Community Outreach Program

The Des Moines Arts Festival^® and Co-Sponsor Prairie Meadows team up to present the Prairie Meadows Community Outreach Program. The program hosts 24 area non-profit organizations who provide interactive arts-related activities for kids of all ages to enjoy.

 

Sponsored by:

 

Prairie Meadows Community Outreach Program
Winner of the Gold Grand Pinnacle Award for Best Community Outreach Program
from the International Festivals & Events Association.

 

Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Inc.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa Inc. (ARL) is Iowa's largest nonprofit animal shelter, caring for many thousands of pets each year. The ARL serves people and pets from across the state of Iowa through its programs, which include pet adoption, humane education, pet behavior training, spay/neuter, animal cruelty intervention and much more.

Art Activity: Children will learn about keeping pets safe by making a dog puppet complete with collar and ID tags. They'll also learn about the ARL's smallest friends by creating their own unique felt rat and learning about its newest club, The Rat Pack Club.

Blank Park Zoo

The mission of the Blank Park Zoo is to inspire an appreciation of the natural world through conservation, education and recreation. 

Art Activity: Children will make their own Wallaby with Baby Joey, as seen in the Blank Park Zoo's new and improved Australia Exhibit.

Central Iowa Shelter & Services

Central Iowa Shelter & Services' mission is to provide free shelter and meals to homeless adults regardless of physical or emotional conditions, and to facilitate their move toward self-sufficiency.

Art Activity: Children will design and decorate quilt squares that will be sewn into quilts to keep Central Iowa’s homeless warm. 

ChildVoice International

ChildVoice is working to restore the voices of children silenced by war around the world.  Our main project currently is a residential program for former child soldiers in Northern Uganda.

Art Activity: Using scraps of paper, children will make colorful beaded necklaces similar to those made by the ChildVoice 'bead ladies' in Uganda.

Civic Music Association

Civic Music Association presents six concerts each season featuring world class classical or jazz musicians.  In addition, we manage the Belin Quartet comprised of some of Des Moines finest classical musicians.  All musicians featured in our concert series and the Belin Quartet are contracted to provide FREE education & outreach programs in the community all year.  These programs target children and adults with limited access to live arts experiences.  

Art Activity: Civic Music Association will be making simple percussion instruments for children to decorate and take home.

Conmigo Early Education Center

We position children to thrive in schools. We are the only bilingual child care center in Des Moines

Art Activity: Children will get to make a sun visor out of a paper plate, and a butterfly using a coffee filter and clothespin. 

Des Moines Parks and Recreation 

Provide clean, safe, fun, and beautiful parks, open spaces, recreational facilities, and professionally managed leisure activities for the citizens of Des Moines and the metro area.

Art Activity: Children will get to participate in Gyotaku - the ancient Japanese art of fish printing that uses a frozen fish, paint and paper.

Des Moines Symphony Orchestra and Academy

The mission of the Des Moines Symphony Academy is to provide comprehensive, enriching, run and interactive music education experiences for students, teachers and other music lovers.

Art Activity: Come see the Instrument Petting Zoo!  Children (and parents) will get a unique, hands-on experience with a string instrument - the violin.

District 9MC / Lions Club International

LIONS CLUBS IS AN INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY MINDED CLUBS THAT PROVIDE AID FOR VISION ,HEARING AND HEALTH AND DISASTER RELEIF.

Art Activity: Children will get to decorate sunglasses with glitter glue, paint, beads and more!  And make their own lion head fan with tongue depressors, yarn and paper!

Eyerly Ball Community Mental Health Services

Eyerly Ball is a 501 (c) 3, non-sectarian agency providing a comprehensive array of community based mental health services. Eyerly Ball’s mission is to provide innovative solutions for today's mental health challenges. We envision a healthy, safe, and informed community where Eyerly Ball is the premier resource for quality mental health services. Eyerly Ball has historically served adults with mental health issues. Many clients who present with mental health issues also have co-occurring disorders of gambling and substance abuse. We provide this treatment through a variety of services including therapy, psychiatry, senior outreach, supportive community living, integrated services, and residential programs.

Art Activity: Children will get to make stress balls using balloons and sand and then decorate their ball using markers, yarn, and sequins.

Furry Friends Refuge

humane society--reduce the number of unwanted and homeless animals.

