YMCA of Greater Des Moines

We have a large variety of off-site opportunities you can participate in that will make a lasting impact on those who call the YMCA Supportive Housing Campus their home. Check out how you can uplift our residents today! - Handmade quilts/blankets: When residents celebrate their one and five year housing anniversaries we provide them with a handmade quilt or tie blanket made by volunteers within the community. We ask that the blankets are twin or full sized and gender neutral. By participating in this opportunity you will help us celebrate the incredible achievements of our men and women! - Cardmaking: We love handmade cards and they are treasured by our residents. You can help us uplift all residents by making 140 Kindness Cards filled with well wishes and encouragement to create smiles and spread joy in our home. Feel free to attach a piece of candy or hot cocoa packet to the kindness cards as well! - Kindness Bags:  It’s fun to decorate bags and fill them with little treats for the residents. Creating and donating these bags are a lovely way for the residents to know that the community cares. Bags can contain things like snacks, hygiene items, handwritten notes or really anything else you can think of that would create smiles in our home. If able, please make 140 bags to ensure that everyone receives one! - Kindness rocks: We have a beautiful courtyard with garden spaces that would be so vibrant with the addition of hand painted kindness rocks. We love the idea that residents can stroll outside and see little pieces of art with positive words and/or pictures. - Recipes for residents: Do you like to cook? Our on-site pantry offers residents various food options to cook throughout the week and cooking inspiration is always helpful! You are able to come in to our home, look through our pantry, and then write up a recipe card that uses at least one item from our pantry. Ingredients should include affordable items found at any grocery store and the meal should be able to be made using a pot/pan or a small toaster oven as we have efficiency apartments.  Recipe cards can be made on or off campus – our residents will be thrilled to have new cooking ideas! - Turn a house into a home with art: Look around your home. What do you see? A picture of your loved ones? Maybe you see a painting your children made or one you picked out at the store? Art turns a house into a home, especially if it’s #MadeWithLove. If your enjoy art, consider volunteering your time to create artwork for the YSHC residents. We cannot wait to see what this #ConspiracyOfKindness has in store! Once completed, you can drop off the volunteer project at 2 SW 9th Street, Des Moines, IA 50309 between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday or between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays. The YMCA Supportive Housing Campus is a community solution to eliminating homelessness by providing hope, dignity and support in the form of permanent supportive housing. Our belief that everyone is worthy to live a life of meaning guides everything that we do. We believe in housing first and community next; providing a space where residents feel safe, secure and at home while feeling as though they are a part of the community that surrounds them. Together, staff and volunteers advocate to advance our belief that everyone deserves a place to call home. Volunteers allow us to transgress past basic need services through supporting on and offsite opportunities that better create a dignified and supportive space of stability and personal growth. Learn more and take a virtual tour of our campus here: youtube.com/watch?v=YTshFDMScsM&t