Some of Iowa's oldest institutions join Register's birthday celebration. See list of 44:

Celebrating its 175th birthday, the Des Moines Register asked Iowa's most venerable nonprofit institutions — those around for at least a century — to join in with their stories. From major state universities to small charities, here they are:

4-H

Offices: Washington, D.C.

Founded: 1906

What we do: Youth agriculture. 4-H is the nation's largest youth development organization, serving youth from rural to urban communities.

Members: About 100,000 in Iowa

About us: Though now headquartered at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the National 4-H Foundation recognizes that 4-H was started by teacher Jessie Field Shambaugh at the Golden Rod School in Iowa’s Page County in 1906.

More: Des Moines Register at 175: Women's Club is among organizations that built Iowa's society

AAUW of Iowa

Branches: Statewide

Founded: 1924

What we do: Advance equity for women and girls through research, education and advocacy.

Members: More than 450

About us: Formerly known as the American Association of University Women, AAUW of Iowa and its branches not only collaborate with other organizations to accomplish public policy goals, but members share board offices and directorships. At the state level, the first co-presidents were elected in 2022, and new co-presidents were recently elected in 2024.

American Home Finding Association

Offices: Ottumwa

Founded: 1899

What we do: Nurture and improve the quality of life for children and families.

Members: More than 5,000

About us: AHFA was established in 1899 as an adoption agency and now provides programming for children and families. Historically, AHFA has had great success merging health and human services, which has provided optimal programming with the state of Iowa's recent merger of these programs.

More: Des Moines Register at 175: Celebrating businesses with family ties that help Iowa endure

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American Legion of Iowa

Location: Des Moines

Founded: 1919

What we do: Enhance the wellbeing of America's veterans, their families, our military and our communities.

Members: 35,000

About us: Our Veterans Service Office helps bring over $30 million a month to our disabled veterans in Iowa.

American Red Cross in Iowa

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1916

What we do: Provide disaster relief, military support and blood services.

Employees: 26

About us: Des Moines stood out for having the nation’s highest number of Red Cross members early in the 20th century, critical during the immediate response to two devastating tornadoes in May 1918. Members then and now provide essential aid such as food, clothing and shelter.

Camp Fire Heart of Iowa

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1919

What we do: Discovery, community connection and engagement with nature for youth.

Clients: 1,500

About us: Camp Fire (Founded as Camp Fire Girls) was the first multiracial, multicultural and nonsectarian organization for girls in America.

Camp Foster YMCA

Location: Spirit Lake

Founded: 1912

What we do: Put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.

Staff/clients: Eighty staff and 500 campers annually. We serve 5,000 people a year through community and individual events.

About us: We were the first YMCA camp in the state of Iowa and we have the only “integrated” camp for burn survivors in the United States, where children with burns share activities with other children.

Central Presbyterian Church

Location: Des Moines

Founded: 1848

What we do: Christian congregation.

Members: 512

About us: The church started what is now the Des Moines Area Religious Council’s Food Pantry Network, which serves 65,000 people. Central was one of eight churches that more than 30 years ago built the homeless shelter in downtown Des Moines. The first pastor at Central, who was also Des Moines' first mayor, was the Rev. Thompson Bird. The current mayor of Des Moines, Connie Boesen, also is a member.

Des Moines Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America

Lodge: Des Moines

Founded: 1922

What we do: Conservation, restoration and promotion of the sustainable use and enjoyment of our natural resources, including soil, air, woods, waters and wildlife.

Members: More than 200

About us: The Des Moines Chapter of the Izaak Walton League is one of the four oldest active chapters in the nation.

Des Moines Community Playhouse

Location: Des Moines

Founded: 1919

What we do: Producing musicals and plays with local talent, plus educational programs.

Employees: 13

About us: The playhouse has operated continuously since 1919 and is one of the oldest and largest community theaters in the country. Among its alumni are people who have gone on to storied show business careers. The most famous: legendary stage and screen character actress Cloris Leachman, who grew up just a few blocks away and was a devoted supporter of the theater arts in Des Moines until her death in 2021.

Des Moines Host Lions Club

Offices: West Des Moines

Founded: 1920

What we do: Service club with a special focus on aiding people who are blind and hearing- and speech-impaired.

Employees: 25

About us: Founded by Des Moines businessmen, we continue to provide service through our local, district and state clubs and Lions Club International.

Des Moines Public Library

Locations: Six in Des Moines

Founded: 1866

What we do: Iowa’s largest public library system.

Employees: 140

About us: Then-Des Moines Public Library Director Forrest Spaulding drafted the Library Bill of Rights in 1938 to speak out against “the growing intolerance, suppression of free speech and censorship affecting the rights of minorities and individuals.” The document, based on the First Amendment, was adopted a year later by the American Library Association. It is now used by public libraries nationwide.

