Make a Difference Day

People typically don’t think of the City of West Des Moines as a place with a great need for human services like homeless prevention, energy assistance, and food and clothing support. However, we have residents who fall on hard times just like any other City, and we provide support for the rest of the western suburbs as well. Our Human Services department is very busy this time of year especially. I’d like to describe some of their current programs here. Keep an eye out for something you might be interested in helping with.

Human Services provides handyman services year-round, with a special emphasis on winter weatherization this time of year. They also provide free evening meals in collaboration with the Church Opportunity Group and the Eddie Davis Community Center every Tuesday from 6-7 pm at the Community Center at 14th and Maple in WDM. These meals are open to anyone in need of a free meal. As they do every Fall, Human Services is collecting toys and donations as part of the extra packages they put together for the holidays.

One important event coming up for Human Services is Make a Difference Day on Saturday, October 28. This national day of helping others—of neighbors helping neighbors—often sees great participation in our City. Human Services has suggested a “wish list” of ways our residents can get involved on this day, including participating in:

• The Personal Hygiene Drive, for items that will be distributed throughout the Western suburbs;
• Warm Winter Coat distribution for all ages (you can donate coats, gloves, scarves, and hats anytime);
  Yard work and clean up: many elderly and disabled households need general help with yard work (like raking leaves) and fall clean up;
• Baby Shower: donate baby items, including diapers and bottles, to the Closing Closet;
• Coins for Kids: team up with the school district to collect coin donations for low-income youth scholarships; and
• Help Stop Hunger in Your Community! Work with the WDM schools to collect food items for the Food Pantry.

Please contact our Human Services Director, Sue Paterson-Nielsen, at 273-0633 or email her at sue.paterson-nielsen@wdm-ia.com to set up your Make A Difference Day project or volunteer to help out.