Helping Strengthen Our Communities

We are proud to be associated with such fine communities in which we live and work. In fact, we believe that we have a responsibility to our communities to give back. Our firm encourages and supports its attorneys and staff to be actively involved in their neighborhoods and with causes of interest – and we do so in a variety of ways.

Firm's Charitable Action Committee
Iowa Legal Aid
United Way
Mark S. Cady Day of Public Service
Wellness Initiatives
Individual Attorney Involvement

Firm’s Charitable Action Committee

Through the leadership of our firm’s Charitable Action Committee, our attorneys and staff collectively work together on activities throughout the year in support of our designated charity. We believe that engaging in activities together as a firm fosters great teamwork and rapport among our colleagues.

Every few years, the attorneys and staff select a new charity to support both financially and with volunteer hours. With full-office participation, we are able to make a nice impact in the community, as well as have fun working together on important causes.

Our current designated charity is Ellipsis (merger of YESS and Youth Homes of Mid-America), Iowa' largest emergency shelter for kids, which supports children ages newborn through age 18. We work on a variety of projects throughout the year, whether it's coordinated activities with the children, or providing maintenance/landscaping at the facility. We will raise money for Ellipsis by allowing attorneys and staff to wear jeans to work one Friday each month.

In past years, we have supported Meals from the Heartland, where we packaged meals on several occasions to help feed the hungry, and raised monies on monthly jeans days at the office.

We have also supported Children & Families of Iowa (CFI) with our collective volunteer efforts. Activities included food & healthcare drives, run/walk/bike events, and painting, landscaping and yard projects at CFI housing facilities.

Iowa Legal Aid

Many of our attorneys provide pro bono services through Iowa Legal Aid and its affiliates. The attorneys at the firm provide intake support for Iowa Legal Aid every Thursday afternoon, with 35 attorneys assisting in this endeavor.

Ahlers & Cooney also serves as a “Premier” sponsor of the Iowa Legal Aid Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Equal Justice After Hours.

United Way

Our firm supports and contributes to United Way on an annual basis. In 2004, we formalized our efforts and assembled a committee made up of attorneys and staff to lead this annual initiative.  

More importantly, our attorneys and employees are better educated about the needs of our community and look forward to the campaign each year as an opportunity to work together to improve our community.

We have a lot of fun throughout the process, too. We build the firm’s annual campaign around a theme aligned with our designated charity and provide some fun incentives for our attorneys and staff as we engage them in the process for United Way Week.

Mark S. Cady Day of Public Service

Ahlers & Cooney is proud to have participated in the inaugural Mark S. Cady Day of Public Service. This special Day brought together the state's legal community to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of the late Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark S. Cady and his commitment to public service, access to justice, and civil rights. Before joining Ahlers, attorneys Eric Boehlert and Maria Brownell had the honor of working as a judicial law clerk to Justice Cady; and both speak highly of his commitment to serving others.

As part of the Cady Day of Public Service, Ahlers attorneys and staff assisted on October 23, 2020 in an environmental cleanup and removal of brush at Gray's Lake in Des Moines, which was upcycled into clippings to be used as animal feed at the Blank Park Zoo. This service event was organized by the Iowa National Heritage Foundation, Trees Forever, the City of Des Moines Parks and Recreation, Blank Park Zoo, and Drake Law School.

Wellness Initiatives

As part of our Wellness Committee’s efforts, many of our attorneys and staff participate in community-wide wellness initiatives in support of such fine charities, such as the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure, the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb, Drake’s Grand Blue Mile run, and the Healthiest State Initiative’s annual walk.

As part of the Drake Relays Corporate Wellness Challenge, the Firm received the 2022 trophy for the Medium Employer Division for employees participating in Drake's Grand Blue Mile run or the Drake Road Races.

Individual Attorney Involvement

Individually, members of our firm serve on boards and committees and volunteer their time for a wide range of civic, professional, non-profit and community organizations. We are proud that our attorneys and staff are currently involved with so many fine organizations and activities in our community and our profession.

Attorney Involvement in Community

Animal Lifeline of Iowa

Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation

American Bar Association

Iowa State Bar Association

Ankeny Izaak Walton League

Iowans for Fair and Impartial Courts

Ashcraft Library Project

Junior High Mock Trials

Beaverdale Little League

Knights of Columbus

Central Iowa Aquatics

Link Associates

Children & Families of Iowa

Luther College Alumni Council

Christ The King

Lutheran Church of Hope

Dallas County Board of Adjustment

National Association of Bond Lawyers

Dallas County Compensation Board

 Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart Church

Des Moines Community Playhouse

P.E.O. International

Des Moines Golf and Country Club

Pi Beta Phi Des Moines Alumnae

Drake Adult Literacy Center

Polk County Bar Association

Drake Moot Court Program

Polk County Juvenile Drug Court Collective

Drake University Law School

Polk County Judicial Nominating Commission

Faith Lutheran Church

Polk County Women Attorneys

First United Methodist Church

Raccoon Valley Little League

Greater Des Moines Partnership

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute

St. John’s Lutheran Church

Hospice of Central Iowa

St. Joseph Food Shelter

Iowa Council of School Attorney

The Wall that Heals

Iowa Correctional Institute for Women

United Way of Central Iowa

Iowa Defense Counsel Association

Youth Emergency Services & Shelter

Iowa Events Center Hotel Board

Young Women’s Resource Center

Iowa Legal Aid