Cookie Making Class
On February 15th, 2022, we had a cookie making class for a small group of middle school and high school students. PvilleYI co-founder Emily Caulkins taught the teens the basics of making large batches of sugar cookies. She showed them how to carefully measure ingredients (yes, you really do need to make sure that was 2 cups and not 3), how to mix the ingredients properly, how to roll the dough just right, and how to use cookie cutters and bake the cookies. The teens also made delicious frosting.
This class was for the teens to learn baking skills, but it was also an opportunity for them to give back to the community. These cookies and frosting were going to be used by our Pleasantville Girl Scout troop to use for their cookie decorating class, which Emily taught as well.
We served these helpful bakers some pizza while we waited for cookies to bake. During this time we were able to talk and learn about each other, see the teens incredible art in their sketchbooks, and laugh together.
It was a fantastic time. Thank you to Pleasantville’s St. Paul’s United Methodist Church for allowing us to use their Family Life Center and kitchen for this event!
Building Updates
June 3, 2022 Update
Wondering where we're at with our building project? We've raised $115,000 toward our goal! That's HUGE! Of course, it's only a drop in the bucket toward our whole goal. However, the more we raise in this way, the more likely we are to receive higher donations and grants, most of which are matching or require a percentage of funds to be raised.
We're sure tired of seeing the building empty and sad looking. We're sure you are too! But we want to assure you that we are working HARD to get this project started. GOOD things will be happening there. People will find comfort, guidance, resources, and JOY in that place. We will not stop until it happens!
Co-Founders Emily and Jennie, as well as our board members, are constantly researching, applying, contacting, and connecting. In the meantime, we're also doing research on how to best serve our community as a whole (more on that soon).
We'd like to remind our community that we WILL complete this project, and ask for your continued support both financially and prayerfully.
Lots and lots of good things to come. Get excited, Pleasantville! Please reach out if you have any questions at all about what we're doing.
If you'd like to see the whole building plan proposal, you can read it here: https://www.canva.com/design/DAEp_1__b-8/view
April 26, 2022 Update
January 2022 Updates:
Our fundraising is in full-swing! Take a look at our Building Project Proposal. You can download it here:
As we begin the first phase of our building project, we want to keep the community updated. We hosted a community meeting where we explained our plans for our new location at the old Pleasantville Grocery Store. You can watch that meeting in its entirety (its about 40 minutes once we start talking) or you can read below the video for a summary.
Community Meeting Summary:
To get started, it’s important to understand what PvilleYI is all about!
We have been up to a lot in the Pleasantville Community over the last few years, from hosting events to meeting needs. This summer we are adding feeding kids to our list, too! Here’s some basic info, but look for more info soon on that!
So, if PvilleYI is already doing great things, why do we need a building anyways? Well, we have BIGGER goals for Pleasantville! While we primarily focus on youth, we see ourselves as a Generational Enrichment Ministry. This means we want to reach out to others in the community as well. We also recognize that by positively impacting a person’s life, we can create a positive path for generations after them.
In order to do this, we need a headquarters to work out of and space to achieve our big goals for both the youth and the community, which are summarized below.
So what’s the plan for the old grocery store? To start, let’s go over the building’s current condition. Mike Caulkins is heading up our construction research. Based on what he has found and confirmed with the professionals he has brought in to observe the building, there is not much that can be done to salvage the store as it is. In fact, he was told that it would take 3 masons an entire year working exclusively on the building just to make the space usable. Below are pictures of the current state of the basement of the building.
From Mike’s research, we understand that it would cost much more to “renovate” the building. Plus, there’s so much damage that there would really be nothing left of the old building after the renovation. The best solution is to demo the old building and rebuild in the same footprint.
Before we continue, we want the community to know that we value the history of this location. In fact, we hope to bring it back to some of it’s original glory when we rebuild. Below you can see how much the location has changed over the years, going from a hotel to what we know today.
Below is our first look at the next phase of this location: PvilleYI’s headquarters.
