City of West Des Moines recently issued the following announcement.
The City of West Des Moines is inviting the public to attend the second annual Winter’s Eve celebration on Monday, November 29, at 5:30 p.m. at the Jamie Hurd Amphitheater, 4100 Mills Civic Parkway.
A performance will take place on stage by the Heartland Youth Choir, and wintry refreshments will be provided by Hy-Vee. The City also will recognize the 2021 Community Light Bearer, 7-year-old Anabel Henderson, a second grader who will help the Mayor “flip the switch” and light this season’s tree!
Anabel spent her summer collecting donations for refugee babies and mothers who arrived in this country with nothing. Anabel learned about refugees through a volunteer opportunity offered by the Des Moines USCRI office (United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants).
“I love to help people in other countries and especially refugees, so once I heard about refugee babies and that they needed help to survive, I was ready to dive in and to help them survive,” she said. “I made a video for my neighborhood and we sent it to family members.”
The video helped Anabel raise over $1,200 in monetary donations, and she was able to provide three families with supplies to care for their babies.
If you would like to help Anabel, diapers and baby wipes will be collected at Winter’s Eve for the Des Moines USCRI Chapter.
Anabel was nominated as a Community Light Bearer, a designation awarded to a local youth who brought light to our community by helping others. Nominations are accepted at ParkRec@wdm.iowa.gov each year. To see a short video of Anabel, visit the City’s website at www.wdm.iowa.gov/WintersEve.
The Des Moines area is gearing up to welcome more than 600 Afghans and refugees to Central Iowa over the coming year. Residents also may help provide housing, groceries and more for our newest neighbors by donating online at https://refugees.org/donate-uscri-des-moines/.
Original source can be found here.
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