Community Youth Concepts

Community Youth Concepts Community Youth Concepts ensures all youth have access to high quality opportunities that prepare them for school, work, and life.

A mission-driven organization based in Des Moines, Iowa, Community!Youth Concepts (C*C) promotes the use of positive youth development principles and best practices through training and technical assistance and through youth development initiatives. Formed in 2008 by Amy Ostrander Croll and Lynette Marchant, C*C connects the adults in the community with youth to form avenues of change by developin

g common ground. C*C helps youth discover their passions and then connects them with adults who have similar interests. We believe that with the right opportunities and supports, anything is possible. We also believe the community, as a whole, needs opportunities to learn and explore together. Because of this, we offer occasional workshops that are adult and youth-friendly opportunities to simply learn from one another. This institution is an equal opportunity provider. https://hhs.iowa.gov/assistance-programs/food-assistance/emergency-food

Please help us congratulate the 2026 C*C Scholarship Recipients! Beimnet, Anisha, and Sritha are all participants of our...
06/07/2026

Please help us congratulate the 2026 C*C Scholarship Recipients! Beimnet, Anisha, and Sritha are all participants of our uVoice: Youth Philanthropy Board and have demonstrated outstanding commitment to volunteer service during their time in high school! Huge thank you to the Krause Group for their long-term sponsorship of the C*C Scholarship Program! Are you interested in supporting the C*C Scholarship Program to help support C*C students as they pursue higher education after high school? Reach out to [email protected] for more information!

Applications for our 2026/2027 uVoice: Youth Philanthropy Board close on SUNDAY! If you know a high school student inter...
06/06/2026

Applications for our 2026/2027 uVoice: Youth Philanthropy Board close on SUNDAY! If you know a high school student interested in this unique leadership opportunity to learn about community issues, earn silver cord hours, and give funding to nonprofit organizations working on issues that they care about - encourage them to complete this online interest form before the weekend is over: https://www.cyconcepts.org/uvoice

We're still looking for volunteers for our Beverage Tent at the Des Moines Arts Festival with Saturday night and Sunday ...
06/05/2026

We're still looking for volunteers for our Beverage Tent at the Des Moines Arts Festival with Saturday night and Sunday morning being our most high-need timeframes! Not only is your volunteerism a fun way to experience the Arts Festival, you're time helps under-resourced youth get an amazing experience at our Challenge Course! One of the adult leaders for a group of 5th and 6th graders at the course last month said the experience was "transformational" for these young people to know that they can do hard things, even when they're afraid. We hope you join us - sign up today at: https://desmoinesartsfestival.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=109427

As we start to gather spring crops from our community garden - it's a good time to remember Community Fridges like the o...
06/04/2026

As we start to gather spring crops from our community garden - it's a good time to remember Community Fridges like the one at C*C are a great outlet for abundant crops. Garden produce moves quickly. We've had conversations with neighbors who are no longer able to garden and having access to fresh, local garden produce tends to make them smile and bring up memories of gardening themselves. Consider sharing your extra produce throughout the season and know that it makes a difference in more ways than one!

Cheers to an amazing year with the Woodside Girls group!
06/03/2026

Cheers to an amazing year with the Woodside Girls group!

Congratulations to C*C Executive Director, Alicia Vermeer, on her 10 Year C*C Anniversary! Alicia also served as the Off...
06/02/2026

Congratulations to C*C Executive Director, Alicia Vermeer, on her 10 Year C*C Anniversary! Alicia also served as the Office & Program Coordinator and Operations Director during her time with C*C! Congratulations Alicia!

As we wrap up our school year programming and look ahead to summer, we'd like to pause and send a sincere thank you to o...
06/01/2026

As we wrap up our school year programming and look ahead to summer, we'd like to pause and send a sincere thank you to our friends at the Des Moines Arts Festival for all of the ways they support nonprofits in our community, including selecting organizations like C*C to host a beverage tent as a fundraiser for our Stowe Heights Scholarship Fund. These funds all us to provide youth-serving organizations and schools the opportunity to participate in our challenge course programming at a cost they can afford. Allowing for youth to get outside their comfort zone; build connections with others; and learn soft skills like communication, teamwork, and problem solving in a way that is fun, approachable. and lessons stick long after their time at Stowe Heights!

Earlier this month our uVoice: Youth Philanthropy Board students hosted their grant presentation to award their grant fu...
05/30/2026

Earlier this month our uVoice: Youth Philanthropy Board students hosted their grant presentation to award their grant funding to Al Exito and the By Degrees Foundation! Huge thank you to our uVoice Sponsors: Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, , and the for their commitment to uplifting youth voice in our community! Do you know a high school student who is interested in building leadership skills, learning about philanthropy, and be part of a youth-led board that makes real decisions about how grant funding is allocated in our community? Encourage them to complete this online interest form to join the 2026/2027 board: https://www.cyconcepts.org/uvoice

We're down to 31 spots left to fill at our beverage tent for the Des Moines Arts Festival with our highest need times at...
05/29/2026

We're down to 31 spots left to fill at our beverage tent for the Des Moines Arts Festival with our highest need times at Saturday night and Sunday morning/afternoon! Do you want a fun way to experience the Arts Festival and help raise money for a good cause? Register today at: https://desmoinesartsfestival.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=109427

For the Meredith 6th Grade TOP celebration, students got to eat at the mall food court before going to a Scooby-Doo esca...
05/28/2026

For the Meredith 6th Grade TOP celebration, students got to eat at the mall food court before going to a Scooby-Doo escape room at Escapology. They were a little nervous at the start, but they completed the escape room with 10 minutes to spare, helping Mystery Inc. solve the case! The students said they had a lot of fun, even if it was a little challenging at times.

Address

1446 Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy
Des Moines, IA
50314

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm
Sunday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+15152434292

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Community Youth Concepts posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Community Youth Concepts:

Shortcuts

Share

Category