<div>Can you imagine 6th and Franklin without the smell of slow-simmered oxtails on Soul Food Friday? Without the heat and tang of authentic Chicago-style Italian beef, dripping with flavor? Joppa Experience is more than just an amazing restaurant. It’s a feeling. It’s the comfort of a home-cooked meal, the joy of being greeted by name, and the warmth of a space created with care and intention.
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<div>Christine Johnson took what was once a run-down convenience store and turned it into something extraordinary. She did the majority of it on her own dime, taking a space in disrepair and making it a vibrant restaurant. The building required far more work than anyone expected, and because of the lease terms, Christine was responsible for those repairs. Plumbing. Electrical. Flooring. Kitchen infrastructure. She poured her time, money, and soul into every inch.
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<div>Joppa Experience has become a beloved gathering place and a neighborhood employer. Christine has created jobs for local residents, giving others the same opportunity she carved out for herself. If the restaurant closes, it won’t just be customers who feel the loss, it will be the team who shows up each day to serve their community with pride.
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<div>She has the customers. She has the revenue to cover her monthly bills. But the cost of deferred maintenance and necessary upgrades put her behind on rent. Without immediate support, she will be forced to close.
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<div>When Christine shared the news of her possible closure on Facebook, nearly 900 people reacted. Those are 900 people who believe in her, believe in this place, and want to see it continue. If each of those people gave just $10, Joppa Experience would be saved.
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<div>We are trying to raise at least $10,000 to keep the doors open. That’s the minimum needed to catch up and stay afloat. But anything beyond that would give Christine some much-needed breathing room—to make additional improvements, to plan for the future, and to work with a financial advisor to help ensure the restaurant stays on solid footing. A stronger Joppa Experience benefits the entire neighborhood, and every dollar gets us closer.
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<div>Christine’s presence has transformed that corner of 6th Avenue. Before she came along, the property was often a source of concern for the neighborhood. If she’s forced to close, we don’t know what might go in next and whether it would share her same commitment to this community.
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<div>This holiday season, let’s give the gift of hope. Christine has given so much to our community. Now it’s our turn to give back.
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<div>Please contribute what you can, and share this appeal widely. Every dollar helps. Let’s show Christine, and all the diverse entrepreneurs like her, that Des Moines shows up for its small businesses. Joppa Experience matters. Let’s not lose something so special.
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Anonymous

Heather Hollaar

Michael Trier

nathan hampton

Jeremy Vaught

Nancy Carroll

Kyra Sorenson

Jamie Loggins-Evans

Katelyn Stessman

Cathy Parsons

Coreen Witke

Matthew Kozlowski

Connie Oelmann

Shannon Cortesio

Elisabeth Lewin

Chris Coleman

Thuyduong Nguyen

Help Keep Joppa Experience Open This Season

Support urgent earthquake relief and past recovery in Venezuela.

Apoya la ayuda urgente tras el terremoto y los esfuerzos de recuperación en Venezuela.

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

Support Comments Allowlist

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

checkout headers audience

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Keep Joppa Experience Open This Season

Still $42,875 to go. Help us build momentum.