Art Activity: Children will make a pin or magnet in the shape of an adoptable animal with recycled plastic containers.

Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit

Community Tax Clinic was founded to assist minority, immigrant and disadvantage tax payers who are facing economic hardship. Its main annually event-- Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit gathers businesses of diverse backgrounds to share, learn, and celebrate the immigrant entrepreneurship experience and its contribution to the overall community.

Art Activity: Children will get to make a blow-ink picture!  Drop a few spots of ink on paper then blow it through a straw to splatter the ink. 

Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau

The Department of Public Safety's Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau is a federally funded government agency that works to promote traffic safety through educational outreach and enforcement. Employing these methods, the Bureau works with local law enforcement agencies across Iowa to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries by focusing on several key areas including increased use of safety belts, drunk driving, distracted driving, child passenger safety, and speed.

Art Activity: Use your creativity to show everyone that safety is important to you!  Children will design a personalized road safety ‘bumper sticker’ for their bike, skateboard or helmet.

Greater East Side Development

To bring together leaders from schools, churches, businesses and neighborhoods to make Des Moines' east side the best it can be.

Art Activity: Children will get to decorate a "GESD - Helping Grow Des Moines' East Side" cup that can be used as a planter for bean seeds.

HCI Care Services

Hospice, palliative and private duty services providing compassionate comfort care to those with chronic or serious illnesses. 

Art Activity: Children will get to decorate and take home their own memory books.

Iowa State Fair

To celebrate Iowa’s agricultural heritage by providing a quality environment and facilities to further education and to offer entertainment and competition for all ages. Offer opportunities for individual growth for all involved.

Art Activity: Celebrate 100 years of the world famous Butter Cow!  Children will make and decorate their own Butter Cow mask, as well as enter a coloring contest!

Living History Farms

Living History Farms is an interactive outdoor museum which educates, entertains and connects people of all ages to Midwestern rural life experiences.

Art Activity: Children will be able to color and decorate their own Living History Farms animal picture that will be turned into a keepsake button.

Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.

Art Activity: Children will get to make and decorate their own felt bookmark to take home.

Mentor Iowa 

Mentor Iowa’s mission is to provide assistance to abused, neglected, and delinquent children who are under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court Services. The most common reason for a CINA designation could be any one or combination of the following circumstances: • Physical abuse • Emotional abuse  • Neglect issues • Substance abuse in the home environment    The outcomes that are expected for children participating in Mentor Iowa programs include: • The children have an on-going relationship with a caring adult role model leading to increased stability and self-esteem. • The children show improvement in school work and interpersonal relationships. • The children interact with one another during group activities in a positive, age-appropriate manner. 

Art Activity: Children will get to decorate flip flop designed sun-catchers with non-permanent markers.

Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read Iowa is part of the national Reach Out and Read pediatric literacy program that links literacy and health by incorporating books and literacy guidance into every well-child visit from 6 months through 5 years of age. Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.

Art Activity: Children will get to color and create their own stories in partially illustrated booklets using stickers, stamps, sequins, feathers, buttons, glitter, markers and crayons.

Iowa Salsa Des Moines

Our goal is to educate and increase the awareness of Latin dancing in Central Iowa.

Art Activity: Children will get to learn a variety of Latin dances; such as Salsa, Merengue, Cha Cha, Bachata, Tango, Cumbia, and more!

Science Center of Iowa & Blank IMAX Dome

The Science Center of Iowa is a 110,000-sq. ft facility devoted to lifelong learning, featuring dynamic experience platforms and daily interactive demonstrations with SCI staff for visitors to explore and experiment.  By placing the power of learning in the hands of the visitor, the programmatic emphasis is not on "what" to learn, but "how" to learn.  SCI's mission is to be the highest quality resource inspiring scientific exploration through interactive education, exhibits, and programs.   Our goal is to be a quality community resource for informal science learning where children, families, school groups and individuals come to explore science and technology.  

Art Activity: Children will get to help create a painted mural consisting of hand and footprints that will hang at SCI throughout the run of the BODY WORLDS Vital exhibition.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Mission is to help others to help themselves through charitable work in the Des Moines area.

Art Activity: Children will get to do Origami paper folding - which is the art of bringing paper to life and people together.

The Pet Project Midwest

Our mission is to keep pets with the families who love them, and out of shelters!

Art Activity: Children will be able to get their faces painted as a fun way to acknowledge the pet-human bond!