Crime & Safety
Volunteer Bakers Needed for 9th Annual Great Cookie walk of West Des Moines; Deadline Approaching
One cookie at a time, nearly $43,000 has been raised for the Youth Justice Initiative, a restorative justice program that gets high marks for participants' low recidivism rate.
The Great Cookie Walk of West Des Moines is less than a month away and some key deadlines are coming up.
For the uninitiated, some of the city’s best and most creative cooks turn out hundreds of plates of cookies that the public snaps up in three hours on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
It’s for a great cause – the Youth Justice Initiative of West Des Moines, a restorative justice program targeting adolescent and teenage offenders. The highly regarded program, which boasts a recidivism rate of less than 15 percent within the first year, receives a handful of grants, but depends heavily on the cookie walk for funding.
Last year, the haul was $9,288 and if at least that much is raised at this year’s event – mark your calendars; it’s Nov. 24 – volunteers at the West Des Moines Christian Church will have raised more than $50,000 for the YJI.
Also providing funding for the program are West Des Moines Community Schools, United Way of Central Iowa, the city of West Des Moines and Friends of YJI. The West Des Moines Police Department provides administrative assistance.
Questions? Call (515) 225-04674 or consult the web site.
Important dates:
Nov. 12: Deadline for volunteer signup to bake and decorate cookies, deadline for advance orders and deadline to work a shift.
Nov. 14: Great Cookie of the Year Contest at the church kitchen. Judging by a qualified panel on taste, presentation and festive appearance. Prizes go to the top three.
Nov. 15: Celebrity bake-off at the church kitchen. Teams from the West Des Moines Fire Department, West Des Moines Police department, West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, city of West Des Moines and West Des Moines Community Schools bake and decorate gingerbread houses, t
Nov. 16-17: Volunteer bake and decorate days, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church kitchen
Nov. 23: Volunteer bake and decorate day, 8 a.m. to 4 pm.; volunteer cookie bakers deliver cookies to the church.
Nov. 24: Great Cookie Walk of West Des Moines, 9 a.m. to noon.
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