Opportunities From: Volunteer Iowa

Packagers play a hands-on role in the fight against hunger by assembling nutritious meals at the Patty Cownie Packaging Center in West Des Moines. Volunteers work together at stations to fill, weigh, seal, and box non-perishable meal bags during a two-hour shift.

Each Packager helps produce approximately 540 meals per shift, feeding two children for an entire year. This impactful opportunity supports Meals from the Heartland’s mission to alleviate hunger both locally and globally.

To see all of our shifts to sign up for shifts- follow this LINK. 

Role Responsibilities:

Arrive 10 minutes early and check in with staff

Attend a brief orientation at the start of the shift

Follow all sanitization and safety protocols

Work collaboratively in assigned station roles

Stay focused and meet packaging quality standards

Treat fellow volunteers and staff with respect

Stay through the full shift and assist with cleanup

Attire Requirements:

Wear closed-toed shoes

Remove all jewelry before packaging

Tie back long hair and fully tuck into a hairnet

Corporate groups are encouraged to wear branded apparel

Volunteer Waiver Notice:
By volunteering with Meals from the Heartland, you acknowledge and accept our waiver of liability. Participation is voluntary, and Meals from the Heartland is not liable for any injuries or incidents that may occur during your service. Your registration confirms this understanding

Having a volunteer to go through our donations and help organize them is a huge help towards making sure we’re always keeping what would be most helpful to our clients. This position also helps us to redistribute donations we cannot use to other agencies.

These volunteers will organize the donation room, take inventory, communicate information to the staff, and coordinate with other agencies on donations we cannot take that they may be able to use. Volunteers may be asked to help transport donations between locations.

What's the impact of this position? You'll see the direct important of your work when you turn a messy room into an organized one. Every time you come in will be slightly different because the quantity and types of donations we receive vary from day to day.

Current Openings: 

Volunteers are needed to help in The ALS Association Iowa Chapter's equipment loan closet in Hiawatha, IA on a regular basis. Our Chapter partners with NuMotion to facilitate and manage our Equipment Loan Program in Hiawatha. Volunteers working in our Equipment Loan Program will assist NuMotion staff in the cleaning, organizing and possible repairing durable medical equipment.

We have 2 current locations in need of volunteer support: Hiawatha and Urbandale. These support positions will preferably occur on an ongoing, regular basis.

The Sioux City Alzheimer's Association needs facilitators and co-facilitators for support groups that meet once a month on Tuesdays. The Facilitators coordinate and lead an open group of caregivers and their loved ones who come together to share their feelings, thoughts and experiences in a combined effort to better cope with and manage the shared problems of dementia in a safe environment. The Facilitators will receive training and support from the Alzheimer's Association staff.