Photos: Dive After Dark raises funds for nonprofit’s Thanksgiving meal giveaway

The Friday event, organized by the nonprofit Iowa Giving Crew, invited the public to compete in a cannonball contest to raise money to help local schools, families and neighbors in need.

Elizabeth Wood

Aug. 30, 2025 1:18 pm

Tim Feldman (left) and Scott Kloser hold hands for a cannonball during Dive After Dark at Bowman Woods Pool in northeast Cedar Rapids on Friday. Tiffany Hermsen, president of the Iowa Giving Crew, said another program they offer is Operation Iowa Nice, a gap-fill program designed to help community members make ends meet during times of hardship. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

President of Iowa Giving Crew Tiffany Hermsen talks to community members at Bowman Woods Pool in northeast Cedar Rapids on Friday. Hermsen said they organized the non-profit after a prank, where someone listed one of the founding members' names on Craigslist, claiming they were giving away Thanksgiving turkeys. After receiving several calls about the turkeys, the group's founding members decided to prepare a few Thanksgiving meal kits to give away. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Brandon Zousel belly flops during the cannon ball contest at Bowman Woods Pool in northeast Cedar Rapids on Friday.(Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Tommy Behof jumps into the water for the cannon ball contest at Bowman Woods Pool in northeast Cedar Rapids on Friday. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Community members talk underneath the porch of Bowman Woods Pool while it rains in northeast Cedar Rapids on Friday. The nonprofit Iowa Giving Crew hosted a Dive After Dark pool party to raise money for its Operation Give Birds initiative, which provides Thanksgiving meals to families in eastern Iowa. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Brandon Zousel yells out encouragement as a community member decides to practice their cannonball at Bowman Woods Pool in northeast Cedar Rapids on Friday. The nonprofit Iowa Giving Crew hosted a Dive After Dark pool party to raise money for its Operation Give Birds initiative, which provides Thanksgiving meals to families in eastern Iowa. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Lifeguard Ashlyn Bolsinger, 17, uses her rescue tube to shield herself from the rain during the Dive After Dark at Bowman Woods Pool in northeast Cedar Rapids on Friday. The rain did not dampen the spirits of community members. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Volunteer Susan Hargrafen (left) and Vice President of Iowa Giving Crew Nick Dusil (center) cheers on cannon ball contest participants at Bowman Woods Pool in northeast Cedar Rapids on Friday. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Jake Goslar gestures as Natalie Zousel (far left), Tommy Behof (left), Brandon Zousel (right) and Tim Feldman cheer him on when it was announced he would go first at Bowman Woods Pool in northeast Cedar Rapids on Friday. Out of six contestants, Natalie Zousel won the cannonball contest. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)