This is a big project, but we serve a BIG God. We are passionate about making this dream a reality and serving Pleasantville, but it’s going to take a lot of work. We also know that relying on donations alone is not a sustainable model for building upkeep and ministry. With that in mind, we have a sustainability plan that will not only help us maintain the building and do ministry, but it will benefit the community as well!
The upper section of our building will have a co-working space and a commercial office space. If you aren’t familiar with co-working spaces, they are the newest way to get work done without the distractions of home. Individuals can rent a spot for the day, or pay a monthly fee to use it when they want. There will also be a conference room to be reserved for meetings. More on this will be revealed as we get closer! Below are some examples of co-working spaces, just to give you an idea of what they are.
This project is estimated to cost 1.6 million dollars. Which, we know, is a lot of money! How exactly do we plan to raise that much money? We hope to raise at least $250,000 of those funds from Pleasantville community support. This will give us a base to apply for grants, as most grants require a percentage of the funds to be raised before the grant application is considered. We will present our vision to businesses, apply for grants, and host events to help us reach our goals. We are praying for God to provide, and we plan to work hard to do our part to make it happen!
Individuals who would like to donate can do so in many ways. Donate online through our website or through Facebook (there are no fees with Facebook donations), Venmo @pvilleYI, mail us: PO Box 295 Pleasantville, IA, create and throw your own fundraiser, and employer matches.
We want to be a light in the Pleasantville community. A place where loneliness is forgotten, where shame is stripped away, and where opportunities abound. We can’t wait to get started! Keep checking back for more updates!
Knoxville Rec Center Night Nov. 2021
On November 20th, 2021, PvilleYI rented the Knoxville Rec Center for a night of swimming and basketball for middle school and high school students. It was a TON of fun packed into two hours. Snacks were provided and a fun time was had by all! We hope to make this a regular event for students. They really enjoyed spending time together in a safe environment. Thanks Knoxville Rec Center!
Over 3,000 Meals Distributed to Pleasantville Kids & Teens
This summer, PvilleYI partnered with Knoxville Youth Food Initiative (KYFI) and St Pauls United Methodist Church to deliver free meals to Pleasantville’s Kids and Teens. KYFI delivered around 100 meals each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to Saint Paul’s Family Center where PvilleYI and church volunteers worked together to distribute the meals.
At the summer’s end, we had distributed over 3,000 meals in Pleasantville. This is an incredible blessing to the children, teens, and to their families.
We cannot thank KYFI enough for all they are doing in Marion County, and for letting us partner with them in this work. We are also so incredibly grateful to the folks at St. Paul’s, for not only letting us using their facility but for showing up each and every MWF to help. What an incredible example of being the hands and feet of Jesus!
We will continue to partner with KYFI for at least the next 5 years to supply Pleasantville kids and teens with much needed nutrition during the summer!
Halloween Family Dance 2021
We had a SpookTACULAR time at our Halloween Family Dancetacular!
Families dressed in all sorts of fun costumes attended this fun event.
We curated a list of songs that every age group could enjoy. There was also a huge Char-BOO-terie table filled with all kinds of sweets and savories!
We also had a fun photo backdrop for our guests to snap some photos to remember the night.
Thanks to all who made it possible, including the City of Pleasantville (for use of the Memorial Hall) and Cass Lester with Central Iowa DJ.
Homecoming Tailgate 2021
LET’S GO TROJANS! PvilleYI had a BLAST pre-gaming with the community! We served free Orange Crush Slushies and shared about our upcoming building project. We love getting out in the community and spreading joy!
Thanks to the Pleasantville Betterment Organization for putting on such a FUN event. We were so excited to participate!
Thank you to Bruce Crozier and Celebrate Youth at Celebrate Church, Knoxville for letting us borrow your EPIC slushy machine!
Homecoming Parade 2021
As everyone in town knows, We LOVE a good parade! This year the school’s theme was the 1960s!
We chose to use the Beach Boys hit “Be True To Your School” as our float theme, and we had SO much fun blasting Beach Boys tunes along the parade route! We threw out tiny beach balls, Hawaiian leis, and of course, CANDY!
