Blog Archives

Planting the Seeds: Beyond School Bells, the Malone Center, and the Career Academy Grow STEM Afterschool Equity and Activities for Girls and Women of Color and Underrepresented Groups

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Nebraska Children — Leave a comment

Beyond School Bells (BSB) wants to empower girls, especially those of color and other underrepresented groups, with the power of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Tyrina Webster, Director of Operations at the Malone Center, wants to equip young women with knowledge, dreams, and career choices. So does Joshua Jones, the Director of The Career Academy. Together, we make a formidable team. Thanks to BSB’s partners at STEMNext, we joined the charge in this nationwide initiative to include more girls in this cutting-edge field. When we hear how partners like the Malone Center and The Career Academy have partnered with us to join this movement, we’re thrilled to the moon and back.

Tagged with: after school program, after school programs, afterschool, afterschool program, afterschool programs, beyond school bells, elo, elos, equity, expanded learning opportunities, middle childhood, million girls moonshot, STEM, STEM learning
Posted in Middle Childhood, News and Events

Beyond the Books: Beyond School Bells and Young Entrepreneurs of the Future Omaha Help K-12 Students Work Toward their Dreams

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Nebraska Children — 1 Comment

Thanks to afterschool programming, we can expand beyond traditional school hours and well into the afternoons and evenings. While parents can work, they can also rest assured that their children and teens are safe, engaged, and learning life skills! Beyond School Bells (BSB), Nebraska’s statewide network of afterschool professionals, works tirelessly with their equally energetic partners, including Bre and Travis of Young Entrepreneurs of the Future Omaha (YEF), to support their efforts to create quality expanded learning opportunities (ELOs) across the state.

In 2018, when married couple Breann and Travis Hines began the Omaha, Nebraska-based nonprofit, Young Entrepreneurs of the Future Omaha (YEF), they set out on a mission. Their goals were to inspire the vision of youth entrepreneurship and develop self-reliance…

Tagged with: after school program, after school programs, afterschool, afterschool program, afterschool programs, beyond school bells, elo, elos, middle childhood, STEM, STEM learning
Posted in Middle Childhood, News and Events

Communities of Hope: Celebrating Nebraska’s Progress Towards Well-being and a Vision for the Future

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Nebraska Children — Leave a comment

After a 2-year delay, Bring Up Nebraska partners were finally able to gather in Lincoln to celebrate how Nebraska has become a national leader on building a community-based well-being system! On April 13-14, leaders from many of the community collaboratives across the state met with state and national partners in Lincoln.

Tagged with: Bring Up Nebraska, community collaboratives, community prevention system, community response, jim casey, jim casey youth opportunities initiative
Posted in News and Events

The Power of Partnerships; the Essence of Failure: Beyond School Bells, Young Entrepreneurs of the Future, and VentureLab Empower Youth

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Nebraska Children — 1 Comment

Meet our new generation of businesspeople!

Girls create DJing businesses. Kids embody different food truck roles. Youth operate socially-conscious clothing brands and learn braiding, cosmetology, budgeting, and pricing, all thanks to your support of our Beyond School Bells initiative, VentureLab, and Young Entrepreneurs of the Future Omaha!

Tagged with: after school program, after school programs, afterschool, afterschool program, afterschool programs, beyond school bells, cs mott foundation, elo, elos, expanded learning opportunities, STEM, STEM learning, young entrepreneurs
Posted in Middle Childhood, News and Events

In Living Watercolor: Grai Gray Paints a Vibrant Future of Resilience with Connected Youth Initiative Supports

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Nebraska Children — Leave a comment

Grai Gray (they/them) is making a name for themselves in every area of their lives. From featuring a watercolor piece in the University of Nebraska Omaha’s (UNO) spring juried art show to doing digital illustrations, Grai keeps their world busy and colorful.

Tagged with: connected youth initiative, Connected Youth Initiatve, foster care, Foster Care Awareness Month, foster care system, foster youth, older youth, resilience
Posted in News and Events, Systems, Teen/Early Adulthood

Pretty Fire: Loup Valley Childhood Initiative and Partners Light Up the Stage with a Play and Dinner to Honor Childcare Providers

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Nebraska Children — Leave a comment

When the Loup Valley Childhood Initiative (LVCI) decided to host almost 30 early care providers for the Crane River Theatre’s moving play, Pretty Fire, the team sought to celebrate providers and a love for the performing arts. LVCI is a community-driven team that works with Nebraska Children and Families Foundation’s Communities for Kids (C4K), our early childhood initiative that provides technical expertise, supports, and solutions that suit each location’s early care and education needs for children birth-5. Read more about their innonative approach to honoring childcare providers.

Tagged with: child care, child well being, childcare, communities for kids, early childhood, early childhood development, early childhood education, early childhood programs, early years
Posted in Early Childhood

Nebraska Child Abuse Prevention Fund Board Recognizes Nebraska Children’s Community Collaborative Partners in Supporting Thriving Families

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Nebraska Children — Leave a comment

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which marks a time when Nebraska Children and Families Foundation reaffirms our commitment to prevention. As we work toward a thriving Nebraska, we and our community partners strengthen families by preventing problems before they start. Read how you can get involved in community collaboratives to strengthen children and families!

Tagged with: Bring Up Nebraska, CAP month, child abuse, Child Abuse Prevention, child abuse prevention month, child well being, community collaboratives, prevent chlid abuse nebraska, prevention
Posted in Early Childhood, News and Events

“No More Band-aids”: Community Partnerships Build Better Early Childhood Systems

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Nebraska Children — Leave a comment

There may be truth to the old adage, “it takes a village,” when it comes to developing quality early childhood care systems. After all, the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality concluded that the coordinated systems needed to impact families’…

Tagged with: Cherry County Early Childhood, Childcare Centers, communities for kids, Dakota County Early Childhood, Early Childhood Community Coordinators, early childhood development, early childhood education, Holt County Early Childhood, in-home care, Madison County Early Childhood, preschool development grant, Rooted in Relationships, step up to quality
Posted in Early Childhood, Uncategorized

Christen Million Shares Why We Need to Close the Gap of Systemic Inequities

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Nebraska Children — 1 Comment

Christen Million, one of Nebraska Children's experts, reflects on her passion for working with children, along with her future plans.

“I always knew I wanted to work with children. My vision for what that looked like changed and grew throughout my undergraduate program and the beginning of my career. Ultimately, everything led me to exactly where I needed to be, which is currently an Assistant Vice President of Early Childhood Mental Health with the Rooted in Relationships initiative at Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, and one of the co-leads for the Nebraska Pyramid Leadership Team.”

Christen Million, one of Nebraska Children’s experts, reflects on her passion for working with children, along with her future plans.

Tagged with: early childhood, early childhood development, early childhood education, early childhood mental health, infant mental health, pyramid, pyramid model, Rooted in Relationships, social emotional, social emotional learning
Posted in Early Childhood, News and Events

Full-Service Community Schools Deliver an Innovative Approach to Supporting Students, Teachers, and Families Alike!

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Nebraska Children — 1 Comment

Nebraska Children and the Nebraska Department of Education are addressing pandemic-related setbacks through the Together, Better Initiative, a deliberate series of efforts geared toward strengthening students and families in the most essential ways. Among these efforts is the piloted project, Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS).