This is a story of empowerment. Learn how STEM and afterschool programming impacted the life of a Lincoln teen.
Finding Voice in the Stars: Caitlynn’s Journey of STEM Empowerment
Tagged with: beyond school bells, Flight Crew, Girls in STEM, lincoln, million girls moonshot, Nebraska, STEM, STEMNEXT
Posted in Middle Childhood, Teen/Early Adulthood, Uncategorized
Posted in Middle Childhood, Teen/Early Adulthood, Uncategorized
Celebrating a Year of Progress: 2023 Achievements at Nebraska Children
As we reflect on a year of achievements and meaningful milestones, Nebraska Children would like to extend our gratitude to our invaluable partners and generous donors who have been instrumental in making this year a success. Your support, dedication, and collaboration have been the driving force behind fostering stronger communities, empowering youth, and creating lasting change across Nebraska.
Tagged with: advocacy, beyond school bells, Calming Corners, camp catch-up, communities for kids, Community Schools, community well-being, connected youth initiative, education, Food Security, Immigrant Youth and Families Taskforce, Medical Pathway Prevention, Nebraska Growing Readers, Opportunity Passport, prevention, Rooted in Relationships, sixpence, trafficking
Posted in News and Events, Uncategorized
Posted in News and Events, Uncategorized
Calming Corners Make a Difference for Childcare Providers
In the fall of this year, Nebraska Children worked closely with Lakeshore to offer early childhood providers in Nebraska free Calming Corners materials. When licensed Family I and II and Center-based providers completed a 1-hour NDE Cozy Corner training course and submitted basic demographic information, they were eligible to receive free materials from Lakeshore. The initiative continues and will offer licensed providers further chances to enroll as long as the kits last.
Tagged with: Calming Corners, children, early childhood, early childhood development, early childhood education, emotions, meditation, mindfulness, Parenting, social emotional learning
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Fostering Sibling Bonds: The Impact of Camp Catch-Up’s Winter Event
Camp Catch-Up, offered by Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, offers sibling groups separated by foster care an opportunity to reconnect and strengthen bonds. The inaugural winter camp, filled with activities and crafts, served as a meaningful reunion space and time for its campers. The camp fosters both active and quieter moments to engage campers, such as a collective painting project reflecting their time at the camp and a gift-exchange ritual, bolstering family ties. Volunteers, including past campers, contribute towards creating a nurturing environment for the children.
Tagged with: adoption, camp catch up, camp catch-up, foster care, Foster Care Placements
Posted in Middle Childhood, News and Events, Teen/Early Adulthood, Uncategorized
Posted in Middle Childhood, News and Events, Teen/Early Adulthood, Uncategorized
A Land of Weird Potatoes: The Valley Child Development Center Awarded $25,000 Grant to Continue Enhancing Edible Schoolyard Project
The Valley Child Development Center opened in the farming community of Red Cloud in 2018. The Center quickly found a niche when a board member’s niece, Bri and her husband Bruce, who lived in California, learned of the Edible Schoolyard, a program developed by food activist and chef Alice Waters to offer “students experiential learning opportunities that deepen their relationship with food, facilitate learning the skills of cooking and gardening” (edibleschoolyard.org).
Marin Johnson and Ja’Nae Smith Receive Adulting Support from Project Everlast
Marin Johnson and Ja’Nae Smith are two young people who grew up in Omaha and found themselves thrust into independence without the family supports that make the transition easier. As Smith put it, “it’s hard when you don’t have that parental support system.” Had it not been for their discovery of Project Everlast, their journey to adulting might have been quite different.
Reflecting on a Year of Positive Change at Changemakers
Earlier in October, Nebraska Children had the privilege of hosting Changemakers, an annual gathering to celebrate the positive impacts happening throughout Nebraska.
Tagged with: Changemakers, Grace Abbott Award, Lived Experience, Susanne Shore
Posted in News and Events
Posted in News and Events
Fremont Sixpence Car Seat Check Part of Larger Community Outreach
A recent car seat check held by Sixpence of Fremont, in coordination with Dodge County Head Start and Three Rivers Health Department, revealed that when it comes to car seats, things aren’t as simple as they seem.
Tagged with: car seat check, community collaboratives, community well being, early childhood, Fremont, sixpence
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Perla Jaimes’s Long Trip to School and How Sixpence Helped Her along the Way
In some ways this story begins as a trip to school. Perla Jaimes describes walking with her mother and younger sister. She remembers it was dark; she remembers it was cold. And on the other end of this walk a new school waited.
Tagged with: early childhood development, early childhood education, family assistance, sixpence
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Tucker Turtle Promotes Social Emotional Development in Lincoln County
If you’re interested in bringing your children to hear the story and in receiving a copy of the book, join the Rooted team, community representatives, and, yes, Tucker, for a morning or an afternoon of tucking, breathing, and thinking at the North Platte Library.
Growing the Good Life 