“Who comes to a pancake breakfast without being happy?” says Jen Welton about the Maple Syrup Festival, “Everybody shows up with a smile on their face. It doesn’t matter how cold it is, they’re all there for the same reason. They love the maple syrup. They love the sausage. Everybody comes with such a positive attitude, and everybody’s so happy to be there.”
Jen Welton, who served as ICNC board president in 2021 and 2022, loves volunteering at the Maple Syrup Festival. “I’ve volunteered to do ticketing for I don’t know how many years. It’s my favorite, though, because you get to greet everybody. I find it to be an extremely uplifting, positive morning every time I do it.”
John Hall, ICNC’s current board president, also loves to volunteer at the festival. John says “I volunteered to be a batter maker the last few years, helping out with various things in the kitchen. It’s a lot of fun. All the volunteers back there are really enjoying themselves. It’s fun to interact with your fellow volunteers that are equally passionate about the Nature Center.”
The time Jen and John have shared with Indian Creek Nature Center was inspired by their love for nature and the spirit of volunteerism embodied by their employer, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust.
“We’re very proud of our tradition of volunteering.” John says, “CRBTers [CRBT employees] spent many, many hours volunteering in 2024 and previous years. In 2024 we volunteered approximately three equivalent FTEs [three full-time employees]. It’s really a part of our mission as a corporate entity to give back to our community.”
Jen shares, “Volunteering adds to my job satisfaction. Being able to be part of the community and being able to give back is very important to me. I think a lot of people who work at CRBT feel that same pride in our community. It’s really a testament to leadership to allow staff to be able to do that as an extra benefit.”
“We call it VTO – Volunteer Time Off. It’s a great benefit.” John adds, ”We encourage volunteering of all types, but for folks like Jen and myself, who are officers of this bank, we’re encouraged to seek out leadership roles with nonprofits as appropriate for board or subcommittee work.”
When searching for a nonprofit to support, it was Indian Creek Nature Center’s mission and impact on the community that ultimately led Jen and John to volunteer with the Nature Center.
Jen says, “I feel like the Nature Center has always been progressive, always wanting to be one step ahead and making sure they’re doing what’s right for the environment and creating Champions of Nature.”
“I wanted to be more involved.” John says, “It’s a Cedar Rapids institution. One neat thing about the Nature Center is that the grounds on the property are open and free to all. It’s privately owned, but a public resource and benefit. That is why it’s our Nature Center. It feels like it’s ours.”
“I call it a community amenity, and one of the great things about living in Cedar Rapids. I think the Maple Syrup Festival is definitely a part of that.”
This combined passion for volunteerism, Indian Creek Nature Center and the Maple Syrup Festival explains why Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust returned as the lead sponsor of the festival and all maple syruping programs for the fourth consecutive year.
Jen shared, “I grew up in this area, so we did field trips at the Nature Center when I was really young. It’s been great to watch the expansion from the old barn to the new building.” She added, “Both my kids have had field trips there. My daughter now volunteers for the Maple Syrup Festival. It’s fun to have her with me. The first year my daughter volunteered, I had to drag her out of there because she had so much fun interacting with everybody.”
It’s certainly understandable why someone may not want to leave the Maple Syrup Festival, because as John says, “It’s fun to volunteer at Nature Center events.”