Des Moines University/Medicine & Health Sciences

Main campus: West Des Moines

Founded: 1898

What we do: Medical and health sciences education, with three colleges offering 10 graduate degrees.

Enrollment: 1,500

About us: DMU was known in its early days as Still College and was located in downtown Des Moines. Later, it moved to another Des Moines campus on Grand Avenue and adopted its current name. DMU moved to its new campus at 8025 Grand Ave. in West Des Moines in June 2023. It will host a campus public opening on Sept. 14, with a ribbon cutting at 11:30 a.m. and an open house from noon to 3 p.m. featuring tours, demonstrations and more.

Des Moines Women’s Club

Location: Des Moines

Founded: 1885

What we do: Building community and cultivating culture by establishing schools, orphanages, care centers, the first art school and gallery in Des Moines, scholarships, an annual public art exhibition and building the Hoyt Sherman Place auditorium.

Members: About 150

About us: Early DMWC members took over theaters, operated a store, gave bridge parties, sold merchandise, sponsored a performance by the St. Louis Symphony and engaged in other fundraising activities to obtain funds to build Hoyt Sherman Place.

Drake University

Campus: Des Moines

Founded: 1881

What we do: Premier university in Iowa's largest city, offering degree programs ranging from music performance to law.

Employees/students: More than 900; about 5,000

About us: As the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Iowa's capital city, Drake has often been in the national spotlight. President Harry Truman visited and later President Bill Clinton; athletes such as Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson and LoLo Jones have appeared at the Drake Relays; and Drake has frequently hosted nationally televised presidential campaign debates, including candidates of both parties in 2007, Democrats in 2015 and 2020 and Republican candidates in 2011 and this year.

EveryStep

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1908

What we do: Provide free and low-cost health care and support services.

Clients: Nearly 60,000 Iowans annually

About us: EveryStep wouldn't exist without the efforts of women, separated by 70 years, who shared a passion for compassionate health care and support. In 1908, Luella Bristol reported as the first nurse of the fledgling Visiting Nurses’ Association of Iowa. In 1978, Sister Eve Kavanagh founded Hospice of Central Iowa. A decade ago, these organizations became the nonprofit known as EveryStep.

Florence Crittenton Home of Sioux City (Crittenton Center)

Location: Sioux City

Founded: 1895

What we do: Sheltering, educating and empowering children, individuals and families in Iowa.

Clients: In 2023, Crittenton Center served 611 children and their families in child and family development and 218 children and youth in child welfare and wellbeing.

About us: Originally a home for unwed mothers and their children, Crittenton Center has grown to include more robust, evidence-based programming, therapeutic interventions and other support to keep families together. However, one thing has remained constant over the past 130 years: Crittenton’s commitment to sheltering and caring for the most vulnerable individuals in our society.

The Fortnightly Musical Club

Location: Des Moines

Founded: 1909

What we do: Foster the musical development of members and the advancement of musical culture in Des Moines.

Members: 41

About us: In 1922 or 1923, members of Fortnightly came up with the idea of forming a communitywide organization to provide quality musical experiences for residents of Des Moines and the surrounding areas. Our members worked with others in the community to form the Civic Music Organization, which will soon be celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Goodwill of the Great Plains

Location: Sioux City

Founded: 1890

What we do: Building independence through employment, training and community support.

Employees/clients: 305 employees serving 33,049 people in 2023

About us: Because of customer donations to, purchases from and recycling efforts at our 22 retail stores last year, we were able to divert 12.4 million pounds of material from landfills.

Grand Lodge of Iowa, A.F. & A.M.

Offices: Cedar Rapids

Founded: 1844

What we do: The Grand Lodge encourages Freemasonry by assisting its brothers and constituent lodges.

Members: About 12,000

About us: The Grand Lodge of Iowa was founded in part by Iowa's first territorial governor, Robert Lucas.

Greater Des Moines Partnership

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1888

What we do: Economic and community development for greater Des Moines.

Members: 400-plus investors, 23 affiliate chambers of commerce and 6,500-plus regional business members

About us: The Greater Des Moines Partnership has existed since 1888 in various names and iterations and became the Partnership in 1999 in large part to increase its regional footprint and focus. Today, the Partnership is consistently recognized by industry peers as one of the top chambers of commerce in the country.

Guthrie Center Lions Club

Location: Guthrie Center

Founded: 1924

What we do: We are best known for fighting blindness, but we also volunteer for many different kinds of community projects, including caring for the environment, feeding the hungry and aiding seniors and disabled people.

