Highland Elementary School – End of the Year School Carnival

Highland Elementary School – End of the Year School Carnival | waterloo.k12.ia.us/schoolsites/highland/

Volunteers from our Cedar Falls office took part in Highland Elementary School’s end of year carnival by running game, food, and ticket booths for the children. Despite the warm weather, the children and volunteers had a great time!

Minneapolis Parks and Recreation – Garden Rehabilitation

Minneapolis Parks & Recreation – Garden Rehabilitation | minneapolisparks.orgopenarmsmn.org

Team members assisted members of Minneapolis Parks and Recreation with the clean-up and rehabilitation process of the Minnehaha Park Song of Hiawatha Garden in Minnehaha Park. After just three hours, the entire garden had been stripped of unwanted debris and large weeds, and was ready for planting!

Open Arms of Minnesota – Meal Prep

Open Arms of Minnesota – Meal Prep | openarmsmn.org

Volunteers accommodated the chefs of Open Arms by prepping, assembling, and packing meals to bring nutrition to fellow community members living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and ALS. In just 2.5 hours, volunteers assembled 600+ entrees and packaged 572 hearty barley stews.

Retrieving Freedom – Facility Beautification

Retrieving Freedom – Facility Beautification | retrievingfreedom.org

Volunteers spent their day beautifying the Retrieving Freedom shelter by cleaning the inside and outside of the shelter, placing parking stoppers in their lot, pulling weeds, cleaning dog beds, and cleaning the dogs’ bath house Retrieving Freedom focuses on training service dogs to serve the needs of veterans, children with autism, and individuals living with diabetes.

Second Harvest Heartland – Food Sorting and Packing

Second Harvest Heartland – Food Sorting and Packing | 2harvest.org

Team members sorted, weighed, and bagged onions to be distributed from Second Harvest Heartland to food shelves in order to provide for families that are food insecure. Our efforts resulted in packaging 7,324 pounds of onions for our neighbors in need.

Cedar Valley Food Bank – Food Sorting and Packing

Cedar Valley Food Bank – Food Sorting and Packing | northeastiowafoodbank.org

ITM TwentyFirst volunteered at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank sorting and packaging food for their Backpack Program which serves school-aged children that come from food insecure families. We packed over 900 bags of food in less than two hours, then took a tour of the facility.

St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital | stjude.org

In 2016, all of us at ITM TwentyFirst set out to make a difference. Not only did we donate our time volunteering throughout the year, we also chose a national organization to support monetarily. As a team, stretching across three different offices in three different states, we came together to raise and donate $4,450 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. We are excited to continue our efforts in 2017 with both familiar and new organizations in Minnesota, Iowa, and New York.

Second Harvest Heartland – Food Sorting and Packing

Second Harvest Heartland – Food Sorting and Packing | 2harvest.org

Sorting, and packing food to be distributed to those that are food insecure in Minnesota and Eastern Wisconsin in Golden Valley, Minnesota. The first project that volunteers conquered was Second Harvest Heartland’s new Food Rx program which focuses on those that are food insecure, and have to follow certain dietary guidelines due to cultural beliefs or health issues (diabetes, heart disease). After completing the quota for the day, our volunteers moved on to sorting, weighing, and bagging yams to be distributed to local food shelves across Minnesota and Eastern Wisconsin. Volunteers packed 5,482 pounds of food, and when broken down each volunteer supplied 233 meals.

New York City Relief – The Relief Bus

New York City Relief – The Relief Bus | newyorkcityrelief.org

Serving the underprivileged with New York City Relief in Chelsea Park, New York City, New York. Volunteers met the Relief Bus onsite, and served with coordinators from New York City relief by setting up tables and chairs on the sidewalks in Chelsea Park, serving soup/beverages, offering socks/toiletries, and personally interacting with those in need. Volunteers assisted with clean-up after the event.

Boys And Girls Club of the Cedar Valley

Boys And Girls Club of the Cedar Valley | cedarvalleyclubs.com

Leading and participating in daily activities with children at the Boys & Girls Club in Waterloo, Iowa. This volunteer effort called for employees to be a little silly! Volunteers spent the afternoon leading gym games, making arts & crafts, and competing in board games.

Minneapolis Parks and Recreation – Trail Rehabilitation

Minneapolis Parks & Recreation – Trail Rehabilitation | minneapolisparks.org

Volunteers rehabilitated trails by removing debris, and re-mulching them at the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary. As a team, volunteers accomplished more than expected, and were congratulated for working hard without any complaints!

People Serving People

People Serving People | peopleservingpeople.org
Lunch serving with People Serving People in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. This volunteer effort took place two Fridays in a row, as the shelter is always in need of volunteers to help serve meals. We toured the shelter before serving lunch, allowing volunteers to gain a better understanding of the shelter’s mission. After the tour, volunteers served residents utilizing the shelter’s resources, and assisted with clean-up.

Country View Care Center – Special Olympics

Country View Care Center – Special Olympics | countryviewcc.com
Special Olympics with Country View Care Center in Waterloo, Iowa. Volunteers assisted residents participating in the event as well as led Olympic-like activities during Country View Care Center’s annual Special Olympics. Things went so well that a second volunteer effort with Country View Care Center took place a month later!

Minneapolis Parks And Recreation – Rose Planting

Minneapolis Parks & Recreation – Rose Planting | minneapolisparks.org
Rose planting with Minneapolis Parks & Recreation at Lyndale Park Gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Volunteers took on the task, and planted over 100 rose bushes in just three hours!

Northeast Iowa Food Bank – Garden Prep

Northeast Iowa Food Bank – Garden Prep | northeastiowafoodbank.org
Garden prep with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo, Iowa. Volunteers prepped the onsite garden at Northeast Iowa Foodbank. All of the produce grown in the foodbank’s garden allows Northeast Iowa Food Bank to help struggling households make healthy eating a possible and sustainable priority. Last year they grew and distributed more than 3,000 pounds of produce!

Salvation Army in New York, New York

Salvation Army in New York, New York | salvationarmyusa.org
Serving lunch with the Salvation Army in New York, New York. Volunteers helped greet guests with a warm smile, helped them find a place to sit, then served meals to guests restaurant style, and assisted with clean up! The guests included the homeless, low-income individuals, and the unemployed. Volunteers found a moment to sit down with those they were serving, and offer them an encouraging word or two.

Junior Achievement At Rice Lake Elementary, Lino Lakes, MN

Junior Achievement At Rice Lake Elementary, Lino Lakes, MN | jaum.org
JA-in-a-Day with Junior Achievement at Rice Lake Elementary in Lino Lakes, Minnesota. Volunteers worked with third grade students integrating stories about their personal and professional path as they facilitated Junior Achievement lessons to inspire students to dream big and provide them with information about the skills needed to succeed in school and beyond. Volunteers utilized Junior Achievement lessons that were fun, hands-on activities to help students better understand entrepreneurship, how to manage money and what it means to be a responsible citizen, consumer, and worker.