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Items UDMO needs...

Canned meals, such as soup, ravioli, spaghetti, etc.

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Items for a pasta meal

Breakfast items like cereal, pancake mix

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"We try to keep our minds open to try and take down barriers for a family at times of crisis, to get them on the right path," according to Justin Jones, outreach director for Upper Des Moines Opportunity.

He has his work cut out for him. For the past five years, he has managed outreach services in Humboldt, Hamilton, Webster and Wright counties.

"It's my duty to oversee all services in those counties, to maintain community relations and inform people what is going on with UDMO," he said.

"UDMO is a community action agency. Our primary purpose is to build partnerships to empower people and alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty," he said. "We have 120 different programs that hit pieces of that on a federal, state and local level. People can come in if they are in a housing crisis, such as being evicted or their utilities are going to be disconnected."

Originally from Shenandoah, Jones and his family have lived in Webster City for four years.

"I worked for the Department of Corrections in Fort Dodge. I was getting my masters degree and working nights as a prison supervisor, I was never seeing my wife and kids."

Ready for a change, Jones started his job with UDMO. "When I made the switch, I thought the jobs were completely different. But I realized that with both, I was simply working with people who are in crisis and dealing with issues," he said. "When I worked for the Department of Corrections, I was with the statewide hostage negotiation team. I was always working on my communication and I feel that has helped me a lot in this position. People come here in crisis. The first person they see is one of our staff members and they unload. We ask a lot of the people who work in our office."

And there are many people in the community needing a release. "Last year our agency helped 2142 people in Hamilton County. That is over 20 percent of the county's population," Jones said. "In a years time we have gained over 400 new clients and we anticipate that that number will be even larger next year."

The programs that are offered at UDMO are wide-ranging from the food pantry to counseling to the Head Start and WIC programs. "We try to build good relationship with partners in our communities, counties and services area to refer people, because we cannot serve everyone. We try to utilize our resources as best as possible," Jones said.

"One of the best things about our agency is 100 percent of our donations go right back to the community that they come from," he said. "If you give a penny, it goes right back to Hamilton County or wherever you choose for it to go."

Jones reflected on his favorite aspects of his position.

"I enjoy the ability to help mold services in our community that we see fit because we live here. If you are serving a community and you know what a community's needs are, that works better over someone else in another town saying what they believe our community needs," he said. "I am committed to the region where I live. One of the most important things to me is building a better community. Working with people to make where we are better is very important. I love that aspect of my job."

While food pantry and clothing items are needed at UDMO, monetary donations are greatly needed as well.

"Monetary donations can go to specific programs or for general assistance," he said. "We go to the Food Pantry of Iowa and can buy food for 14 cents a pound. Your dollar will stretch the farthest with cash. You can write a check to UDMO and it goes specifically to community members in Hamilton County."

Jones definitely is committed to making the community a better place. "We want the community to understand that we are here as a tool to serve the community. I honestly believe that most people want to make their community the best it possibly can be," he said. "A lot of people don't know how to give and help out in the community; I see UDMO as a tool for those people. If you want to volunteer your time, give financially, if you want to give items, all of that goes straight back to better our community."

UDMO will have angel trees around the community this holiday season. An angel on the tree will be specifically for a child in Hamilton County. It will list their clothing sizes and any gifts that they may desire for the season.

On Nov. 25, 27 and 28, UDMO will be ringing bells for the Salvation Army at Fareway, Hy-Vee and K-Mart. 90% of the money that goes into the cans will stay in Hamilton County. UDMO is looking for people who are willing to ring bells for an hour on those days.