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Of the top 10 occupations held in Iowa in 2016, only one, general and operations manager, paid enough to support the family Household Survival Budget, a minimum of $28.39 per hour.
See more data about the poverty experienced in Iowa from United Way of Central Iowa's recent ALICE Report here: www.uwiowa.org/united-way-alice-report-iowa.
United Way’s Day of Action 2018!
Thank you to the wonderful volunteer teams from CDS Global, ITA Group, John Deere, LMC Insurance and Principal for their very hard work beautifying New Directions Shelter and several of our Home Connection properties on this year’s Day of Action. They performed tasks of painting, all manner of yard work, cleaning & organizing; we hardly recognize ourselves! We greatly appreciate the time and efforts of all! #LiveUnitedDSM
Our Annual Report is out! See many of our accomplishments last year, stories from our families, event recaps, financials, and more!
Check it out at this link; just scroll down to "Publications."
Hawthorn Hill Board of Directors and Staff
hawthorn-hill.org
Hawthorn Hill Board of Directors Phyllis Tinker, President Brian Hughes, Vice-President Jenny Smith, CPA, Treasurer Jill Kempkes, Secretary Zack Feser Duncan Gallagher Gina Graham, CPA Rev. Dr. Heecheon Jeon Julie Kellner Julie McLean Erika Lippincott Kevin Pothoven, MD Nick Roby Linda Rullan Sara S...Long post but definitely worth the read.
The current staff at New Directions Shelter had the pleasure of meeting with Oliver Campbell, his wife Danika and a past employee of Hawthorn Hill, Jennifer, a few weeks ago at the shelter. Oliver told us his story and created a Go Fund Me page to help with our mission. Below is a snippet of Oliver's story as he told it to us as well as in his Go Fund Me page. Oliver's original goal was $2000 which he quickly surpassed. We are so blessed to have received this generous donation from Oliver and his family!
The New Directions Shelter in Des Moines is very important to me as a person. I am going on 37 years old, and I was a member of one of the first families to be helped by this homeless shelter program when I was 8 years old.
Myself, mother, and brother were homeless in the summer of 1990 and New Directions helped us get back on our feet. A 21 year old girl just out of college named Jennifer Jorgensen née Hermann took special interest in our family and worked with us on a near constant basis to ensure that we could get our self-sufficiency as a family back. Even after we had resettled, we had formed a deeply personal connection as individuals, and she would go on to become a family friend.
Many years later I grew up to become a successful man, having wedded, becoming a parent, authoring books, becoming a cyclist, and inspired to help others. After 25 years, I was able to track down Jennifer Jorgensen again to let her know what kind of man I had become and how her kindness to those who were down would influence me for the rest of my life.
On Wednesday July 18, 2018 Jennifer and I made a trip to New Directions Shelter to see how far they've come and to see what struggles the shelter is facing in assisting these families. We met with the current Operations Manager Kiana Hines for 2 hours, touring the current facility and their needs.
With the requested funding above, we intend to procure many of these wish list items and personally deliver them to New Directions Shelter; there is no red tape, no bureaucracy involved. The items that you help provide will go directly to the people who need them most.
Again, thank you so much Oliver, Danika and friends!
There aren’t enough love buttons enough for this!
Thank you for sharing your story!
Thanks for sharing your story. May God continue to bless you.
Truly giving back!
During the last week few weeks here at New Directions Shelter, we have been serving a high number of children, much higher than usual. Almost all of our families have between 4 and 6 children. Due to this, we are extremely low on kid friendly food items. The next time you are at the grocery store, please consider picking up a few extra items to help stock the shelves at the shelter. Most needed items are as follows:
Ramen Noodles, canned meals (raviolis etc), string cheese, goldfish crackers, pepperoni slices, fruit and applesauce cups, granola bars and fruit snacks.
Items we are NOT in need of are: canned vegetables, cereal (especially Cheerios), soups and dry pasta.
We thank you in advance!
Backpacks are a school essential that many of the kids in our programs don't have.
As they prepare to head back to school, we're thankful for the groups who supply the items they need. These backpacks and supplies are from United Way of Central Iowa for our families supported by their HOPE for Stable Families initiative.
Embassy Suites also generously donates backpacks for the kids staying in the shelter and The Home Connection, and those are so appreciated!
Looking for a way to support us? All of our most-needed items for our New Directions Shelter and Home Connection families are on our wish list here.
(If you're an avid Amazon shopper, the link to our Amazon wish list can also be found at this link. Shop online, and those items ship directly to us!)
hawthorn-hill.org
New Directions Shelter and Home Connection are always in need of items for our families. Please refer to the list below for items that are needed. For more information on where to bring your tax-deductible donation, email or call Kiana at (515) 243-7456 or kiana@hawthorn-hill.org. Don’t have time ...
"Homeless children are 2x more likely to have a learning disability, repeat a grade, or be suspended from school."
The Home Connection and New Directions Shelter work to give homeless families stability so their children can succeed in school.
(See more information from United Way of Central Iowa's 2018 Community Impact report here: www.unitedwaydm.org/2018-community-impact-report)
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