Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation

03/30/2026

From the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation Board of Directors: words cannot express the gratitude we have for everyone who had a part in this year’s fundraiser but we’ll try:

To everyone who donated auction items, played cards, bought merchandise, purchased auction items, made a cash donation, or worked to help make the day a success, THANK YOU!! Your support means the world to us and is crucial for a successful event, which it was! ❤️

We reached a record number of card teams, at 60 and talked to many people who have never been to an event before. The Clubhouse was full of people who spread light, love, and kindness to us so we can share it with those in need. We raised just over $52,000 which is already being put to use - we received 2 requests just today. We couldn’t do it without the support of our wonderful community.

Thanks to Wildcat Golf Course and staff, Nicole Schminke, Grace Schminke, Sheila Tumilty, Zach and Kennedy Fix, Renee Brecke, Jessica Potter, Roy and Jean Fish, Darrel and Angie Cannon, Jason, Jeanna and Jacee Lumbus, Kim Pribyl, Jerry McElrath, Sharon McElrath, Tammy Newton, and Matt Hepker for everything you did, and a special thanks to my rock, Brian Vogt for every single thing you do before, during, and after to support our foundation.

Continuing to kick cancer to the curb. Sincerely, Mitch Harrison, Gordy Harrison, Mary Hepker, Chris Schanbacher, Rita Fix, Mike Harrison, and Deb Vogt

03/28/2026

Today is the day! Join us for a great cause to support those who need it! Card tournament starts at 1:00 and there will be a silent and live auction. Come on out and help us spread light, love, and kindness today. ❤️

03/22/2026

Hard to believe, but we are now less than a week away from our fundraiser, the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation Pepper Tournament and auction-eeek! We have 58 teams registered, and as always you all came through with some awesome auction items! See some pics below. Now we just need you all to show up and bid ‘em up!

Why? Because cancer doesn’t discriminate. The amount of requests we receive is just staggering. We helped 60 individuals in 2025, and so far in 2026, we’ve written 20 checks. Wow, not a goal we want to crush, but each year we do, because the need continues to be there.

So come out to Wildcat Golf Course in Shellsburg next Saturday, 3/28. Card tournament begins at 1:00 pm with live auction to follow and silent auction closes before the live auction begins.

Hope to see you all. It’s a great time for a great cause. Become a member of Team Harrison and help us spread some light, love, and kindness to those who could use it. ❤️💙💜🖤💛💚🧡🩷🩶🩵

03/06/2026

We are just 3 weeks out from our big fundraiser of the year! Teams are filling up fast, but we’ve still got plenty of spots left. We are also looking for auction items and appreciate knowing about them early as it helps us better organize. Contact any board member to register a team or donate an auction item. Hope to see you on the 28th!

Save the Date!

Join us for the 8th Annual Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation
Pepper Tournament

Saturday, March 28, 2026, at 1:00 pm

Wildcat Golf Course Club House, Shellsburg

The mission of the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation is to provide financial assistance to cancer patients and families in their daily struggles throughout the cancer journey. We are again hosting the Pepper Tournament to continue providing financial support to those who need it. To date, your support at annual events like this has helped us raise $455,000 to help just over 400 people. Let’s keep spreading light, love, and kindness!

Pre-registration for the Pepper Tournament is encouraged, but you can also register the day of the tournament between 12:00-1:00. Cost is $25/person, and $1.00 per set. You can mail a check to Deb Vogt, 202 Canton Street, SW, Shellsburg, IA 52332 payable to the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation (MHCF) with the names of team members and a contact phone number, or text at the number below to sign up. Rules will be distributed at the tournament. We will play 5 games, each game will play 10 hands, and the number of game wins along with total points last game determines the win. Cash prize of first and second place teams will be distributed. Half of the tournament fees and sets will go to the foundation with the other half split 60% to first place and 40% to second place teams.

There will be a live auction, silent auction, and a fun cash raffle game. We will also have merchandise available for purchase, and Sheila Tumilty will have PermaLinx jewelry on hand and for order, with a portion of the proceeds going to the foundation. Come get your bling on!

Finally, we will again be collecting donations for the Hope Lodge in Iowa City, whose mission is to provide a free, home-like residence for cancer patients and their caregivers who must be away from home for treatment. Their wish-list includes easy, nourishing meals and snacks for cancer patients such as canned soup, fruit cups, applesauce, nuts, granola bars and other grab-and-go snacks or pantry items such as peanut butter, cereal, oatmeal, protein bars and drinks (Boost, Ensure, etc.). Bring these items the day of the event or get them to any board member prior to March 28.

Contact Deb Vogt, Mitch Harrison, Gordy Harrison, Chris Schanbacher, Rita Fix, or Mary Hepker if you would like to donate an auction item.

Call Deb Vogt at 319-540-2449 with any questions.

02/22/2026

We are just 3 weeks out from our big fundraiser of the year! Teams are filling up fast, but we’ve still got plenty of spots left. We are also looking for auction items and appreciate knowing about them early as it helps us better organize. Contact any board member to register a team or donate an auction item. Hope to see you on the 28th!

Hello friends! We're officially just over a month away from our upcoming fundraiser for the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation. Details and contact information below.

We're actively collecting auction items and teams to play in the tournament. To date, we have provided support to over 400 individuals, and have already received 16 requests since the first of the year! Cancer is certainly not slowing down; in fact, it's ramping up, according to statistics and the requests we're getting. This fundraiser will sustain us into the year so we can continue to support those in need. Please consider helping us help others and kick cancer to the curb!

