Special to the Register

Stuck with a broken car and a lack of funds to make urgent repairs, Angela Valdivia approached the Embrace Iowa charitable program when she had nowhere else to turn.

“It was really a positive experience for me. I'm so grateful that there are programs like that,” she said.

Embrace Iowa has partnered with the Des Moines Register for more than 40 years to encourage readers to donate to a non-profit project that thinks differently than better-known state and federally funded ventures.

Each generous donation is distributed to 19 statewide agencies, and then, grants valued up to $750 are dispensed by knowledgeable and caring staff to vulnerable and qualifying residents. Valdivia had been volunteering at her local agency, New Opportunities Inc., in Carroll, Iowa, when

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