Big Gumdrop Outdoors connects underserved youth to nature with help from their first-ever grant.
Navigating the path to college in the United States is challenging enough as is, but even more so for students who are the first to travel that path in their families. That’s why, since the organization’s founding in 2019, ROSS (Republic of South Sudan) Leaders has taken high school juniors and seniors on college tours and offered college preparation programs.
Do you celebrate significant annual events such as special anniversaries, family milestones, and birthdays? Here at the Lincoln Community Foundation, we like to celebrate something special each August – annual grant distributions from our designated funds.
Established almost half a century ago in 1975, Open Harvest is an authentic co-op grocery store that boasts, “Real Food. Real Local. Real Community.”
Voices of Hope has been a vital part of our community, providing services and empowering individuals who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of abuse for more than 48 years.
combination of long-lasting mentoring relationships, a pro-girl environment, and research-based programming to equip girls for fulfilling and productive lives – empowering them to become role models in their community.
The Wellbeing Initiative, a nonprofit organization developed, driven, and run by peers, is empowering individuals living with mental health and substance use challenges to reach their fullest potential.
Sitting across from Kile and Cuz Johnson, you can feel their great affection for our community. The couple met during their junior year at Lincoln Southeast High School, married, began and grew their family and their businesses, all in Lincoln. Their fondness for one another and for the place they call home is a ‘forever’ kind of love – so much so that they’ve made an extraordinary investment supporting Lincoln’s youngest residents beyond their lifetimes.
Uncovering the racial history of Nebraska and Lincoln’s last 170 years is not an easy task – but getting us closer to the truth is just what a group of community members have set out to do.
LCF’s Open Door Grants support efforts by nonprofits in Lincoln and Lancaster County to meet current needs or address challenges and opportunities facing our community.
Since 2010, The Bay has been a safe space for Lincoln’s youth. The one-of-a-kind community space features the state’s only public indoor skatepark as well as a music venue, digital art lab, and Goldenrod Coffee.
Clinic with a Heart (CWH) is more than a clinic. Since 2003, they have been providing hope and healthcare to uninsured and underinsured patients in the community.
“We Can Do This” started as a small group of Lincoln women who fed children over the weekends at the F Street Recreation Center, because they believed in spreading love and support through food.
With a mission to perform works of mercy, Catholic Social Services helps people of all faiths. That help comes in the form of food, funds, emergency shelter and immigrant support. The pandemic has added a new layer to carrying out those services.
“Most moms going through labor and delivery these days are in and out of the hospital in 24 hours,” said Milkworks executive director Angie Miller. That quick turnaround makes it hard for moms to get help with breastfeeding, which is one of Milkworks’ main areas of focus.
As families line up to receive food and diapers in the parking lot of the Center for People in Need, “there are people who are crying, tears running down their cheeks. They are so grateful we are still here,” said Christine Funk, executive director of the Center.
Trust brings Lincoln’s Latino citizens to El Centro, where they can find help in navigating the path to find basic human needs.
Faith Lutheran Touching Hearts believes in the mission of a family friendly center open to the entire community, a place that accommodates unusual schedules so typical for workers like fire fighters and nurses.
Since the pandemic, Merry Manor School of Childhood has seen its enrollment cut in half.
For years, Lincoln’s under- and uninsured residents have turned to Clinic with a Heart for free health care. Delivering that care with hospitality, dignity and grace is a mission for the clinic. COVID-19, however, has changed the way they carry out that mission.
Toni Rupe has a new job description beyond grant coordinator for the Tabitha Foundation. These days, she makes regular rounds to have a warm chat with residents and patients who can no longer have visitors, take them for a stroll through the courtyard, and set up Zoom and Facetime with families they are dearly missing.
Sometimes, timing is everything. Renovations at the CEDARS shelter on 66th Street were recently completed. Now it can provide kids under Cedar’s care a place to stretch out and be safe, at a time when social distancing has become crucial.
When the first waves of the pandemic started impacting Lincoln, children at the Coddington Learning Center were scared. Learning Center teachers calmed their fears and soothed their worries.
“Our clients, on average, get help with seven services, often in one visit.” Those services include health support, English Language Learner classes and programs for seniors, youth, families and women.
With 20,000 participants to serve, Community Action started developing an infectious-disease response plan in early March.
The number of homeless individuals and families will increase. “It’s like being on a cruise ship, except our guests don’t have their own rooms and a third of them have underlying conditions. It’s a dangerous place right now, more so than a nursing home.”
Many Yazidis in Lincoln are a bit lost right now. They often don’t speak English and are floundering to grasp what is happening in the face of the pandemic.
Last week the Salvation Army of Lincoln sent out a call. They had extra food available. More than 100 families showed up and lined up.
“We use food as our avenue to build relationships with underserved youth,” said executive director Michaela Akridge. Since the pandemic, the Food Fort has seen its clients double and its services expand, even as social distancing has challenged the relational aspect of their service.
“There was a lot of gratitude and tears in those cars,” said Scott Young, executive director of the community’s Food Bank. “So many people are only one-degree separation from financial disaster right now.”
“Once she saw the food on her porch she was really excited, and our staff was all smiles,” said Tom Randa, executive director of the Community Center.
After advertising a Barnabas Community meal on Facebook, director Dwight Thiemann got a message from a man named Jim. “I have no way of getting there, but it sure looks good.”
Every child needs an advocate. For many children in Lancaster County, their advocate is not a parent, but a volunteer from CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate).
Keenomo grew up around alcoholics. At the young age of 22, she herself struggled with substance use.
Parkview Child Development Services, a preschool at the Carol Yoakum Family Resource Center, was at risk of losing a quality curriculum for their young students.
For working parents in poverty, finding quality early childhood programs that provide full-day, full-year care can be a challenge. Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties is working to fill this gap through its Early Head Start and Head Start programs.
Since 1967, Tabitha has been delivering more than four million meals to the Lincoln community through its program, Meals on Wheels.
Studies have shown that reading to a child between the ages of 0 and 5 can quadruple the number of words they know, increasing their ability to succeed in school.
For most parents, getting a child ready for kindergarten is an exciting and nervous time. While some are buying backpacks and crayons for their child, other families have to choose between the electrical bill and new shoes.
For many Lincoln residents in poverty, the thought of owning a home seems like an intangible dream. Lincoln Housing Authority (LHA) is working to change that.
Scouting should be for everyone, but in some low-income areas, not every boy has the opportunity to earn their badges.
In collaboration with the city and various neighborhood associations, Lincoln Parks Foundation preserves the beauty of our city.
Child Guidance Center (CGC) was started in 1949 to provide individual, group, and family therapy services for the Lincoln community. Last year, they served nearly 1,700 children and families.
The Bridge knows that its mission isn’t just about getting help for a substance use disorder, but providing clients with life skills.
In addition to providing free medical care, the organization helps to offer hope to people in need.
"I wanted to give the cake. You iced it!" - Vicki Huff
While Maria Guiza Beltran dreamed of studying art, she is also talented in math and science. Thanks to one local donor, Maria is currently majoring in Fine Arts with a math minor at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) and the first recipient of the PINC (Poverty is Not a Choice) Scholarship.
As a community, we are taking advantage of an opportunity to learn lessons and best practices from the experience of others while preparing and planning for our community.
Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach is so much more than a soup kitchen. Since 1992, Matt Talbot’s programs have helped thousands of Lincoln’s homeless off the streets and into the workforce. One of these programs is the Counseling, Alcohol Education, Referral and Evaluation (CARE) Program.
Give To Lincoln Day will have the largest match fund in its seven year history thanks to a generous gift from West Gate Bank.
