Quakerdale: Partnering with Families...Restoring Hope

QUAKERDALE'S HISTORY

White's Iowa Manual Labor Institute was founded in 1851 by Josiah White, a Philadelphia Quaker, and was originally located near Salem, Iowa.

For many years the agency was operated as an orphanage and school, providing spiritual education and teaching work skills.

During the late 1800's, the state of Iowa leased the facility for delinquent boys' care until the State Training School was built in Eldora, Iowa, and then for girls while a state facility was being constructed. There was also a period of time when Quakerdale cared for Native American children.

Our History In 1929, when a fire destroyed the dormitory, the home was relocated to a more central part of the state near New Providence, Iowa. The name was changed in 1996 to White's Iowa Institute, also known as Quakerdale.

Over the years, the agency has responded to the changing needs of children. Programs were added in Waterloo in 1973, Marshalltown in 1978, Manning in 1990 and Newton in 2001. Today, Quakerdale is a statewide, private, not for profit family and children's service agency providing a continuum of preventive and therapeutic services. Youth and families are most often referred to Quakerdale by the Iowa Department of Human Services or Iowa Juvenile Court Services.

Quakerdale is owned by the Iowa Yearly Meetings of Friends and is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees. It is accredited by The Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc. and is licensed by the Iowa Department of Human Services.

Quakerdale’s long history of caring continues with programming driven by our commitment to meet the needs of Iowa’s children and their families. In any given year, Quakerdale makes an important difference in the lives of between 1,000 to 1,500 youth and their families from nearly two-thirds of Iowa’s 99 counties.

Michelle S. Herman "I came to Quakerdale as a young adult through a quirk of fate, and found the work with children challenging, yet rewarding. Few people today stay at one agency their entire professional career. Our mission, strengthening youth and families-- restoring hope, is why I did. It is a mission worthy of dedicating my life. Some day I know I'll be able to look back with pride, and know that, directly or indirectly, my work made a positive difference in many lives!"

--Michelle S. Herman,
Executive Director (1990 - present)
30 years of Service to Quakerdale

Quakerdale's Vision for the 21st Century:
To promote peacemaking in a violent world