We love how our community comes together for Homecoming festivities! We thought the rain was going to slow us down a bit, but thankfully it stopped just in time.
GO TROJANS!
Homecoming Window Painting 2021
We are always impressed with the incredible creativity that Pleasantville kids put on display when they are given the opportunity!
We partnered with the PHS Stuco and the Art Department to have some awesome painted windows for Homecoming!
Each class sent in a design for approval. Then, teams of students from each grade came to paint their masterpieces. We absolutely LOVE all of them! If you drove through town, you probably saw them. But if you didn’t, here they all are!
Post Game Party 2021
Well that was fun! We had a BLAST at our 2021 Post Game Party!
We welcomed over 100 teens at our after game event.
Students had a blast dancing, eating snacks, and hanging out with their friends!
Thanks to Pleasantville Schools for letting us have our event in the PHS cafeteria! We are your BIGGEST fans!
Also thanks to Cass Lester at Central Iowa DJ for keeping the teens happy with tons of awesome music!
Water Balloon Event 2021
Ever played the game “Angry Birds”? We created two huge box towers and let teens attempt to knock them down with water balloon launchers! Of course it always ends with a big water ballon war, because, why not?
We also had fun with the giant beach ball!
Thanks to Celebrate Church, Knoxville for allowing us to borrow your 9-Square sets. The kids always love them!
Happy Fourth of July from PvilleYI!
Wow! We were SO excited to have our 4th of July festivities back this year. Covid-19 was on the rampage in 2020 but thankfully we can carefully begin to get back to some sort of normal again. We are super THANKFUL for all the many essential employees who have worked so hard during this trying time.
We are extra thankful for our freedoms, this year!
Happy 4th of July from PvilleYI! We loved tossing candy and fun patriotic novelties as well!
PvilleYI Chosen by 100+ Men on a Mission Red Rock for 10,450 Donation
We were beyond blessed to be chosen as the 100+ Men On A Mission - Red Rock’s Q1 recipient! This donation of $10,450 will be a seed to help us reach our goal of creating a headquarters for our work here in Pleasantville! Thank you to everyone who donated. We are GRATEFUL!
If you haven’t heard of this awesome organization, we encourage you to check it out! They have blessed many organizations right here in Marion County and will continue to do so. Awesome work!
May Day Baskets 2021
Happy May Day! We continued our tradition of surprising each child at Pleasantville Elementary with a May Basket. We placed them on each desk before school, and we made sure the faculty and staff got one, too!
Competition For Kids Who Like Games 2021
It was SO great to actually get to have an IN PERSON event again! Covid has been hard for all of us. Thankfully we were able to have this outdoor event and have some fun!
Teens were split into teams and given a team color with matching bandana. Each team came up with a funny name, and team identity!
Teams competed in a bunch of games curated to match the different levels of interest of teens. From Basketball to Dodgeball to Improv and Trivia, there was a little something for everyone!
We had a GREAT time!
Thanks so much to all our volunteers! And thank you to Celebrate Church, Knoxville for lending us your 9-Square sets!
Creativity Challenge Winners
We are so IMPRESSED by all of the creative teens in our community. Our theme for this challenge was: HOPE: finding light in the darkness during 2020 and 2021. We were blown away by the beauty that these teens were able to capture and share with the world.
JUDGES
Our judges had a difficult job choosing a winner in each category. They took the time to look over every entry and provide encouraging feedback for each participant. (Feedback to every teen will be emailed out to them within a few days of this announcement). It was very important to our PvilleYI leadership team that judges came from outside of our team and board, since several of our team and volunteers have teens who wanted to participate.
THANK YOU to these wonderful people for being our Judges!
Anna Belzer
Carol Beier
Amy Core
Cass Lester
WINNERS
Here are the winners for our Spring 2021 Creativity Challenge! Each will receive a $100 cash prize. We will be in touch to get those prizes to you, winners!
