Working with Greater Des Moines organizations to improve community development
Iowa is stereotypically thought of as a farm-centric state with unending corn fields. But Des Moines, the capital city of Iowa, is very different from what one might expect—a multicultural urban economy booming in manufacturing, financial services, biotechnology, and green energy production. Microsoft is dedicated to contributing to organizations, causes, and projects in the communities that host Microsoft datacenters. Recently, Microsoft invested in several community programs supporting environmental, educational, and revitalization projects in the Greater Des Moines area, where Microsoft has had a datacenter presence since 2008.
Trees Forever
To expand and care for the tree canopy in Des Moines, focusing on equitable distribution, Microsoft has supported Trees Forever for a third year. One of the group’s main goals is to grow the Des Moines area’s urban tree canopy by 3 percent in the next 30 years, with particular focus on equitable distribution across the city. This year, the organization has hosted 13 volunteer planting days with over 150 volunteers. Seven local teens found employment with the Growing Futures program, planting the trees and working on caring for them and watering them from spring to fall. The Growing Futures program has planted over 600 trees and cared for over 14,500 trees around Des Moines in 2020. This provides these teens with professional development opportunities while reducing carbon impact.
Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity
Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity builds and rehabilitates homes to help facilitate homeownership in the community, also assisting with repair, weatherization, and beautification of homes. Microsoft recently supported the revitalization of several Des Moines area homes; the upgrades will help these homes to be more energy efficient, but also improve curb appeal. This work includes replacing windows, installing grab bars and ramps, improving insulation, updating gutters and doors,
and repainting.
We Connect the Dots
Microsoft is also partnering with We Connect the Dots to support their upcoming Code-a-thon, a community event that challenges students to solve global challenges with coding tools. Kids will be organized into teams with a mentor to help provide training on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Teams are given access to Microsoft Visual Studio, Github, and Azure DevOps to develop their solution over the course of 48 hours. This year, We Connect the Dots will conduct the whole event virtually, using Microsoft Office and Teams to provide seamless online collaboration.
As the Des Moines community continues to grow and change, Microsoft is excited to continue supporting non-profit and community organizations in their work for sustainability, education, workforce development, and other initiatives.
Call for applications—Des Moines Community Challenge
Funding is available to local community leaders to start one of 12 established and impactful ideas across the areas of education, environmental sustainability, and prosperous communities. Teams will receive the resources, seed funding, and support needed to start one of these projects in their local community. Each team that joins the challenge will have 30 days to build their team and come up with their action plan to be eligible for seed funding.
For more information and to apply: https://www.changex.org/us/funds/desmoines-community-challenge
