Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund

The mission of The Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund is to improve the quality of life in the Quad Cities area by funding educational programs and by funding grants for health, community development, youth development, and cultural activities. The Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund is a component fund of the Quad Cities Community Foundation.

This site enables you to learn more about the life of Amy Helpenstell, about the Fund's granting process and about its advisory board. You can also find helpful information on eating disorders and can learn more about the Quad Cities, a great place to live, work and play.

Grants

The Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund makes grants in the Quad Cities area that honor the memory of Amy E. Helpenstell and meet her charitable objectives: arts and culture, community development, education, health, and youth development.

Please click here for more information on grants from the Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund.

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About Amy

Amy was born April 27, 1970, to Esta and Franz (Bud) Helpenstell. She lived her entire life in Rock Island, and had a great love for the Quad-Cities. She graduated from Rock Island High School in 1988 as one of the top 10 students in her class. During her senior year, she served as co-captain of the school's girls' tennis team, on which she and her doubles partner finished in the top 16 at the state competition. She had a love for music, and was an accomplished flutist in the high school orchestra. Amy was named to the Rock Island High School Alumni Hall of Fame in 2003. Amy graduated from Augustana College in 1992 as co-valedictorian, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa, with a degree in English. She received her MBA in marketing from the University of Iowa Quad-Cities Graduate Center program in 1996.

She began working for A.D. Huesing Corp., Quad-City area Pepsi distributor, in 1992, learning every aspect of the business by the time she took over operations as corporate president in 1996.

Amy served on the Junior Achievement Board of Directors, in addition to volunteering as a classroom consultant for the organization. She was a strong advocate of the "Adopt-A School Program", and arranged for her company to work with Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Milan, Ill. Huesing volunteers still fulfill Amy's passion for the program by continuing to work with Jefferson teachers and students. She served on the Rock Island Botanical Center Board, the Augustana Alumni Board, and was a member of the Rock Island Noon Kiwanis. She was proud of her Swedish heritage and made several trips to Europe to see the homeland. She also kept in contact with relatives living there.

Amy passed away on February 1, 2003, due to complications from anorexia. She underwent a long and courageous battle with the disease, which began in high school.

Amy made arrangements in her will to provide assets for a charitable foundation to benefit a 60-mile radius of the Quad-Cities. She wished for the emphasis of her Foundation to be placed on educational opportunities, and requested that her Foundation support youth development, community development, health, and cultural activities as well. That request is now carried out by the Amy Helpenstell Foundation Fund at the Community Foundation, which makes grants in those areas.