Members: 32

About us: Celebrating its centennial, the Guthrie Center Lions Club has chosen the Little Charger Early Learning Center as the focus of its celebration. As part of the festivities, the club aims to raise funds to support construction of the center's kitchen facilities.

Hope Ministries

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1915

What we do: The mission of Hope Ministries is to rescue those who are hurting, hungry, abused or addicted, providing opportunities for hope, recovery and restoration through the love of Jesus Christ.

Supporters: 15,000 donors and more than 900 volunteers

About us: We’ve consistently served homeless neighbors for more than a century. We've grown exponentially throughout the years and will open our newest center, a 100-bed facility for women and children, this fall. Through it all, we have been sustained by tens of thousands of community members dedicated to empowering Iowa's most vulnerable individuals and families.

Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1907

What we do: Venue for local and touring performers. The associated historic Hoyt Sherman mansion and art collection dates from 1877.

Attendance: Last year, 78,000 people purchased tickets to theater events, 19,000 attended community events at Hoyt Sherman, and 3,500 toured the mansion and art gallery.

About us: A historic mansion museum, celebrated art gallery and acoustically perfect live performance theater solidify Hoyt Sherman Place as a unique staple of the cultural fabric of Des Moines.

International Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1869 at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant

What we do: Service sorority with six charities helping women advance through education, including Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. P.E.O. also operates a foundation providing scholarship funds.

Members: 193,000 in 5,517 chapters across the United State and Canada

About us: P.E.O. was founded by women, for women. It is one of the oldest, nonsectarian women’s organizations and is funded by P.E.O.s, their families and friends. Our organization, including Cottey College, is debt free, and the operating costs for our philanthropies in Des Moines are paid by investment income so all donations go to our recipients. It has given more than $430 million to more than 125,000 women over its 155 years.

Iowa Bankers Association

Offices: Johnston

Founded: 1887

What we do: Trade, educational and lobbying association for Iowa banks.

Employees: 199 employees; 263 member banks

About us: During the 1920s, when there were many bank robberies in Iowa, the IBA originated “vigilante” committees in each of the state’s 99 counties, deputizing bankers and local citizens to aid law enforcement officials. The IBA offered a full line of ammunition and shotguns to its members, along with training. Over five years, 100 robbers were apprehended. The movement even lowered insurance rates.

Iowa Masonic Library and Museum

Offices: Cedar Rapids

Founded: 1844

What we do: Maintaining the documents, books and artifacts of Freemasonry in Iowa.

About us: The Iowa Masonic Library and Museum hosts around 1,000 visitors for tours a year. Researchers from around the world visit to use the library to continue educating the world about Freemasonry.

Iowa Medical Society

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1850

What we do: Advance the practice of medicine through advocacy, education and engagement with physicians throughout Iowa.

Employees: 9

About us: IMS represents over 5,000 MDs, osteopaths and medical students statewide..

Iowa State Bar Association

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1874

What we do: Support member attorneys and their service to clients, their communities and the judicial system.

Members: More than 6,500

About us: Iowa attorneys were important in the formation of Iowa's state government. Arabella Mansfield was the first female attorney in the United States, and her statue on the campus of the now-closed Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant is being donated to the ISBA.

Iowa State University

Main campus: Ames

Founded: 1858

What we do: Higher education.

Employees/students: 6,700 employees; more than 30,000 students

About us: Iowa State University started as Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm. Did you know ISU researchers built the world’s first electronic digital computer — and have been responsible for hundreds of other scientific advances? For 166 years, Iowa State has been at the forefront of innovation.

Lutheran Services in Iowa

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1864

What we do: Respond to the love of Jesus Christ through compassionate service.

Members: More than 450

About us: The first state office for LSI (then called the Lutheran Welfare Society of Iowa) opened on the fourth floor of the Youngerman Building in downtown Des Moines in 1939. Also in the 1940s, LSI began refugee work, caring for European families and children displaced by World War II. LSI’s Immigrant and Refugee Community Services continue to empower refugees and immigrants to pursue the quality of life they deserve through connections to resources, education, training and community integration.

Mary Greeley Medical Center

Location: Ames

Founded: 1916

What we do: Regional hospital.

Employees: 1,400

About us: Mary Greeley Medical Center is one of the few hospitals in the country that has earned both the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which is the nation’s leading recognition of quality and innovation, and Magnet Designation, the nation’s leading recognition of nursing quality. We are the only Iowa organization to receive the Baldrige Award.

Mercy College of Health Sciences

Campus: Des Moines

Founded: 1899

What we do: Accredited degrees and certificates in nursing, health care management and health sciences.

Employees/students: 300 employees; nearly 1,000 students

About us: Mercy College of Health Sciences is the largest nursing program in the state of Iowa.

