This week I sat down and spoke with Karen Ventura, executive director of the New Opportunities Dallas County Family Development Center in Perry. New Opportunities is one of 18 Community Action Agencies serving the people of Iowa.
Iowa’s Community Action Agencies are locally based, private, non-profit organizations that network with a wide array of local organizations that work to enhance opportunities for low-income Iowans to meet basic needs and develop their own capacity to do so. Perry’s agency is based out of Carroll, and it manages seven counties: Audubon, Calhoun, Carroll, Greene, Guthrie, Sac and Dallas counties.
Yeisha: What do you love most about working for New Opportunities?
Karen: What I love most about working at New Opportunities is that we get to help people. Our mission is “Helping People, Changing Lives.” We not only want to provide families with immediate basic need services, but we want them to grow on their journey and reach self-sufficiency.
Yeisha: What is your background? Work experience?
Karen: My experience has been working with youth and families. Before my current job, I was a stay-at-home mom, and a lot of time went toward doing what I love, which is helping others. I volunteered for an organization called Latinas al Exito (Latinas for Success), currently known as Al Exito, an organization that helps young Latina girls and Latino boys and empowers them to continue their education and achieve their goals. I also worked for ISU Extension and Outreach and helped with a program called Strengthening Families. It’s a seven-week, evidence-based skills-building program for parents, youth and families. In my current position, I get to direct and coordinate services and events for low-income families. We have various events throughout the year, and I get to go out in the community and network with people, businesses and organizations to provide these services. We are non-profit, so we rely a lot on donations. We honestly would not be able to do it without the support of the community. So we’re very thankful for that.
Yeisha: Latinas Al Exito is a wonderful program. I myself volunteered to help a young lady in her journey, and it was a very fulfilling experience for me. So where do you see yourself in the next five years?
Karen: I hope I can continue my journey with New Opportunities and continue to assist families. I hope that we’re able to open a second location in the Waukee Area in order to assist families that have issues with transportation. My goal is for the community to get to know us more and know who we are and what we do.
Yeisha: How has technology impacted what New Opportunities offers?
Karen: Technology has impacted us significantly. It’s been a positive change as we are able to have a data system that helps us keep track of our families and services provided. With this information, we’re able to provide these numbers to potential donors who want to know what we’re doing. Honestly, technology has helped us in so many ways and made some parts of our jobs easier.
Yeisha: Who are your role models?
Karen: My role model is my mother. She has always taught me to be strong, to challenge myself and to pursue my dreams. My other role model is my husband. He is another person that’s taught me how to be strong and never give up even in the hardest circumstances, when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. He’s showed me to be humble, to stay positive and to be thankful for the many blessings I have.
Yeisha: What are the biggest issues you’ve faced working with New Opportunities?
Karen: The biggest issues would be funding sources. Currently, my job is the only full-time position. We used to have a full-time aide position that’s been cut to part time due to funding reductions. This goes all the way back to Congress, where our Community Services Block Grant has been cut each year. Many people think Community Action Agencies should not exist, but yet we continue to work hard so that we raise awareness that we’re making a difference and helping families reach self-sufficiency. I’ve seen it here many times, a family coming in for help with food or because their lights were going to be shut off and the husband was sick and the wife had lost her job. They had no other place to go to for help. Then we were able to assist them, and in return they volunteer, and now things are better for them. We were just there for them during that hard moment when they could not help themselves. Or a young woman is going through a divorce and needing help because her income has changed dramatically. So many scenarios and people we see each day. So we really need the support of the community to continue to provide these services.
Yeisha: Is there anything you’d like our readers to know about or any upcoming events?
Karen: I would like to say thank you to all people, businesses, organizations and churches that continuously help us make a difference. We couldn’t do it without you. We always need committed volunteers to help out with the food pantry, clothes closet, mobile food pantry, opportunities garden, harvest for the hungry and our annual events, like school supplies, holiday food baskets and toys at Christmas. So if you are interested, please contact me directly at kventura@newopp.org or (515)-465-5185. If volunteering is not an option, we always encourage people to make monetary donations. This helps us greatly, and all donations are tax-deductible. Another way of helping is to hold food, toy or school supply drives for us. We also take donations for our clothes closet. All items must be clean and in good condition, please. This month we are taking donations for school supplies. So if you can grab a few extra school supplies while you are at the store, please feel free to drop them off at our location at 2814 First Ave. in Perry, right inside Crossroads Church, anytime Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Note: You may also drop off donations at the church “Manos del Alfarero” or “Hands of the Potter” at 302 Willis Ave., and they will be delivered to New Opportunities.
