The fundraiser will commence on Friday, January 20, 2012 and conclude on Tuesday, March 20, 2012. To participate in the fundraiser, simply present the voucher below at Chili’s when you pay your bill. This voucher ensures that 10% of the proceeds from your meal will go towards the CISS Veteran Outreach Project. You can print off as many copies of the Chili’s voucher as you need.

If you are thinking of going out to eat anytime during the next two months, consider the Clive Chili’s location at 11411 Forest Avenue. Satisfy your appetite and help a good cause!

Chili’s voucher

]]> http://centraliowashelter.org/2012/01/17/chilis-fundraiser-for-ciss-veteran-outreach-project/feed/ 0 http://centraliowashelter.org/2011/12/28/stand-up-for-veterans-literacy-on-mlk-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stand-up-for-veterans-literacy-on-mlk-day http://centraliowashelter.org/2011/12/28/stand-up-for-veterans-literacy-on-mlk-day/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:48:07 +0000 cissadmin http://centraliowashelter.org/?p=1069 Please join us in supporting our veterans on Monday, January 16, 2012 for our book drive event in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Volunteers will be collecting books in the Kaleidoscope Hub within the Skywalk System from 11:00am to 2:00pm. You can donate a book (or two!) by stopping by the book drive event on January 16th or visiting one of the participating locations. With your help we can promote an interest in reading and improve the reading levels of Central Iowa’s homeless veterans. Your donations will benefit Central Iowa Shelter & Services, Riverfront YMCA and other locations where books are needed. Books of any genre or subject will be accepted, but those in good to excellent condition are preferred.

Participating Locations:
Convention & Visitors’ Bureau—Capitol Square
The Book Store—6th & Locust
Walnut Street School—9th & Walnut
Neal Smith Federal Building & Cafeteria—2nd & Walnut
Well-Read Book Store—17th & Woodland
Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service— East 2nd & Grand
Koch Brothers—4th & Grand

For more information, feel free to contact Kervin Collier at kervincollier@gmail.com. For other participating locations, please contact your favorite Skywalk business. We look forward to seeing you at the book drive event!

“We are extremely pleased to have received support from The Walmart Foundation this year,” said Tony Timm, executive director for CISS. “These funds will ensure we continue to alleviate and reduce food insecurity in our community.”

The Community Kitchen Program provides food at the Shelter along with six other meal sites throughout the Des Moines area. Meal sites are located in economically distressed neighborhoods to reach extremely low-income, near-homeless and homeless families. All meals are provided free of charge to participating families.

Statistics from the CISS Community Kitchen Survey

• Two of the program’s meal sites are in neighborhoods where the rate of poverty exceeds 33%, and one is in a neighborhood where the poverty rate exceeds 25%.
• Two of every three people eating at the sites are homeless or near-homeless.
• One of every four people eating at the sites would go hungry if CISS did not provide meals.
• More than 70% of participating families are surviving on yearly household income of <$5,000.
• The program is serving growing numbers of seniors and families with children.
• Ages of those served range from 9 months to 80+ years.
• 30% of participating families receive no other food assistance.
• Many families have no cooking/refrigeration equipment with which to store food or prepare meals.
• In fiscal year 2011, more than 92,000 meals were served.

“We are grateful for The Walmart Foundation’s support as food insecurity and need for nutritious food continues to increase,” Timm said.

Questions? Contact: Sunni Swarbrick or Doug Vinsand.

***If you aren’t able to attend, we will be accepting donations at the Finkbine Mansion beginning on Monday, November 28th. If you would like to drop them off, please have them in bags/boxes so we are able to keep things organized. Thank you in advance for your support!***

Early Wednesday morning, Central Iowa Shelter drove up to Ames and picked up discontinued clothes products from Sigler Companies. The donation totaled more than $100,000 in warm clothing such has sweaters and long-sleeved shirts.

Central Iowa Shelter agreed to take all the donations and what cannot be used or stored at the shelter will be paid forward to other nonprofits that can benefit from the warm clothes.

The employees are “very happy that the clothing will keep someone warm this winter,” said Terri Hasselman, director of finance.

The Shelter serves between 120 and 130 people a night and expects to see that number increase as winter comes this year. If you’d like to get involved, visit our volunteer page or our top needs page for ways to support homeless adults in Central Iowa.

Thank you Sigler Companies!

Every year Humana honors the efforts of citizens aged 65 or older who volunteer in the Des Moines area. In recognition of her service, Humana awarded a $10,000 grant to Central Iowa Shelter & Services.

Judy was a founding member of the shelter in 1992, and since then has worked tirelessly to achieve its mission of providing food and shelter to the community’s homeless and low-income adults. Her work for the shelter includes coordinating food donations that are prepared and served as free, healthy meals to about 120 homeless and low-income adults in the area each day – every day. That translates to about 50,000 meals a year and $250,000-plus of donated food that she helped secure, as well as often prepare and serve.

