Community

Together Omaha

Published on April 7, 2021September 12, 2022 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

The Junior League of Omaha is thrilled to be working with our community partners! This year, the League is partnering with Heart Ministry Center, The Big Garden, No More Empty Pots, The Union for Contemporary Arts, and Together Omaha. This blog entry will discuss one of our partners, Together Omaha.

Together was founded by the leaders of Countryside Community Church, Dundee Presbyterian, Temple Israel, Kountze Memorial Lutheran, Trinity Cathedral, First United Methodist, St. Cecilia’s Cathedral, and many others in response to the 1975 tornado that swept through Omaha. The leaders decided to make Together a permanent resource, focused on providing food, clothing and shelter to local residents.

Together now also provides case management, financial and employment assistance, financial education assistance, navigation services, furniture, bus tickets, and identification. Together’s mission is to prevent and end homelessness in the Omaha community, with a focus on its core values of hope, dignity, compassion, excellence, and diversity.

Together offers several programs aimed at reducing homelessness, including the Horizons Program, assistance with rent, utilities, and deposits, obtaining identification, transportation, and the Choice Pantry. The Horizons Program provides eligible households with outreach, case management, and assistance in obtaining benefits, which may include: health care services, daily living services, personal finance planning services, transportation services, fiduciary and payee services, legal services, child care services, and housing counseling services. Together may also provide Horizons Program participants with assistance in paying rent, utilities, and deposits.

Together issues vouchers to aid in obtaining state-issued identification, including a valid ID or a certified birth certificate. They also provide eligible participants free MAT bus passes until the participants receive their first paycheck. The Choice Pantry provides 20-30 meals, including breakfast, meat, fruit, vegetables, and more. Participants may visit the pantry once every 30 days.

Together is a valuable partner in providing important resources to community members. The League looks forward to an educational partnership!

Heart Ministry Center

Published on March 26, 2021 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

The Junior League of Omaha is thrilled to be working with our community partners! This year, the League is partnering with Heart Ministry Center, The Big Garden, No More Empty Pots, The Union for Contemporary Arts, and Together Omaha. This blog series will take a closer look at each of the League’s community partners and discuss who they are, what they do, and why we’ve chosen to partner with each organization.

Heart Ministry Center began as the Sacred Heart Human Needs Door Ministry. They are based in North Omaha, and focus on providing essentials such as food, clothing, and shelter. They began as a small organization focusing on the families of children attending Sacred Heart, but overtime have expanded their reach, notably becoming the first “choice” pantry in Omaha that allowed the public to choose their own foods, and expanding the services they provide.

According to their website, more than thirty-three percent of Heart Ministry Center’s clients are children, and ten percent are seniors. Over forty-six percent of their clients are below the poverty line. They provide meals for more than 60,000 families and medical assistance for more than 2,000 individuals each year, and estimate that within the last twelve months, they have provided case work and social services for over 6,800 individuals.

Heart Ministry Center provides a lot of excellent services to the community. Their programs include the Choice Food Pantry, the Laura and Dan Monen Healthcare Clinic, the Fresh Start Job Placement Program, and the Gary L. Maag Dental Clinic, as well as other programs. The Choice Food Pantry was the first pantry in Omaha that allows families to choose their own foods. The Laura and Dan Monen Healthcare Clinic, in partnership with Creighton University, provides free basic medical care, and accepts walk-in patients.

The Fresh Start Job Placement Program teaches job skills including workplace communication and customer service skills to members of the community, and assists in job placement for its graduates. The Gary L. Maag Dental Clinic partners with volunteer dentists to provide dental care, as well as extractions and fillings, and is available by appointment only. Heart Ministry Center also provides other services including meeting with case managers to meet other needs, working with local attorneys to provide free legal advice, and hosting special events throughout the year such as holiday parties, back-to-school events, health screenings, and block parties.

Heart Ministry Center is a wonderful organization that provides a lot of valuable resources to the community, including not only the ability to choose the foods they receive from the pantry, but access to basic health care, as well as job training skills. The League looks forward to an educational partnership!

The Big Garden

Published on March 18, 2021 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

The Big Garden was created by United Methodist Ministries in 2005 as a new program. The goal was to create 12 community gardens over the following five years. They went on to create 26 gardens in Omaha over the following five years, in addition to a sister project, The Big Rural Garden. There is now a network of over 150 community gardens in Omaha, as well as small communities in Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas.

