Movie Night in the Park
The City of Des Moines and the Drake Neighborhood Association invite you to enjoy a night out on June 2nd at Witmer Park, 37th and Washington Ave. and on July 25th at Drake Park, 23rd and Drake Park Ave. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and picnic baskets. Concessions will be available. See the flyer here for more details.
New DNA Website Coming Soon
The Drake Neighborhood Association board is happy to announce that we will be launching a new, improved website this summer. We know that a good website is vital to communicating with neighbors and the public, so we have enlisted the assistance of a local web development firm to create a site that will allow enhanced content, an interactive calendar of events, the opportunity to sign up for membership and volunteer opportunities online and much more. In the meantime, keep updated with DNA news by following us on Facebook and Twitter. And, if you're not a member, click on the "join your neighbors" link to the left and sign up so you can start receiving the monthly member newsletter.
Many of you have had an opportunity to meet and work with Sgt. Dave Mulford, a member of the Neighborhood Based Service Delivery (NBSD) Team that works in the Drake Neighborhood. Sgt. Mulford suffered a minor stroke in mid-January. Fortunately, we understand that the stroke has left him with no physical impairments and that his condition had improved enough for him to be discharged from the hospital in less than a week. However, he will still require some rehabilitative therapy and will likely be unable to return to work for several months.
If you'd like to send a card to Sgt. Mulford, please mail it to him c/o Lt. Joseph Gonzales, DMPD, 25 East 1st Street, DM, 50309. The DMPD will collect the cards and deliver them to Sgt. Mulford.
During Sgt. Mulford's absence, you can contact one of the following two NBSD Officers regarding issues in the Drake neighborhood:
SPO Yanira (Janita) Scarlett, 202-8022, yscarlett@dmgov.org
Sgt. Bernell Edwards, 205-1312, bledwards@dmgov.org
Remember to also contact Eric Moore, Neighborhood Inspections Division (208-0303, elmoore@dmgov.org), regarding these issues as he is the best person to ensure coordination with the rest of the NBSD Team.
Sgt. Mulford is a tremendous asset to both the DMPD and our NBSD Team. Let's all hope for his complete and speedy recovery!
Neighbors Plants Trees Near Drake Park
Neighbors planted eleven trees in public spaces near Drake Park in May. The trees were purchased with money from a MetroWaste Neighborhood Beautification grant, matched by the Drake Neighborhood Association.
Three oaks were planted along 24th Street just north of Cottage Grove, in a line of Swamp White Oaks that had been started by the Neighborhood Association in 2004 (but that had suffered some loss several years ago when a vehicle ran up over the curb). Five small Autumn Blaze Maples were planted along the south side of Cottage Grove, which should grow rapidly and provide a great sight to people entering the neighborhood from the east. Finally, a large London Plant Tree and two Littleleaf Lindens were planted on the south side of Day Street.
Click here for pictures from the tree planting event.
Neighborhood Revitalization Plan Available
The Drake Neighborhood Association worked with the City's Neighborhood Development Division for more than 2 years to develop a comprehensive Neighborhood Plan. The plan has been completed and is now available for download here.
The plan outlines a number of goals in the areas of housing, parks and trails, commercial development, infrastructure, marketing and communications. If you are interested in participating on one of the committees working on these goals, please contact us at info@drakeneighborhood.org
Drake Announces Ray Society Scholarship Program
The Ray Society is a nonprofit educational organization associated with Drake University designed to provide university level noncredit educational opportunities for its members. It also offers members community and social events that bring people together to add to the social fabric of the group.
The Ray Society Instructor Recognition Scholarship Program has been developed to provide a scholarship to persons of retirement age, who might not otherwise belong to the Ray Society, the opportunity to attend one Ray Society class during the fall or spring semester. No person would be eligible for more than one scholarship. The scholarships would be offered to members of neighborhood groups in the Drake Neighborhood. For more information, contact Dolph Pulliam at dolph.pulliam@drake.edu or 271-3084.
