From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, staff, board members and volunteers from the Domestic Violence Intervention Program and Rape Victim Advocacy Program (DVIP & RVAP) will be at Johnson County Hy-Vees and Fareways to collect donated goods from shoppers during the 21st annual Shop for Shelter.
“The goods collected at this event will provide about nine months’ worth of hygiene items, household cleaning supplies, and food for the individuals the agency serves each year,” DVIP & RVAP said in a news release.
Shopping lists will be available to help guide shoppers to the most useful items. All the Hy-Vees in Iowa City and Coralville, along with the Fareways in Iowa City, North Liberty and University Heights are participating in Shop for Shelter. “Donors are also welcome to shop at other grocery stores, and drop off items with our staff and volunteers at any of our participating locations,” the news release said.
DVIP grew out of an initiative launched by the University of Iowa’s Women’s Resource and Action Center in the late 1970s. It opened its first shelter for people threatened by domestic violence in 1980, and now covers eight counties in southeastern Iowa — Johnson, Iowa, Cedar, Des Moines, Henry, Lee, Van Buren and Washington. Last year, when the University of Iowa decided that after five decades it would no longer house the Rape Victim Advocacy Program, the program joined with DVIP.
According to the most recent data published on DVIP & RVAP’s site, during fiscal year 2024, the nonprofit assisted 2,563 people in need overall and provided shelter for 368.
