). Make your check out to Birdies for Charity and send it to 15623 Coaltown Rd, East Moline, IL 61244. Make sure to fill in Progressive Action for the Common Good as the Charity Solicited For and 2363 as the Bird Number.

Important dates:
Friday, June 27th: Pledges and Guesses for the Grand Prize Contest are due.
June 30th through July 6th: John Deere Classic Tournament Week

Ann McCluskey
Treasurer, PACG

Progressive calendars of events and actions in the QCA - What You Can Do Now

3/26/2025

Progressive calendars in the QCA

PACG Forums

Want to explore more ways you can get involved in progressive actions and events in the QCA? We are collecting calendars for our Community Events page! They are posted at the top of the website page, so if you are looking for information about a particular event, you will have to do some scrolling.

Here's the link for the PACG events calendar.

Our friends at One Human Family-QCA started the QC Activism calendar in 2024 and we have put it on our Community Events page. You may add events to this calendar here.

Activist Leslie DuPree, President of Quad Cities National Organization for Women (QC NOW), is single-handedly managing the QC Action Calendar as a Google Document. Her contact information is at the top of it.

Clock, Inc is dedicated to creating a safe and supportive community center, offering vital resources, mental health programs, empowerment, and advocacy for the LGBT+ community to thrive without fear of discrimination. The Clock, Inc Events calendar is here.

MainStream, formerly known as The Real Mainstream, is a progressive, intersectional, LGBTQ+ affirming publication serving Illinois and Iowa, and available online and in print. They have a number of calendars for eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois, including a filter for adults-only and spiritual Sunday gatherings. The MainStream calendar for Quad Cities Events is here.

If you know of other groups in our area who are compiling calendar events and actions, please contact us at [email protected].

Congratulations Abdur Howard! - A Message from the Board

3/17/2025

Congratulations to Abdur Howard!

A Message from the Board

(Abdur Howard and his mother Daneca)

We are happy to announce that AbdurRahmaan "Abdur" Howard is one of 20 Davenport Community School District students who were awarded the John Deere Scholarship from the University of Iowa! From Davenport Community Schools: This $6.6 million partnership between John Deere, the University of Iowa, and the Davenport Community School District is a testament to our community's commitment to making higher education accessible for all. Each scholarship covers 90% of the total cost to attend the University of Iowa. The remaining 10% will be covered by additional funding sources, such as work study.

Abdur acted as the moderator for the PACG Black History Month 2022 project, I Am the Future: Standing on the Shoulders of the Past. He was only 13 when we first met him and he did an incredible job with the entire project. Not only did he moderate the event but he participated in the numerous presentations that we held throughout the Quad Cities. Now he is off to the U of I to study neurobiology! Congratulations, Abdur!

5 Calls Action Alert! What You Can Do Now

2/25/2025

Remember 5 Calls? It's more important than ever. Action Alert

Board of Directors

In 2017 PACG introduced our community to 5Calls.org as an ongoing way that we can push back when our progressive values are at risk. We really need it now! You can download the app right to your phone or use the online version (https://5calls.org) on your computer.

From 5Calls.org: Calling your representative is the best way to make your voice heard.

Once your congressperson forms a public stance on an issue, it’s hard for them to walk it back. The earlier they hear your opinion, the more likely it is you’ll make an impact. Calling is by far the most effective way to ensure that your representative hears you before they take a public stance.

They even have a page called "Getting Started." By typing your Zip Code into the phone app you can be connected directly to your US legislators' offices. Choose one of the (presently) 29 topics and get a script to help you make an informed statement to those offices. The topics change as issues of concern change but as of today they include Protect your IRS data from DOGE, Protect medical funding, Protect the Mission of the EPA and many many more. Check it out!

David Anderson (he/him)

Action Alert - Contact your US Senator now!

12/16/2024

Contact your US Senator regarding Bill S. 4136 - Action Alert

Message from the Board

On November 21, the 118th US Congress passed bill H.R. 9495, which terminates the tax-exempt status of terrorist-supporting organizations. This bill is on its way to the Senate as Bill S. 4136.

We are concerned that this legislation would devastate our communities, our organizations, and the First Amendment freedoms that are essential to democracy. It would let the US Treasury Secretary (and by extension, any President) to unilaterally shut down any nonprofits they disagree with, requiring no evidence or a fair trial, and without a reasonable process for challenging the loss of nonprofit status. This would have the chilling effect of silencing organizations from using their Constitutionally granted freedoms of religion, press, speech, assembly, and the freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

This article explains the two important parts of the bill that passed the House. We agree with Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act portion of the bill. However, the addition of the Executive Branch’s authority to revoke nonprofit status is of grave concern.

Please take action to stop the bill. This Nonprofit Killer bill has dangerous consequences. The link gives you suggestions, including a script, to make contacting your legislators easy. It also includes lists of members of the House of Representatives who voted for the bill. If yours did, call them and ask why they voted the way they did.

Most importantly, contact your state's US Senators to oppose the bill, and encourage Senator Chuck Schumer to prevent it from coming up for a vote. Find your Senator's contact information here. And contact Senator Schumer here. Share this information with your friends and neighbors and urge them to take action as well.

Susan Leuthauser

PACG Holiday Party 2024 - Save the Date!

11/1/2024

Save the Date for our Annual Holiday Party!
Saturday, December 7th at 5:30 pm

German American Heritage Center
712 W 2nd ST
Davenport, IA (map)

A Message from the PACG Board of Directors

Save the date - Saturday, December 7th at 5:30 pm - for one of PACG's favorite annual events, our Holiday Party! We will publish more details as they become available.

Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG)
PO Box 544 Bettendorf, IA 52722
(563) 676-7580
[email protected]
PACG is a 501(c)(3) organization and your donation may be tax deductible.

© 2026 Progressive Action for Common Good