Pathway Church Members Create Non-Profit, Kurbside For Kids

A few years ago when Jerra Fust's husband, Ben, lost his construction job in the failing economy, her church family at Johnston's rose to the call for support.

Now, Jerra, 30, and her sister-in-law, Amanda Fust, 27, are working to show others in the community the same support and compassion Jerra's family once received through their non-profit Kurbside for Kids by donating clothes, toys and other necessities to families.

"I had just quit work to be a stay-at-home mom and I was pregnant with our second child," Jerra, who lives in Pleasantville, recalled. "A few weeks later he (Ben) was let go because there wasn't work to do. We could have used clothes, the church supported us a lot and family supported us."

And so last November, with the support of their husbands, Mike and Ben, and armed with their SUVs and children, Jerra and Amanda began collecting clothes, toys and other items for families that needed a little support.

"We started the discussion in October," said Amanda, who lives in Bondurant. "We both kind of thought there was something we could do to volunteer, but we wanted to take our kids with us and work around a stay-at-home mom's schedule."

Jerra said the urge to share God's love was also at work.

"It's our way of showing love on our schedule," she said. "Some of it stems from people not knowing they might need help, I didn't know that we needed help."

Kurbside for Kids aims to collect leftover baby, kid and mom items such as outgrown diapers, gently used clothing, formula, breast or bottle feeding accessories and more. Most of the time the women have a specific set of items they need, which they post on their Facebook page. Needs range from infant items to swimsuits for children in an English Language Learners Program.

The program will also accept items for all family members, one of their first projects was to collect items for a family displaced by a fire.

There are no forms or applications needed to be helped by the program.

Amanda, her daughters, Emma, 5, and Lalia, 2, along with Jerra and her girls Grace, 4, and Ella, 2, set out in their SUVs on the 15th of every month to collect the items in Polk, Warren, Story, Marion and Dallas counties.

"It's amazing how many people have come out of the woodwork," Amanda said. "It's amazing to see the people step up to the plate and help out."

The women have also been joined by a few residents in Boone County that do their own pick-ups for that area.

The mission has picked up the last few months, Amanda said.

"We've had teen moms that need everything," she said. "We had five teen moms that needed the same things, it's so specific but God came through and we were able to give them exactly what we had hoped to."

Early this spring, the women, along with other Pathway Church members, helped bring needed supplies to Creston families after the tornado.

"That was one of the most amazing shows in humanity," Jerra said. "This place was stocked full of things to take to Creston."

Families in need are encouraged to email Amanda and Jerra through the Kurbside for Kids Facebook page or website. The women are careful to keep information confidential. People willing to donate items are also asked to contact the women through email. 

"I want people to make sure they, even if it's not for themselves or they know someone too proud or embarrassed to ask, if they need something I hope they reach out and let us know," Amanda said. "There are plenty of people out there to donate items."

And most people are more than willing to donate to a good cause, Jerra said.

"There are places that we've picked up from and they could have made a killing from a garage sale but they donate it instead," Jerra said. "We tried to make it easy to remember by picking up the 15th of each month. They don't even have to be home, that's why it's curbside."

Commonly needed items:

• Baby blankets
• Clothes, shoes, socks
• Training toothpaste
• Maternity clothes
• Menstrual pads
• Toiletries
• Gift cards to local stores
• Gas cards
• Diapers
• Wipes
• Pacifiers
• Bottles
• Breastpumps
• Breastmilk bags
• Nursing pads
• Formula
• Baby soaps/lotions