A legacy project for West Branch

With spring on the horizon in West Branch, Iowa, neighbors will soon be gathering in Cubby Park, with kids weaving through the playground, friends chatting on benches, and families enjoying time outdoors. Soon, the park will offer something else: a set of brand-new pickleball courts.

The project is being led by the West Branch Lions Club, which has rallied community support to build a four-court pickleball complex at the park in 2026. For the club’s members, the effort is a reflection of how this community responds to opportunity. It’s being supported by a grant from the Community Foundation of Cedar County, and with a project fund administered by the Quad Cities Community Foundation.  

“As the Lions Club approached our 75th anniversary, we wanted a legacy project,” said Sherry Kolpin, the club’s vice president. “Something that would really serve the community. The courts kept rising to the top of the conversation.”

The Lions Club has long been woven into the life of West Branch. Members build wheelchair ramps, volunteer for Iowa KidSight vision screenings, and pitch in wherever help is needed.

“We saw people renting space just to play,” Kolpin said. “It was obvious the interest was growing.” Pickleball’s appeal reaches across generations. In West Branch, players as young as 15 share the court with others well into their seventies. A regular group of about 20 gathers weekly in the school gymnasium to play. Once completed, the courts will be gifted to the City of West Branch, ensuring they remain free and open to the public.

Grants and major gifts have helped move the effort forward as well, including support coordinated through the Community Foundation of Cedar County, an affiliate of the Quad Cities Community Foundation. Maria Olsen, coordinator at the Community Foundation of Cedar County, says projects like this are exactly why the organization exists.

“We support local nonprofits and projects like this that help people live a good life here,” Olsen said. “This is a generous community. Your neighbors really care about making our towns beautiful, vibrant, active, and healthy. And we’re here to steward that generosity.”

Since 2005, the foundation has awarded 534 grants totaling nearly $1.9 million across Cedar County. Those grants have helped fund everything from park improvements and murals to medical assistance for families.

That shared commitment is what makes projects like the Cubby Park courts possible. Funded largely by local donations and shaped by community voices, the complex represents the kind of collaboration small towns do best.

The Lions Club has opened a fund through the Quad Cities Community Foundation to support this project. Learn more and give here.