Fall Fundraiser
It was a beautiful, warm Sunday for the Ames Romero House annual fall fundraiser. Nearly 200 guests showed their support for our mission and assisted in our future growth.
“All are welcome at Christ’s table,” we remembered as harvest decorations lined the outside of the venue on an abundant table and hay rack. While the decor of the entry reminded guests of a bountiful harvest, the dining tables inside were decorated with homecoming memorabilia from years past.
The Rustic Rose Barn in Roland once again hosted us and provided the perfect venue to celebrate with the ARH community and advance our strategic plan to open a much larger home for our homeless and impoverished brothers and sisters in the Greater Ames community.
To add to the Iowa countryside ambience, hay rides were provided for those wanting to see the local scenery and enjoy the seasonal warm temperatures. Both afternoon and nighttime rides took place.
The evening included silent auction tables for attendees to place their bids on more than 20 items donated from the business community. Guests were also invited to help support our mission through recurring donations and direct donations to the remodel of the “Orange House.”
A delicious dinner was served by Lidderdale Country Store and music was played by former and current supporters of our mission. The spirit in the barn was lively and embracing—the momentum of our mission has never been stronger.
We showcased volunteering opportunities at the event such as hospitality, food preparation, and building and ground roles. We are always looking for more volunteers to fill our Monday-Friday afternoon hospitality shifts. Sunday afternoons are also a busy period for us, so please contact us below if you can lend us a hand. Training will be provided by ARH staff.
Thank you to all of our volunteers for making “Homecoming 2024” a successful evening of community interaction. Those who assisted with decorations, desserts, manning the booths, music coordination, valet parking, bartending and hay rides: we appreciate your time and effort. We will see you all next year!
Letter from Our Executive Director
It has now been three months since I joined Ames Romero House (ARH) as Executive Director. I can say with certainty it has been one of the best decisions of my life. I often reflect on God’s two greatest commandments–to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul...and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. These commandments always stuck out to me, but I really didn’t understand their true meaning until I joined ARH.
Each day can be a challenge with our guests when there are multiple areas of focus that need to be addressed. Some of the areas are controllable, while others are not. Sometimes the daily chaos resembles triage in an emergency room–we have to make quick decisions, utilize the correct resources, and direct our guests to the right outcomes. Every guest has an unique circumstance, a different path.
The one thing we always try to provide at ARH is hope. While the challenges many of us face are long-term and can be eventually resolved, many of our guests are just trying to get through the day with food, shelter, clean clothes, and dignity. Some want to find Jesus by attending weekly Bible study or OCIA, or by praying and adoring Christ in our chapel. We are a home of hope that offers our guests the ability to change their lives and to provide a path forward for their success.
Imagine waking up in the morning not knowing where you’ll find your next meal to keep going…or where you’ll sleep for the night–the anxiety and pressure one must feel. We are fortunate here at ARH to have mental health counselors available to us 24/7. They help navigate individual situations and long-term programs and services to assist our guests in need.
It’s been clear to me from the first week I started how important our community of volunteers, donors, spiritual leaders, and leadership teams have been. We work in concert to develop solutions to help our brothers and sisters get through each day and to craft longer-term solutions to help them transform their lives. Many times, it’s one bad financial mistake, one expensive medical bill, an unexpected layoff, or an emergency living situation that someone can’t recover from, that creates the immediate need for our assistance.
When living outside of Iowa for much of my career, I was often asked what Iowa is like. My answers were typically around the pillars of strong work ethic, traditional values, generosity, and helping struggling neighbors in need. Iowa communities are known to help neighbors in distress by bringing food over when someone is sick, helping a farmer who is shorthanded during harvest, or aiding neighbors when a natural disaster strikes. This is who Iowans are.
The same values are in play at the Ames Romero House. The countless volunteers who dedicate their time and financial resources–whether ISU students; retirees; or those leaving work to assist with hospitality, food preparation, and home improvements–we are always covered and we always leave the day in better shape than when it started.
Thank you for supporting Ames Romero House in whatever capacity you are able to assist. Our guests are grateful, and your generosity helps transform lives and provides people with encouragement during days of darkness and uncertainty.
Loving and caring for our brothers and sisters is what Jesus wants us to do.
In Christ,
David Thielen
Our Community
Martha’s House of Hope
One of our areas of emphasis is collaborating with “like organizations” in our community to maximize core competencies. We had a recent meeting with Tara Brown, Executive Director of Martha’s House of Hope, to find ways our two organizations could work together. Many times, we see the same population–such as a pregnant mother who needs shelter, food, and prenatal care.
By communicating and keeping an open dialogue with other religious non-profit organizations, we feel there can be synergies across the spectrum to find best practice solutions. We are currently collaborating on a combined Christmas event for our two communities. More details are to come, but we are excited to work with Martha’s House of Hope on this event and others in the future.
Volunteer Spotlight
Sarah Grover
Sarah Grover is the type of volunteer we can count on for food preparation, event planning, hospitality hours, and for delivering our mission’s goals to the broader community. Outside of raising seven children and maintaining an active schedule as a nurse, Sarah always finds the time to help the Ames Romero House. She is also an active member of St. Mary’s Church in Colo.
She’s one of our “go-to” volunteers when we need something done on a timely basis. In addition to food preparation and hospitality, Sarah assisted in the remodel of the 709 Clark home. Her enthusiasm is contagious to the rest of our volunteer base and staff members. We can always trust Sarah to deliver excellent food and provide needed fellowship to our guests. Thank you Sarah for all you do for us.
Orange House Remodel
Mike Murphy
Mike Murphy has been instrumental in the early reconstruction of the “Orange House.” Mike is a longtime parishioner of Saint Thomas Aquinas and former ISU graduate who wanted to give back to his community and support ARH during his retirement years.
The sun room needed extensive work on all the windows and panes. We had wind blowing through the windows, which also didn’t operate efficiently. Mike came into our home and spent days and countless hours fixing each window meticulously with quality craftsmanship. He just installed blinds in the room to make it look beautiful both inside and out. Once we open the Orange House for hospitality, the sun room will be turned into the “children’s room” due to the abundance of sunlight and space.
We now have airtight windows that glide smoothly and operate efficiently. We are thankful to Mike for his time, effort, and money spent on this project. It’s volunteers like Mike that make our mission thrive.
Spiritual Partner Spotlight
Knights of Columbus
We are truly blessed to have the support of our Knights of Columbus (KOC) chapters from St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Cecilia parishes. The KOC chapters are supporting ARH through financial donations, capital improvements to our homes, and raising awareness of our mission. Without their support, our growth wouldn’t be possible–thank you from all of us!
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