“To everything there is a season…”

Dear Friends,

March is a month of contemplation, awakening, and ever-changing life experiences! The Lenten season provides a time for reflection and preparation in opening our hearts to a deeper relationship with God. The Spring season offers new beginnings of creation and growth in nature and within ourselves. We also celebrate many special occasions in March. This year’s Shamrocks and Shenanigans was held on March 4. Many colleagues joined together to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day through fellowship, Irish music, and fun activities. View this issue for several photos of our event, as well as our facebook page.

We hope our monthly newsletter provides you relevant information about Catholic Charities, inspiring stories, and how we serve and impact our most vulnerable populations. Our mission to empower individuals and strengthen families is rooted in the Catholic Social Teaching and demonstrated everyday by our committed and dedicated staff and volunteers. Please know the contributions and support from our donors and community stakeholders are critical to services we provide.

In the coming months, we will begin our legacy journey in commemorating our 100 year history which began in September 1924. Our Catholic Charities Centennial Celebration will be a year-long opportunity to recognize and value those who came before us – the people, places, and passionate care by many. We will also highlight how we are advancing our legacy with a new strategic vision and priorities. We are excited to share our history and the future of Catholic Charities, as well as to invite you into this celebratory experience!

With gratitude and grace to all,

Barbara Q. Decker

Catholic Charities Executive Director

Shamrocks & Shenanigans 2023

Thank you to the 125 donors and friends who joined us for Shamrocks & Shenanigans! We enjoyed a fun-filled evening raising awareness and funds for Catholic Charities and honoring Fred Polle, Jr. and the Comfort Family Foundation. Thank you to all who were able to attend or contribute via the online auction. A special thanks to MercyOne, our Emerald Sponsor! We hope you are able to join us next year - Save the Date for Shamrocks & Shenanigans on March 2, 2024!

Breakfast with the Bishop

Join Bishop Joensen and Catholic Charities for a morning full of food, education on Catholic Charities food pantry and more!

Wednesday, April 19^th

9:00 to 10:30 am

Krause Hall

First floor of Pastoral Center

601 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50309

Keep up with us on Social Media!

Follow Catholic Charities of Des Moines on social media. Be up to date on events, news and our programs!

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Care Corridor

Join Catholic Charities and many others March 30th from 4:00 - 8:00pm for the Care Corridor Resource Fair, hosted by DMARC. Learn more about community resources that can benefit you or someone you know!

More Details Here

Volunteer Spotlight

Domestic Violence Shelter

Bob Fenner has been volunteering with Catholic Charities Domestic Violence Program since 2010. He became involved with the shelter through his wife, Elaine, a great volunteer herself, who provided food safety and cooking classes. Bob and Elaine, together, expanded their volunteering to include the weekly shelter grocery shopping. Bob soon discovered the amount of produce being disposed of each week at the store. Bob initiated a conversation and created a plan for the store to donate these food items to our program and others in the area. His efforts soon extended to other store departments to provide residents with a greater variety of foods. Bob has since added collecting from McDonalds and Starbucks through the weekly Harvest Foods program donations.

Did you know?

Nearly 20% of all people living in Central Iowa are food insecure? The Catholic Charities Food Pantry distributes approximately 35,000 lbs. of rescued food every month to about 500 people every day!

We recently celebrated Shamrocks & Shenanigans, our annual fundraiser. What did you think?

Unfortunately I could not attend

I did not know about the event

I had a great time!

Additional Comments can be sent to eklisares@catholiccharitiesdm.org

Your Support Serves Thousands in Central and Southwest Iowa

Catholic Charities Annual Appeal is the primary funding source for Catholic Charities along with government and private grant funding. Donors who commit to an annual gift help strengthen and empower individuals and families through some of the most difficult times in their lives. Consider an annual gift that will help all year!

Donate Now

Serving those in need within the Diocese of Des Moines

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Des Moines serves those in need within the 23 counties of the Diocese of Des Moines in southwest Iowa. Our mission to empower individuals and strengthen families applies to anyone in need in the area, regardless of demographic. Our mission is rooted in Catholic Social Teaching. Our programs and services include refugee resettlement, professional counseling, food pantry, domestic violence and sexual assault shelter and services, emergency family shelter and more. We impact over 30,000 individuals each year.

Find more information about Catholic Charities at catholiccharitiesdm.org.

catholiccharitiesdm.org