The Big Garden’s mission is to “cultivate food security by developing community gardens, creating opportunities to serve, and providing education on issues related to hunger.” They are unique in both the large number of sites, as well as their emphasis on local partnerships. Community agencies own the land where all Big Garden sites are located, and the Big Garden partners with sites to assist with initial start-up costs, ongoing program support, garden and nutrition classes for children, and by brokering collaborative relationships in the community.

The Big Garden has several valuable programs. These include providing online gardening education, community gardens, Growing Gardeners Workshops, the New Roots internship, Grow-Your-Own, Farm to School, and Garden to Table. The online gardening education was an adaptation of some of their education programs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also provide other online resources, such as recipes, a list of recommended reading, and a skill library that includes information on various topics such as how to start seeds at home, a guide to edible wild plants, and more.

The Growing Gardeners Workshop is provided each season, and is low-cost, available to budding gardeners of all ages, and is open regardless of availability to pay. There are four educational tracks that the workshops cover: urban ag school, herbal medicine cabinet, culinary & nutrition, and craft & lifestyle. The New Roots internship is a 12-week summer internship for young adults interested in organic gardening, food security, local food, and working with children. The interns receive training in gardening, food security and classroom management and often go on to have careers in these fields. Grow-Your-Own, Farm to School, and Garden to Table are all programs that teach students how to grow, tend, harvest, cook, and preserve the produce they grow. Grow-Your-Own classes are held at The Big Garden, while Farm to School and Garden to Table are held at school gardens.

The Big Garden is a fantastic organization that provides a lot of valuable training to community members interested in learning to grow their own produce. The League looks forward to a fruitful partnership!

League Co-Chairs to Boutique Co-Chairs: Serving a Community Placement

Published on September 14, 2020October 7, 2020 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

Both Cat Enenbach and Ashley Rich have dedicated countless hours of service to the Junior League of Omaha. Serving as Big Red Block Party Co-Chairs and in other leadership positions across the League, the 2020-2021 League year looks a little different for Cat and Ashley. These two dedicated volunteers chose a community placement, allowing them to dedicate more time to be Co-Chairs of the Rose Theater Guild’s Boutique.

What is Community Placement

Members like Cat and Ashley, who actively volunteer for multiple or major non-League community events and organizations that require increased involvement, are able to participate in a community placement. A community placement takes the place of a traditional committee placement. While members are able to serve on other community boards for placement credit, they are still required to attend five General Membership Meetings and fulfill their impact volunteer shifts.

Why They Chose Community Placement

After working full-time as a labor and delivery nurse, and as an adjunct professor at the Creighton College of Nursing, all while finishing her Master’s, serving as the League’s New Member Chair, volunteering at non-League organizations and giving birth to her second child, Cat was in need of a less time-intensive League placement. Instead of a traditional committee placement, she applied for a community placement which allows her to serve as the Rose Theater Guild’s Boutique Co-Chair alongside Ashley, who also opted for community placement.

Since Ashley served as Big Red Block Party Co-Chair, Cookbook Co-Chair and Corresponding Secretary and was double placed on the Communications Committee for some of these positions, she wanted to take a step back and dedicate more time to other organizations that she’s a part of. Along with being a Co-Chair for the Rose Theater Guild’s Boutique, Ashley also serves as the Friendraiser Chair for the Omaha Children’s Museum Guild and Vice President of the Miss Omaha/Miss Douglas County Scholarship Program for her placement.

Cat and Ashley Serving in the Community

As Boutique Co-Chairs, Cat and Ashley manage the Rose Theater Guild’s second largest source of funds. Ina normal year, they would manage volunteers and stock the Boutique allowing theater patrons to roam and purchase show themed items. However, with the Boutique being closed, Cat and Ashley are having to find creative ways to sell items while encouraging social distancing. To do this, they have created the “Boutique Box,” a box of show themed crafts, snacks and other knick knacks. While selling and distribution logistics are still up in the air, these incredible volunteers aren’t letting Coronavirus stand in their way.

For more information on community placement, email placement@jlomaha.org.