 Judy is a member of the building committee, providing input and overseeing the construction of the shelter’s new facility that will house 207 beds for those in need. In addition, she gives her time to many other organizations. Among other service, she serves as the Market Master for the Johnston Farmers’ Market that provides healthy food choices and nutrition information for the area’s citizens, and she coordinates meal preparation and delivery for The Salvation Army Canteen.

“Humana is pleased to once again provide the opportunity to recognize the many volunteers in our community that are so critical to the success of our local nonprofit agencies,” said Janet Groen, Director of Operations for Humana’s Central North Region. “We congratulate Judy Anderson. She is an inspiration, and her passion is contagious. We’ve been told she has been a true force in getting other community leaders involved in helping with the causes she cares about so deeply. We’re pleased that the $10,000 donation will help Central Iowa Shelter & Services continue its mission.”

For more information about the Humana Starlight Award program, visit www.humana.com/starlight

Observed all over the world on October 11th since 1988, National Coming Out Day encourages those in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to “come out of the closet” and tell those closest to them their proud and honest truth about their sexual orientation. Out Your Artist has been modeled after this event, and devised as a day for those who are ready to take the leap from being a “closeted artist” to an “outed artist”. 20 local artists will present their work in all artistic disciplines and mediums for the first time in a public setting. Additionally, the names of the artists will not be released prior to the event, so as to keep the artists a secret from those who know them best, until the right moment arrives.

You don’t have to have gone to art school to be an artist. You don’t have to be a professional painter, sculptor, or writer. Just as there is art all around us, there are artists all around us. From your boss, to your child, to those in our community who call the streets home, many are creating everyday, but not many are showcasing their creations. DMSC’s core belief is that everyone is an artist; everyone is inherently creative, sometimes you simply have to encourage people to recognize this fact. Out Your Artist has grown from these beliefs.

There will also be celebrity guests on hand – community leaders who you may not have known have an artistic streak in them. Audiences will be invited into Salisbury House and be able to take a self-guided tour of the artwork throughout the historic home. Live performances will take place every half-hour, and refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be available.

The goal of Out Your Artist is to show the community that there is a great deal of hidden talent here, and to encourage other “closeted artists” to come out and show the world their artistic passions. We will also pay homage to those observing National Coming Out Day and stand in solidarity as brave individuals come out of the closet.

Central Iowa Shelter & Services is currently seeking partners to host AmeriCorps VISTA members that will work together to address the issues of homeless Veterans. The project will work on housing, employment, health and education issues for homeless Veterans. The project will working to help operationalize the local plan to end Veteran homelessness in 5 years.

Click here to download the Request For Proposals, which details the requirements of hosting a member as well as the benefits for taking part in this project. While the project has fairly defined outcomes, members can also address a homeless veteran issue your organization could use some extra help with. Click here to download the VISTA Assignment Description that details the specific activities and steps our Americorps VISTA members will be taking this year in their effort to end homelessness among veterans.

All requests must be submitted by Oct. 7th. If you have any technical questions, feel free to call or email Tom Vance at 515-284-5719 or tv.vance@qwestoffice.net.

NAMIWalks is a national program implemented by local NAMI affiliates to raise awareness about mental illness and promote positive messages of recovery and hope. NAMIWalks are currently held in 80 cities and over 300,000 individuals have participated since 2003. NAMIWalks has raised over $28 million to-date in support of NAMI’s mission, making it the number one mental illness/mental health awareness and fundraising program in America.

No registration fee is required, to sign up simply go to www.nami.org/walks. For more information call (515)254-0417 or email namiiowa@mchsi.com.

In addition to winter supplies, CISS is always in need of medicinal and hygiene products to keep the homeless healthy. Aspirin, antacid, pain-killers, band-aids, cough drops, non-alcoholic cold and flu medications, travel-size shampoo, soap, toothpaste, razors, combs, deodorant, and feminine hygiene products (without plastic applicators) are always in short supply. Good health and hygiene are essential to getting CISS residents back on their feet and every donation of these products helps.

Donations of these supplies, as well as other top needs such as bus tokens, laundry detergent and bleach, coffee, commercial mop buckets, cotton mops and mop handles can be made at the shelter at any time. To make a cash donation via mail, please download, print, and complete the donation form found here and address your donation to:

Central Iowa Shelter & Services
205 15th Street
Des Moines, IA 50309

Donate today to help Central Iowa’s homeless make it through Iowa’s unpredictable, and often brutal, cold season. Even the smallest donation can help CISS to keep the homeless alive, warm, and healthy this winter.