Director’sNote
Carrie Woerdeman, Executive Director
On behalf of the HOME, Inc team, I want to express heartfelt gratitude to everyone who sponsored and joined in on our 5th annual Hunt for Housing event on February 28th! It was a fun an inspirational evening, and nearly $74,000 was raised to support the work we do to meet individuals and families where they are on their housing journey. We're already talking about next year's event.
It's hard to believe we are already a quarter of the way through 2024. We've been hard at work updating our housing counseling program, building new workshop programming, expanding partnerships within the community, and taking advantage of the mild winter to continue to build more homes than ever before that will create stable housing and generational wealth building opportunities for low-to-moderate income families.
We've got some fun events we hope you'll consider joining us for, including the Iowa Wild game on April 5th and several events later in the year including a Volunteer Day of Service on September 11th and an Iowa Cubs game on September 13th. We are excited to have Jayson on board to continue to seek out fun opportunities to support HOME, Inc 's work - follow our socials and look for future newsletters for announcements.
Thank you for your ongoing support of HOME, Inc.!
TRANSFORMING LIVES
CREATING AFFORDABLE HOUSING
OPPORTUNITIES IN DES MOINES SINCE 1967
We raised $73,937 for affordable housing!
We couldn’t have done it without you.
Our Hunt for Housing Fundraiser is always a highly anticipated event. Months of preparation went into ensuring that it was not only successful, but also a fun and memorable experience for all who attended We worked hard to secure top sponsors, create exciting silent auction baskets, and put on an engaging program that would inspire donors to dig deep and give generously. When the day finally arrived, there was a buzz of excitement in the air. The venue was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the silent auction baskets were full of fun from almost 100 local businesses. With the help of our supporters, donors, and sponsors - we raised $73,937 for affordable housing!! All the money raised goes directly to our programs to help our clients create safe, stable housing. We are so grateful to everyone who supported us and believes, as we do, that every person deserves a place to call home.
Dora Sedeno told the story of how her family came to Iowa and got their first house with HOME, Inc. She spoke about how quick, easy, and unbelievable the process was She never thought her family could ever own a home She then introduced her sister to the crowd saying her sister and her two sons would be buying and moving into that same house creating a new legacy for their family and breaking a generational cycle. We are in the forever business here at HOME, Inc. The things we do allow individuals and families to take huge steps forward towards creating safe, stable homes, and help to break generational cycles. This is the impact and work that never stops giving. A safe, stable home is the foundation to cultivating a beautiful life. We are building legacies that will outlive all of us. Not just the houses themselves, but the lives impacted from having a home.
STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Developing New Legacies
There are many ways we work to create affordable housing opportunities from education and counseling to property development, we have a myriad of ways we work to help our clients create safe stable housing. This quarter we completed construction on two new houses, closed on one, and currently have four new homes under construction!
“Placing a family into a brand-new home and handing over the keys is a beautiful thing. A deserving family moved into a HOME, Inc. home in mid-March while another family is moving into a 4bedroom, 2-bathroom new single-family home by mid-April With 4 more houses under construction and another 12 on the way in 2024 alone, this is a big year for families working with HOME, Inc ” Clinton Webster, Director of Property Development
Equipping Renters with the Knowledge to Succeed
RentWise is a workshop where participants are taught how to find/obtain a rental unit, the basics of finances and credit as it relates to renting, basic landlord/tenant law, the steps for moving out of a unit, and fair housing laws including those concerning service animals. We work with schools, transitional housing programs, refugee service organizations, businesses, and more to bring this important information to any and all renters. If you are interested in holding a class at your organization contact Pam Logsdon at logsdon.pam@homeincdsm.org or 515-243-1277 x213
Pam Logsdon teaches our RentWise: Rental Workshop in partnership with EMBARC to provide Burmese refugees training on Iowa Laws and Codes for renters
COMMUNITIES
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
EXCITING NEWS
WELCOME!
This quarter we welcomed two new faces to our team!
Gesaro Melodie and Jayson Shaffer started with us this January, with their unique skills and backgrounds, we are confident that they will make a significant impact with HOME, Inc. Please join us in welcoming them aboard and wishing them success in their new roles!
Gesaro Melodie aka Melodie started as our new Intake Coordinator/Administrative Assistant back in January. She went to Iowa State University and graduated with a BA in Psychology. After school she moved to Des Moines and has been living here for the last three years. She enjoys traveling and exploring new restaurants. She does not own any pets, because she is afraid of most animals. She is incredibly excited to have joined such an amazing organization and team, and is looking forward to the future with HOME, Inc
Jayson Shaffer started in January as the new Marketing and Community Engagement Coordinator. He obtained a BA in Writing from the University of Northern Iowa in 2015. Since then, Jayson has worked in a variety of fields from being a Youth Director to an Early Childhood Educator to an Organic Vegetable Farmer Jayson enjoys a good ol’ adventure and has thru-hiked across three countries including the US via the Pacific Crest Trail, summited Mt Whitney, biked all of RAGBRAI, and recently moved to Des Moines
Jayson is passionate about community and is thrilled to be a part of the HOME, Inc team. He is deeply looking forward to building community and sharing HOME, Inc’s story far and wide. He hopes to create a beautiful network of people all coming together to care about and take action for affordable housing in Des Moines and Central Iowa. Jayson loves humanity and the earth, and is fueled by the desire to live fully and leave things better than you found them be it place or people.
EXCITING NEWS
Thank you for your votes!
incredible honor of being FuseDSM Chamber of non-profit of the year. We are so both past and present for they put in to make a local community. At HOME, the act of coming together up our communities. each other, with other with our neighbors, we feel responsibility to stand together as we Moines. After all, “We’re all just walking each other home.”
HOME, Inc is excited to be taking part in the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement’s Service Enterprise Program through Volunteer Iowa. This is a multi-month program designed to deepen the thinking and practices of our organization’s volunteer engagement. We are now three months in and learning so much about how to best engage and support a healthy volunteer program.
“The Service Enterprise Project offers Home Inc. a chance to purposefully and strategically develop a volunteer program aimed at both assisting the organization's clients and advocating for affordable housing statewide. I value the program's requirement to engage multiple representatives from participating organizations, emphasizing the importance of equity-driven leadership in program development. I'm grateful that Carrie Woerdeman, our Executive Director, brought forth this opportunity to the board of directors and I am excited about the impact this program will have on advancing the mission of Home Inc.!”
Candice Revita-Ramirez, HOME, Inc. Board Member