Undesign the Redline Recap Blog

Published on July 21, 2020September 8, 2020 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

On June 25, the Junior League of Omaha had the honor of hosting the first virtual tour of The Union for Contemporary Art’s Undesign the Redline exhibit. Led by Susan Stroesser, a volunteer of The Union, and Paige Reitz, deputy director of The Union, our members had the opportunity to learn about the history of the redline in Omaha and the lasting impact that we can see today.

According to The Union, “Beginning in 1936, the neighborhoods of Omaha’s Near North and South sides were systematically segregated from the rest of the city by means of prohibitive and discriminatory home lending practices. In Omaha, and cities across the country, red lines were literally drawn on city maps by the federally-funded Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, identifying predominantly African-American and immigrant communities as “hazardous” and unfit for investment.

Systemic challenges today, like inequalities in housing, education, income, criminal justice and health are far from separate issues. These challenges are rooted in a deep and entangled history of policies, practices and processes that remain unrevealed and misunderstood. As new forces begin to transform cities and towns, decisions about interconnected challenges are therefore often made ‘in the dark.’”

The virtual training enabled League members to have meaningful conversations that encourage us to continue learning and growing as a League. It also provided us with a connection to the communities that we are predominantly serving in our new Hunger and Access to Healthy Foods focus area. Of our five current community partners, all five are in the top ten zip codes of poverty in Omaha, and two of them are in the number two spot. All of these community partners are located in areas that were previously redlined.

Below are comments from a few attendee’s experience. “I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to virtually tour the Union for Contemporary Art and learn about structural racism in both its current and historical context within our community. The virtual docents were incredibly knowledgeable in leading discussion and providing relevant resources. These critical conversations are necessary within the Junior League of Omaha, and I am glad that our members are committed to growing and learning. It is clear that we can do better, and experiences like this offer us an opportunity to expand our understanding and better serve our community moving forward.” – Anne Bowen, Placement Chair

“Omaha has a history similar to so many cities of similar size – and lots of our members have no idea how much racism is a part of that history. The Union’s Undesign the Red Line training helped us learn about the intersections between red lining, public school segregation, public transportation, food deserts, and a lack of healthcare facilities in both north and south Omaha. For many of our members, it was the first time these issues had ever been discussed, and the Union does such an incredible job addressing the topics that no matter where you are on the journey, there is something for everyone. I loved how the Q&A at the end allowed of members the chance to share stories and connect their own lived experiences to the content of the exhibit. It was especially helpful to have Paige in the training to provide research in the chat for us as topics came up.” – Stephanie Kidd, Diversity and Inclusion Chair

“The ‘Undesign the Redline’ event was incredibly timely and insightful. This event proactively addressed and educated membership on systemic race issues. The speaker provided a detailed history of segregation and racism within the Omaha community and a few league members shared their personal stories which further demonstrated the persistent nature of the issue. The educational impact of this event is meaningful and it was one of my favorite JLO events as a result!” – Sophia Petrow, Done in a Day Vice Chair

Shannon Lang, Hunger & Access to Healthy Foods Chair

Junior League of Omaha announces new focus area

Published on February 10, 2020September 8, 2020 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

The Junior League of Omaha wrapped up the year and the decade with the announcement of an exciting new focus area: hunger and access to healthy foods. On December 2, the Board of Directors decided on this focus area after assessing criteria including membership interest, opportunity in the community to make an impact, sustainability, variety of volunteer opportunities and potential barriers.

The decision comes as a result of a tireless process led by the Community Research and Development (CRaD) committee. They assessed needs in the Omaha metro in three different areas: hunger and access to healthy foods, abuse of women and children and opportunity youth.

The CRaD committee worked to set up and host around 30 service learning opportunities in these three areas between June and November. Members completed the service learning opportunities and provided valuable feedback which was compiled by the committee. This feedback was critical in making a decision on a new focus area.

“The CRaD team has been working diligently all year to ensure that education and volunteer opportunities were available for members to learn and participate in with the three focus areas. The focus area and research teams have collaborated with local organizations to envision future strategic goals and programming for years to come. We are grateful to have such passionate women involved in this process and for the participation and feedback from all of our membership,” said Emily Barr,| Junior League of Omaha Community Research and Development Chair.

Building on the impact made over the last 100 years, the Junior League of Omaha is entering this new decade with an exciting area of focus and renewed commitment to voluntarism.

