Newsletter | February 14, 2018

January 2018 News

Bridging Hearts and Minds

Members of the Collective for Youth team and colleagues from partnering agencies Kids Can, Completely Kids, and Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands attended the Bridging Hearts and Minds Conference in San Diego, California from February 1st – 4th. The purpose of this conference was to learn more about the practice of mindfulness and the impact it has on the youth we serve in out of school time programs. Conference attendees practiced mindfulness exercises, developed skills to implement mindfulness interventions with staff and youth, and reviewed current research on the impact of mindfulness interventions. Conference attendees were invited to engage in 8-week mindfulness workshop that will allow participants to regularly practice as they prepare for an upcoming grant application to include mindfulness in their agency work.

President Trump’s Proposed Budget

President Trump’s proposed budget, released a $3.6 billion cut—or 5.3 percent— from current spending levels, for the budget year starting Oct. 1, 2018. In order to achieve those proposed spending cuts, the president copied two major education cuts he proposed last year: the elimination of Title II teacher grants and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Those two cuts combined would come to about $3.1 billion from current levels. Nationally, more than 19 million families want and need more afterschool and summer learning opportunities. For every child in a program, two are waiting to get in. Closing 10,000+ afterschool programs will hurt families and children in every part of the country.

In Omaha, 7,400 students attend 21st Century Community Learning Center programs. You can make a difference: Call on Congress to protect funding for afterschool and summer learning programs.

Call or email now:

Senator Ben Sasse
Email: Jessica Smith at jessica_smith@sasse.senate.gov
Phone: (202) 224-4224 or (402)-550-8040
Address: 304 North 168th Circle, Suite 213, Omaha, NE 68118

Senator Deb Fischer
Email: Steven Selde at steven_selde@fischer.senate.gov
Phone: (202) 224-6551 or (402)391-3411
Address: 11819 Miracle Hills Drive, Suite 205, Omaha, NE 68154

Representative Don Bacon
Email: Jeff Kratz at jeff.kratz@mail.house.gov
Phone (202) 225-4155 or 402-938-0300
Address: 13906 Gold Circle, Suite 101, Omaha, NE 68144

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS-

Civic Nebraska/Lothrop Elementary Family Carnival Night
At Lothrop Elementary it is usually Free Choice Friday for the students but recently we have changed it to “Free Choice Family Night”. Our first Friday we had Family Board Game Night and it was a great hit. Over 50 families showed up and really enjoyed all of the games and refreshments.

Our second Friday Family Night we had “Family Carnival Night”. Civic Nebraska afterschool program staff and the youth created all of the carnival games with cardboards. They started on Tuesday and had everything ready to go on Friday! They were so creative!  From the cutting out of the boxes to getting them painted and decorated perfectly. They created Ski Ball, Blast Off, Ring Toss, Guessing Booth, Balloon Pop, and every student went home with a prize from the treasure box. One of our third-grade male students was able to exhibit his talents in drawing. He drew three life size trolls, with the face cut out so the families could take pictures in the frame. The children really enjoyed the piñata full of all different kinds of candy. The families enjoyed playing basketball, life size Jenga, life size Connect Four, a bean bag toss, and beef hot dogs with chips and juice. Our next Family Friday will be a Wellness event. We are looking forward to seeing what our youth come up with for that special night!

 

Kids Can/Gilder Elementary
The youth from Kids Can at Gilder Elementary participated in their first ever VEX Robotics Tournament Feb 3rd at DC West High school. The youth in our afterschool program have been training for months in anticipation for this day. They competed against 13 other teams from around the Omaha Metro area. By the end of a grueling day of challenges, both teams placed into the finals. They ended up in 8th and 10th place overall but one of the teams had the third highest individual score at the event. This is an amazing accomplishment since they only had the tournament mat to practice on two weeks before the competition. The youth are so excited they asked to compete in the Regional Tournament in March where they have a chance to earn a spot to the Vex Robotics World Finals!

 

Collective for Youth RFP Informational Session for Middle School OST Nonprofit Program Providers

When: Thursday, March 8th, 2018
Where: CASA Building 2412 St. Mary’s Ave, Omaha, NE 68105
Time: 10:00 -11:30 A.M.

This informational session is for nonprofits interested in developing and delivering middle school enrichment programs during the after school hours in Omaha Public Schools middle school sites for the 2018-2019 school year and the summer of 2019. 

*During the meeting, we will review the online RFP guidelines for the 2018-19 application process. Collective for Youth is partnering with The Sherwood Foundation to provide this funding opportunity.     

Please RSVP: http://collectiveforyouth.org/provider-meeting-march-8-2018-1000-1130/

  • Only nonprofit organizations certified as tax exempt under Sections 501 (c) (3) or 170 (c) are eligible to apply. 
  • All applicants (both new and previously funded) are required to attend this informative session.
  • We are looking for nonprofit organizations who can deliver hands-on and project-based out-of-school time (OST) programs for Omaha middle school students. This approach provides teens with opportunities to learn from OST professionals in order to develop their talents, while gaining critical skills for work, college and beyond.
  • Proposed programs need to be directly tied to the school day curriculum and focus on social emotional learning, recreation, academic enrichment and cultural activities.
  • Students are assigned to after school activities in eight week increments scheduled throughout the school year.  All middle school sites follow the same eight-week schedule. It is important that programming is conducted accordingly.

If you have questions please contact Nicole Everingham at 402-932-2025 X 1005 or neveringham@collectiveforyouth.org 

Upcoming Trainings- (click to register)

February 23, 2018; 9am – 1pm 
WORKSHOP 7 & 8: Active Learning & Cooperative Learning

March 23, 2018; 10am – noon
WORKSHOP 9: Youth Voice 

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