Grace Free Medical Clinic
Grace United Methodist Church and freeClinics of Iowa are providing a Free Medical Clinic every Tuesday from 5:30-7:30PM at 3700 Cottage Grove Avenue. Among other things, the Clinic can provide school physicals for summer camps and referral services as needed. And, starting in August, they will also be operating a Mobile Clinic.
They are also in need of interpreters and drivers with a chauffeur's license who can drive the Mobile Clinic from DMU to Grace Church on Tuesday evenings. If you would like to get involved with the Grace Free Clinic Ministry, please contact Tammy Andrews at andrewstam@mchsi.com.
Be a Neighborhood Sleuth
As part of the upcoming Drake Neighborhood historic survey, the neighborhood association will be creating an online library of photographs, documents, and stories from years gone by. People with a current or past Drake Neighborhood connection are encouraged to dig through their attics and sort through their sock drawers for clues to our shared history.
Among the items that will be helpful to the historic survey are:
* Old photos showing homes and streets
* Old photos of people, families, and children
* Historic documents like marriage certificates, diplomas, and birth announcements
* Original drawings of Drake homes
* Old maps (streetcar maps, neighborhood maps)
* Newspaper articles about neighborhood residents or events
If you have historic Drake Neighborhood items that could be scanned or documented for use in the historic survey, please contact Jennifer James at jenjames123@gmail.com or Steve Wilke-Shapiro at swilkeshapiro@gmail.com.
Drake University Head Start/Early Head Start Program
Head Start and Early Head Start are comprehensive child development programs which serve children from birth to age five and their families. The programs are child-focused and have the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families.
The Drake University Head Start Program offers a variety of program options to address each family's needs. These programs are free* and include:
- Preschool classrooms for 3 and 4 year olds
- Full-day/Full-year preschool classrooms with childcare
- Home based preschool program for 3 and 4 year olds
- Toddler center-based program for 2-year olds
- Home visiting program for infants and toddlers
All services available through the Drake University Head Start program are also provided to meet the needs of children with disabilities. Bi-lingual services are also available to all families. The staff also works with families to identify transportation resources.
For more information, call 515-271-1854 or visit www.drakeheadstart.org.
*(Children from birth to age 5 who meet federal poverty guidelines may be eligible for Head Start services. Drake University Head Start has established priorities for enrolling children based upon child and family circumstances, community needs and available funds. Drake University Head Start may accept children whose family income exceeds federal poverty guidelines.)
Drake Neighborhood Association Logo Contest Winner Announced
The winner of the Drake Neighborhood Association’s logo contest is Andrew Maahs of Des Moines. The logo contest, which was open to the public from October 2009 – February 2010, attracted 19 entries. The winning design, seen above, was chosen by a committee of neighborhood residents and local marketing and design professionals. Maahs received $750 for his winning entry.
Maahs, a Des Moines native and a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, has more than eight years of professional experience as a graphic designer. He currently works at Trilix and has also started a screen printing business focused on music posters and apparel, called BASEMINT. Previous to Trilix, Maahs worked as a graphic designer for Drake University Marketing and Communications department and VIVAMEDIA as an art director.
“We were thrilled by the quality of the entries and the thought that went into the designs. We think Andrew did an outstanding job capturing the history and diversity of the neighborhood with his logo,” says Trisha Eslick-Davis, the DNA board member who chaired the selection committee.
The logo contest was created to solicit high quality logo designs to help with the neighborhood association’s branding and awareness efforts. The first use of the logo is 13 welcome signs that were installed at neighborhood entry points in April.
Successful Workshop: "Discover the History of Your Home"
The Drake Neighborhood Association sponsored a free workshop on Saturday, February 13th on how to research the history of your home. Approximately 70 people showed up at First Christian Church for this presentation provided by local historian Jennifer Irsfeld James and Des Moines Rehabbers Club founder Steve Wilke-Shapiro. If you missed this workshop, you can download the 2-handouts that were provided here. You can also download the complete PowerPoint presentation for the workshop here .
Thank you to our friends at First Christian for providing space for this event and to Mars Cafe for supplying free coffee.
Two New Ways to Stay In Touch With the DNA
Would you like to have the latest information on things that are happening in the Drake Neighborhood? Then be sure to subscribe to our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter!
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