Kindness

Published on January 18, 2020September 8, 2020 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

This year our League president, Kerri Palmesano has turned our focus towards extending kindness. In the spirit of her theme, “Throw Kindness Like Confetti”, we have included some ways that you too can spread kindness.

Leave a note tucked in the pages of a book for a stranger to find
Deliver homemade baked goods to your neighbor(s)
Pay someone a genuine compliment
Clean up the trash in a public place
Offer to run an errand for a busy friend
Buy a book that you think a friend will like and give it to her
Hold a door for someone

Our League kicked the year off by learning from Ferial Pearson, the founder of The Secret Kindness Agents. Ferial provided thought provoking conversations with our members this past fall that has catalyzed our work to be more inclusive and equitable. We commend her work to spread kindness and encourage you to watch her TEDx Talk.

Please click here if you would like to join Secret Kindness Agents mailing list.

Kelsey Haswell, Marketing Vice Chair

Junior League of Omaha Welcomes New Members

Published on November 30, 2019March 10, 2020 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

The New Members kicked off their League year with their first meeting in August at Security National Bank, where the women got to know their core groups and learned about their upcoming year.

Our growing population of New Members is exciting to see each year.

In September, New Members volunteered at CASA Douglas County. CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, supports advocates for children who are abused or neglected to provide them with a safe, healthy environment in a permanent home. New Members learned more about CASA while volunteering and cleaned storage rooms.

New Members Learning and Volunteering at CASA Douglas County

October activities included diversity and inclusion training from an external trainer, Ashlei Spivey. Diversity, equity and inclusion are core vales of the Junior League. New Members learned the importance of courageous conversations and more about equity and inclusion.

In November, New Members and the New Member Committee planned to join Board and Management for Friendsgiving; however, the Omaha weather got in our way! We look forward to celebrating the season with New Members at the holiday social in December.

New Member Committee is focused on building a knowledge base for New Members and sharing the training and community impact opportunities available to League members. The committee is focused on engagements which provide experiences and build lasting connections both within the League and out in the community.

Recruitment for next year’s New Member group begins in February. For more information about joining the Junior League of Omaha, visit https://www.jlomaha.org/join-us/.

Kelsey Haswell, Marketing Vice Chair

All That Glitters Is the (Newly Redesigned) Column

Published on November 25, 2016February 15, 2017 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

Allison Hardy the Column co-editor

Ladies, I’m conducting a poll. Who here keeps glitter around in their homes? While I haven’t touched the stuff since elementary school, I recently learned that glitter is a staple at the homes of League members Sara Huse, Katie Triplett and Jennifer Peters. I also learned that it’s quite difficult to photograph.

To introduce some major (read: incredible) changes we’ve made to to the League’s magazine, we, the editorial staff of the Column, thought it would be fun to do a fall photo shoot with our incredibly talented Social Media Coordinator, Jillian Humphries. For the finale, we thought we’d throw some red glitter up in the air and would get some great shots of it sparkling in the September sunshine. Long story short: what we got, in addition to these shots, was glitter everywhere – eyes, hair and covering our bodies. I’m quite sure my pillow is still sparkling.

When you try something new, you take risks with the hope that they are outweighed by the reward. This year’s Communications Committee, headed by our fearless, visionary leaders Communication Committee Chair Katie Triplett and Vice Chair Jennifer Peters, and armed with our ambitious Graphic Designer Sara Huse, decided to take the plunge to provide you, our readers of the Column, with a fresh new look. To that end, we’ve moved the Column to a full color, 20-page, magazine-like publication to keep you updated with what’s happening in the League. We’re putting a new spin on stories to make them more engaging and are including more attention-grabbing photos and infographics.

While it’s not entirely clear if our glitter photoshoot passed the risk-reward test (but hey, we had fun), we think you’ll agree that the redesign of the Column has. We invite you to check out our new style and weigh in with your comments. The Fall edition of the Column will be hitting mailboxes in early December.

For now, check out some of the fun outtakes from our sparkling photo shoot.

What To Wear To Big Red Block Party 2016

Published on October 26, 2016November 25, 2016 by jloconnectionsLeave a comment

Back-packs, bell sleeves and booties! Fall fashions are upon us, and we’re taking a look at some of the fun ways you can wear the latest trends for this year’s “blackout” themed Big Red Block Party on November 5th!