Visual Art: SARAH MANN
Writing: ADONIAH KOENIG
The Girl With Her Hood UP
-Addie Koenig
Photography: JONAH SCHUMACHER
Music: ELIZABETH GOODALE
Dance: TARYN BRENT
Each of our participants will receive encouraging feedback from our judges, as well as being featured on our website! To see all of our entries, check out our Creativity Gallery!
Congrats to all our winners, and all participants! KEEP CREATING! We are SO proud of each and every teen!
Big News! Future Location of PvilleYI Headquarters
Our big announcement is that the old Pleasantville Grocery Store location will soon be PvilleYI’s headquarters!
Here’s a few things we covered in our live feed, if you missed it. Or, you can with it below!
1) This is not a youth center in the traditional sense. Although it will be focused on youth, the entire community will benefit from our work here.
2) We see ourselves as a Generational Enrichment Ministry. What this means is we believe that by impacting one person’s life in a positive way, generations around them and after them will benefit. This place will be a headquarters to carry out that ministry.
We want to make it clear that we also see ourselves as a SUPPLEMENTAL ministry. What this means is we have no intention of competing with youth groups and organizations that are already doing good work here. We want to connect kids with those, actually. This is why we will never host events on Sunday or Wednesday evenings during the school year. We love our local churches and groups and we want to support them as much as possible!
3) Our dream here is to provide classes like art, photography, music, cooking, and more. We envision hosting events and classes to help teens prepare for adulthood. Like life skills (how to fix a broken _____, how to change a tire, how to create a budget, and more). Entrepreneur and career planning will be on the agenda, too. We imagine bringing in Pleasantville alum to speak and inspire.
Optional Faith growth opportunities will be regular and we will help families connect with local churches, teach Bible reading skills (important for proper interpretation and application) and give out Bibles (to kids who express interest. This will never be forced or “required”).
This in addition to all the FUN stuff and events we’ve come to be known for around here!
4) Our entire community will benefit as well. From fun events (like our trick or treat on the square) to providing resources for parents and teens, to service projects. Research also shows that non profits like ours encourage growth and “livability” to a community! And beyond all that, we want to help bring some LIFE back to downtown!
5) How did this happen, how will it happen? This is a beautiful story involving our dear friend and board member Stacy Rowson, and her excitement about what we are going to do. Stacy is moving her Lakefront Living Custom Engraving & Gifts shop to a part of the location, and made it possible for us to begin this process. This is a beautiful story that we will tell in detail soon!
Currently, we are in the process of meeting with architects, engineers, and other building/construction experts. We are blessed to have board members with professional experience in this area, and they are doing their homework. This is definitely not something we have entered into blindly.
As we get more information, we will share it!
6) Call to Action
We need the community to do two things right now: 1) Pray. We need your prayer support more than ever! 2) Give. If you are excited about this project, we’d love for you to consider giving. Every little bit helps us to create a base to begin this protect. This is especially important at the early stages, as most grants we will apply for require a certain percentage of the funds to be raised.
7) WE LOVE this location, and we know the community does too. It has been nourishing Pleasantville for generations and our goal is that it will continue to. We love and appreciate the nostalgia surrounding Pleasantville Grocery, and we want to honor that history in many ways. We want to make sure the community understands that!
That’s it for now. We will keep all of you up to speed as this process unfolds! If you have questions, feel free to contact us! We’d love to talk!
If you want to know how to donate, you can see how here:
Art Supplies Donated to PHS
When we heard that the PHS CSD Art Department was in need of some supplies, we knew we needed to help! Creativity is such an important, God designed part of who we are. Fueling creativity in young people gives them purpose, gives them something to do, and helps them grow.
PvilleYI donated over $1,000 in supplies including sketch books, paints, colored pencils, and so much more. This was all made possible by the the incredible generosity of those who have donated to our organization! Great job, Pleasantville. Look what a wonderful thing you did!
The art supplies are already being put to good use. Look at these awesome Kindness Cards the students created for the residents at our local nursing home! We love this beautiful act of kindness, you guys! Great job!
We will treasure this beautiful, handmade thank you card!