National TTT Society

Offices: West Des Moines

Founded: 1911

What we do: Provide no-cost summer camp experiences for girls.

Members/clients: 1,363, with 269 girls sent to camp nationwide, 214 of them in Iowa, in 2023

About us: TTT is all about relationships. We work with local school professionals to receive recommendations of girls who can most benefit from what we offer. Our women take girls shopping for camp needs, share meals, take them to events, host camper parties and much more while providing a caring adult presence in their lives.

Okoboji Protective Association

Location: Okoboji

Founded: 1905

What we do: Preserve and enhance the ecological health of West Okoboji Lake and the entire Iowa Great Lakes watershed.

Members: 375

About us: One of the reasons that OPA was founded in 1905 was our interest in preserving water quality in West Okoboji Lake, which is our main focus today.

Orchard Place

Location: Des Moines

Founded: 1886

What we do: Provide a safe environment for children and their families to heal, find hope and empowerment and build resilience to overcome mental health adversity.

Clients: 6,500 annually

About us: "We offer lifesaving services and supports to youth and their families,” says CEO Anne Starr. “The impact of that work is often invisible to those in the community unless they have personally experienced it. Mental illness is not so visible like cancer or other childhood illnesses. But, when you experience it, or your child does, it is life altering and gets better with help."

Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union 33

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1891

What we do: Represent a workforce of plumbers, steamfitters, welders and HVAC/refrigeration technicians employed at businesses and institutions through the Des Moines metro.

Members: 1,651

About us: From 1880 to 1890, Des Moines’ population more than doubled. The city’s infrastructure, including water piping, had to expand dramatically. During the early 1890s, wages for plumbers in Des Moines were about 12 cents per hour with 10- to 12-hour workdays. Within the first six months after it was chartered, Local 33 went on strike to gain a nine-hour workday — and won.

Putnam Museum and Science Center

Location: Davenport

Founded: 1867

What we do: Offer unique, immersive, hands-on learning experiences to over 140,000 people each year, including more than 30,000 school/youth group visitors.

Employees: 21

About us: We have over 250,000 objects in our collections, with the largest portion representing invertebrate paleontology. There are also 20,000 pressed plant sheets and fossils from mammoths and mastodons and the Mazon Creek fossil beds.

St. Vincent de Paul of Des Moines

Offices: Windsor Heights

Year founded: 1924

What we do: Help those living in poverty become self-sufficient, with three thrift stores, two social service centers, an education center, a reentry center and workforce training.

Employees: 65

About us: Our goal is to treat the symptoms that have caused our clients to experience poverty, not just to patch the problem.

Temple B'Nai Jeshurun

Location: Des Moines

Founded: 1873

What we do: Reform Jewish congregation.

Members: About 250 families

About us: We were the first Reform Jewish congregation in Iowa.

University of Iowa

Main campus: Iowa City

Founded: 1847

What we do: A threefold mission of providing exceptional teaching and transformative educational experiences that prepare students for success and fulfillment in an increasingly diverse and global environment; advancing scholarly and creative endeavor through leading-edge research and artistic production; and bringing learning and discovery into the service of the people of the state of Iowa, the nation and the world, improving lives through education, health care, arts and culture, and community and economic vitality.

Employees/students: 14,000 employees; more than 31,000 students

About us: We have a proud list of firsts:

• First institution of higher education in the state of Iowa.
• First public university to admit men and women on an equal basis (1860).
• First college of law west of the Mississippi (1868).
• First coeducational medical school (1870).
• First to award master of fine arts degrees (1940).
• First state university to officially endorse an LGBTQ+ student group (1970).

University of Northern Iowa

Main campus: Cedar Falls

Founded: 1876

What we do: State university.

Employees/students: 1,500 employees; more than 9,000 students

About us: Founded as the Iowa State Normal School, then renamed Iowa State Teachers College and later, State College of Iowa, UNI gained its current name in 1967. It is the alma mater of U.S. Sen.  Charles Grassley and the repository of his papers and documents as an Iowa state legislator. It also will serve as the repository of his Senate papers once he leaves office.

Waypoint

Offices: Cedar Rapids

Founded: 1894

What we do: Provide housing and services to domestic violence and homicide survivors and child care for more than 20,000 people annually.

Employees: 123

About us: Waypoint was the YWCA before the agency disaffiliated to focus on providing critical services and other community needs.

Willkie House Inc.

Offices: Des Moines

Founded: 1917

What we do: Nonprofit providing after-school and summer programming for low-income youth.

Employees: 6

About us: The Willkie House is the oldest community center in Des Moines and once served 70% of Des Moines' Black community under the name Negro Community Center.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Some of Iowa's oldest institutions join Register's birthday celebration. See list of 44: