For over 40 years, the nonprofit Embrace Iowa initiative and the Des Moines Register have generated cash to help Iowans during some of their most vulnerable times. Over the decades, that longevity has enabled numerous candidates, including single mother Ashley Voorhees, to approach the program for a second opportunity at a temporary financial boost.
Medical problems during Voorhees’ pregnancy in 2024 limited her capacity to work full-time at her restaurant employment. Pregnant, with limited income and three young children to care for, she slept on a decaying air mattress and her uncomfortable broken couch.
Eleven years ago, she worked with the Embrace Iowa initiative to assist pay the purchase of bunk beds for her children. Now in an equally challenging situation, Vorhees pondered, “Even if I received assistance 11 years ago, should I attempt again? “And it worked.”
The Iowa Community Action Association oversees the yearly campaign, Embrace Iowa, which is financed by charity donations from Register readers.
Each applicant is eligible for up to $750 in assistance for essential needs such as paying for doctor bills, automobile and wheelchair maintenance, or furniture for young families.
Embrace Iowa’s coverage spans all 99 Iowa counties. Voorhees approached Sieda Community Action, one of the program’s 16 agencies spread around the state, and a busy support center that serves Appanoose, Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska, Van Buren, and Wapello counties.
Voorhees praised the quickness and efficiency of her experience, as well as the knowledgeable counsel provided by staff member Kim Fletchall at the regional outpost. “I filled out the form in the Keokuk office, and she turned it in. Voorhees claimed that she learned she had been chosen within a month. Fletchall approved cash for the purchase of a new mattress, box spring, and metal frame.
“Then it took them a week to bring the bed directly to my house. They hauled it inside and set it up.” She described herself as “really resourceful,” and was able to get a used couch later in the year.
Embrace Iowa, like Voorhees, transfers all grant money straight to the creditor, which could be a retail store, a landlord, or medical providers.
Applicants must demonstrate Iowa domicile and a gross yearly income of 200% or less than the federal poverty level, but the straightforward process prompted Voorhees to encourage friends and coworkers to apply for assistance with their own financial challenges.
“I would definitely recommend the program to anybody who’s having a hardship,” she told me. “It’s a pretty unique and amazing program that we have in our community.”