Homecoming 2020
2020 has been a year for the history books. And not for good reasons. But we are all doing what we can to make the best of it! Even though we can’t have Homecoming the way we usually do around here, we found other ways to bring joy. For example, sure, we couldn’t throw candy during the annual Homecoming parade, but we found the next best thing: BUBBLES!
Our theme was “PvilleYI is Bubbling Over with School Spirit”! We had three bubble machines on high blasting bubbles around like confetti! We had a truck full of kids waving and we went all out in our orange and black!
We wore masks to be extra safe and comply to the school’s guidelines with the COVID-19 pandemic. If you saw Jennie without hers on, she wasn’t being rebellious, it fell off and landed in the bubble bucket. Oops. :)
We love our town’s fun traditions, and we were happy to get to participate this year even if it was a little different than usual.
Class of 2020 Gifts
The Class of 2020 had to give up so much due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. We wanted to give them a gift to help bring something special to a group of graduates who faced an awful lot of disappointment.
Each gift included a personalized padfolio, class of 2020 leather pen, a 2020 Quarantine Award featuring the coveted toilet paper roll, class of 2020 mask, and a letter of encouragement from us.
We wish the class of 2020 the VERY BEST as they enter into a whole new world of possibilities!
Prom & Party Dress Extravaganza!
We had an INCREDIBLE day at our Prom & Party Dress Extravaganza! Girls from Pleasantville and surrounding communities found the perfect dress with the help of our encouraging volunteers.
Prom is expensive. Anyone who has gone to one, or two, or more proms will tell you that finding a dress for a reasonable price is no easy task. For many girls, that perfect dress is out of reach because it is so expensive. This dress, worn for one night, can cost up to $500 or more. Half the battle for many girls is searching the clearance racks for something that will work. So we had this idea: what if people donated these hardly worn dresses and let any girl in the community feel beautiful wearing it? People responded with over 100 dresses being donated for this event. We were STUNNED at the outpouring of generosity!
Before we even opened the doors, girls were ready and waiting to shop. We had covered the walls of the Memorial Hall with encouraging messages about beauty and body positivity. There was a delicious table of treats and punch for them as they shopped.
Although getting girls a prom dress was the practical purpose for this event, we had an even bigger goal in mind. We wanted to shower these young women with kindness and encouragement. We wanted them to feel beautiful inside and out. Our volunteers helped girls search for dresses, urging them to “give this one a try”. Some girls were very shy, even saying, “no, that will not look good on me.” Our volunteers kept up the encouragement and many times, that dress that a girl thought would “never work for me”, was the one they walked out with. Their eyes lit up as they suddenly looked at themselves differently. Moms beamed, dads held back tears, and the girls were radiant. Sure, true beauty is on the inside, but these girls needed to know that they ARE beautiful on the outside too.
Each girl also received a swag bag full of little gifts from us and local businesses, and a chance to win a raffle prize! Thank you to AvaLayne Hair Studio, Chiropractic Hut, Jen for the Massage, Chelsea Bender and Kirsten Furnal for Young Living Makeup sets, Lakefront Living Custom Engraving and Gifts, The Well-Knoxville, Jennifer Holdredge for the Mary Kay samples, Jessica Haigins for the paparazzi jewelry donation, Pleasant Hill Dry Cleaners for the plastic dress bags, and all those who donated dresses and jewelry to make this happen!
This event gave a free dress to every Pleasantville girl who wanted one, in addition to a free piece of jewelry. Girls from surrounding communities, or women searching for a dress for our Prom Throwback (for Adults!) fundraiser coming up April 25th, could get a dress for $25.00. Originally we had planned to donate half of the proceeds from those purchases to Pleasantville’s After Prom, but after talking about it with our team, we decided all $400 we took in would be donated to After Prom. Why? Because we just love those kids, and want them to have an AMAZING time at Prom!
All dresses that were not given away or sold were donated to The Well in Knoxville, where girls can still go and shop for a dress!
We are so excited to continue to bless Pleasantville’s youth in more and more ways. We hope the girls who attended felt that we truly believe they matter to us, and to God. Watch the full highlight video here.