Save the Date!
Join us for the 8th Annual Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation
Pepper Tournament

Saturday, March 28, 2026, at 1:00 pm

Wildcat Golf Course Club House, Shellsburg

The mission of the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation is to provide financial assistance to cancer patients and families in their daily struggles throughout the cancer journey. We are again hosting the Pepper Tournament to continue providing financial support to those who need it. To date, your support at annual events like this has helped us raise $455,000 to help just over 400 people. Let’s keep spreading light, love, and kindness!

Pre-registration for the Pepper Tournament is encouraged, but you can also register the day of the tournament between 12:00-1:00. Cost is $25/person, and $1.00 per set. You can mail a check to Deb Vogt, 202 Canton Street, SW, Shellsburg, IA 52332 payable to the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation (MHCF) with the names of team members and a contact phone number, or text at the number below to sign up. Rules will be distributed at the tournament. We will play 5 games, each game will play 10 hands, and the number of game wins along with total points last game determines the win. Cash prize of first and second place teams will be distributed. Half of the tournament fees and sets will go to the foundation with the other half split 60% to first place and 40% to second place teams.

There will be a live auction, silent auction, and a fun cash raffle game. We will also have merchandise available for purchase, and Sheila Tumilty will have PermaLinx jewelry on hand and for order, with a portion of the proceeds going to the foundation. Come get your bling on!

Finally, we will again be collecting donations for the Hope Lodge in Iowa City, whose mission is to provide a free, home-like residence for cancer patients and their caregivers who must be away from home for treatment. Their wish-list includes easy, nourishing meals and snacks for cancer patients such as canned soup, fruit cups, applesauce, nuts, granola bars and other grab-and-go snacks or pantry items such as peanut butter, cereal, oatmeal, protein bars and drinks (Boost, Ensure, etc.). Bring these items the day of the event or get them to any board member prior to March 28.

Contact Deb Vogt, Mitch Harrison, Gordy Harrison, Chris Schanbacher, Rita Fix, or Mary Hepker if you would like to donate an auction item.

Call Deb Vogt at 319-540-2449 with any questions.

01/04/2026

Hello friends and supporters of the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation. Happy New Year to you all! Here are some recaps of the year and announcements for 2026:

After we host the Pepepr Tournament each year we take a break from the busyness and stress of the event, but that doesnt mean we totally fade into the shadows, not at all. To date, we have raised $450k and have helped over 400 people afflicted with cancer. In 2025 alone, we supported 60 people, and typically see no break from hearing of people in need. So while you may not hear much from us, we are still behind the scenes putting your generous donations to use!

Speaking of generous donations, the owners and staff of Cranky Hanks Pizza Bank conducted a fundraiser in the month of October where they donated $1 from every pizza sold to our foundation. The Crank Heads came through, and we were presented a check in the amount of $1,176. Thank you! 🥰

Looking into 2026, we have set the date for the Pepper Tournament and auction for March 28th this year. More details to come, but get it on your calendar and reach out to any of our board members if you have donation items. Mary Harrison Hepker, Chris Schanbacher, Rita Fix, Mike Harrison, Mitchell Harrison, or Gordon Harrison.

09/15/2025

Phyllis Judas is donating this fishing quilt to the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation. It will be up for bids at the spring pepper tournament and fundraiser on March 28, 2026.

Finish by Sarah Fix, The Quilting Accountant who said this: “We couldn’t resist using this fly fishing e2e quilting pattern with a light sage thread that mimics the color of fishing line.”

Beautiful work by generous, beautiful people!

08/21/2025

05/01/2025

Hey friends, Happy May Day! 🌷💐

I know this may sound a little premature since we just had our MHCF 2025 Pepper Tournament, but we’ve been getting some queries about next year’s date and other organizations are trying to schedule dates too. While we’ve typically hosted our event on the 1st Saturday in April, Easter is on the 1st Sunday in April next year so we are holding next year’s fundraiser on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Save the date!!

04/08/2025

Hey friends! I know many of you are wondering how we did at our annual Pepper Tournament fundraiser with cards and auction items for the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation.

To say we’re completely overwhelmed with all the love and support is a complete understatement! Our eyes have been leaky since the event. 😘 We feel so blessed and grateful to have so much
support. And I’ll say this once-this is the kind of post I want to see on FB - one with light, love and kindness - not hate, bitterness and division over opinions and beliefs. Just saying.

This year we had a record number of card players at 54 teams, 8 more than last year. A record number of silent and live auction items, and some new faces joining us! We raised almost $66,000 to help cancer patients, $12,000 more than we raised at last year’s event! This helps our legacy: to spread light, love and kindness in Mark’s memory. And we’ve already received 2 new requests, so your funds will be put to use right away! This adds to our total of $380,000 raised, 357 people helped, and 61 checks written since last year’s event!

You all are amazing, we love you and you know the drill-reach out if there is someone in need! Team Harrison strong!

03/28/2025

My sister in law and Mark’s sister Rita Fix is coordinating this effort!

Let's help the Hope Lodge of Iowa City with their needs.

The Hope Lodge assists families that are battling cancer by providing lodging, food and fellowship while receiving treatment. Please bring an item to the Pepper Tournament to help fill their pantry. Lets stock it with grab-n-go items such as granola bars, fruit cups, veggie straws, protein instant oatmeal, organic crackers, packages of nuts and more!

If you are unable to attend the tournament I will be happy to pick up your items. I will deliver them to the Hope Lodge.

Thank you in advance for supporting the Hope Lodge and the Mark Harrison Cancer Foundation!
Rita