Ankeny's Westwood Elementary Hosting Winter Parties to Help the Homeless

From an Ankeny school district press release:

Ankeny’s Westwood Elementary School will be hosting winter parties with a purpose in their classrooms this holiday season. Each of the 665 students will be participating in packing hygiene packs, survival packs, and snack baskets for the Iowa Homeless Youth Centers (IHYC) and Youth Emergency Services & Shelter (YESS) as part of their winter parties.

With more than 1,500 youth under the age of 18 experiencing homelessness in Polk County, youth homelessness is clearly a community wide problem. “The coordinated effort of school administration, staff, Westwood PTO, homeroom parents, and students and their families is amazing. It is heartwarming to our organizations to know that there are so many willing to give back this holiday season." says Brad Whipple, Executive Director of IHYC.

During the winter parties each classroom will be learning about the very real issue of homelessness in their own community. They will work together to pack their donations into kits that the centers can use to reach out to their youth and provide them with much needed food and hygiene items. 

"Westwood Elementary is excited about the opportunity to give back to the community through this winter service project," Principal Amy Dittmar said. "The students, staff, and PTO are showing the true meaning of kindness by preparing packages for students in need. I am proud of their work."

More information on Iowa Homeless Youth Centers, Youth Emergency Services & Shelter and Westwood Elementary School can be found at www.yessiowa.com and www.iowahomelessyouth.org.