Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Des Moines serves central Iowa with food assistance, immigration legal services, refugee resettlement support, mental health counseling, and emergency financial help. The food pantry and other programs serve people of all faiths. Below: what the agency actually does locally, how to donate, and where volunteers fit in.
Central Iowa's economy runs partly on meatpacking and agriculture, industries that employ large numbers of immigrants. That shapes this agency's caseload. Its immigration legal services handle the situations agricultural and food-processing workers actually face: work authorization, family petitions, and DACA renewals — legal work that is expensive at a private firm and hard to find anywhere else at nonprofit rates.
Refugee resettlement support is a related program. Iowa has received refugees from Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other countries, and the agency helps new arrivals integrate: navigating housing, employment, and the systems of a new country. Rounding out the list are a food pantry, mental health counseling, and emergency financial assistance for households hit by a crisis.
One boundary worth knowing: this agency covers central Iowa. Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Dubuque covers northeastern Iowa separately, so donors and clients in that corner of the state should look there instead.
You can give online at catholiccharitiesdm.org/donate. Money is the most useful gift for this agency's mix of programs, since legal representation and counseling are staff-driven services that donated goods cannot fund. A monthly gift, even a small one, helps more than the same total given once a year, because immigration cases and counseling relationships run on long timelines.
The food pantry may also accept food and hygiene items; check the official site for a current needs list and drop-off details before loading up your car, since pantry needs shift week to week.
Volunteer roles here map to the programs: food distribution shifts at the pantry, English tutoring for immigrants and refugees building language skills, and administrative support in the office. None of these require special credentials, and tutoring in particular is a steady, high-contact way to help someone's long-term prospects rather than just their week.
Start at the official website to see current openings and the application process. Client-facing roles typically involve a screening step.
Before any significant gift, run the standard checks: the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search at apps.irs.gov confirms 501(c)(3) status, and Charity Navigator shows how the agency stacks up on accountability. For gifts of $250 or more, keep the written receipt the agency sends — the IRS requires it for a deduction.
Sources: Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Des Moines official site (catholiccharitiesdm.org); our Iowa charity guide research. Retrieved July 2026. We are not affiliated with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Des Moines and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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