Short Takes: Five millionth milestone ‘a dream’ for Nebraska Diaper Bank

“It frees up my money to be able to buy something nice for my kids,” the mom said.

Nebraska Diaper Bank celebrated 2 million diapers distributed in July 2022, meaning the nonprofit has distributed a record 3 million diapers in 15 months.

“Five million is really a dream,” said Tegan Reed, executive director of the Nebraska Diaper Bank. “It’s something that we’ve thought a lot about and a goal that we’ve had and here it is today. It means 5 million diaper changes on thousands and thousands of babies in the Greater Omaha area and even greater Nebraska as well.”

One in three families with young children experience diaper need in Nebraska, and one in two families with young children reported experiencing diaper need in the U.S., according to the newest study done by the National Diaper Bank Network.

Since 2014, Nebraska Diaper Bank has worked to end diaper need by providing diapers and working collaboratively with local social service agencies, such as Heart Ministry Center.

The mother of four, who wished to remain anonymous, said the diapers will help not just physically but emotionally. She said it will relieve stress as she cares for a 7-month-old and potty trains a 3-year-old.

“I want them to know that it really does help because you can be in a depression from worrying about financial stuff and that helps relieve your mind from that, and that alone I feel like it’s a big thing. It’s a very big problem with people nowadays, like mental health, and just being able to help someone and not feel so stressed or anxiety and wondering when they’re going to be able to buy their next pack of diapers.”

Nebraska Diaper Bank distributes 290,000 diapers to about 4,500 babies each month as part of the National Diaper Bank Network. Go to nebraskadiaperbank.org for more information.

Pottawattamie County Conservation has received $450,000 from Iowa’s Resource Enhancement and Protection program, which will be used to pay taxpayers back for the 2022 purchase of 93 acres directly adjacent to Hitchcock Nature Center.

The $1.175 million plot was sold to the county by the Ferguson family as a bequest of Doris Ferguson, who passed away last year. Her final wish was “to provide land for other people to use, to be in a natural setting, like it was back in early history, a landscape I fell in love with when we moved from Brooklyn, New York, in the 1960s.”

The grant, combined with substantial donations from the Pottawattamie Conservation Foundation and the Hitchcock Foundation, covers a majority of the purchase.

“Whenever possible, the conservation department seeks out grants to fund recreational land purchases and ease or eliminate the taxpayer burden on residents,” Pottawattamie County Conservation Executive Director Mark Shoemaker said. “Despite being the second-largest county in Iowa, half of the other 98 counties in the state manage more public land. We have a long way to go in properly serving our constituency and are extremely thankful for REAP and the powerful role it plays in helping preserve public land for future generations.”

The 93-acre addition is part of a long-term plan to protect the unique and rare Loess Hills landform in Pottawattamie County and expand Hitchcock Nature Center. The REAP program has been instrumental in establishing the county park as a regional leader in low-impact recreation and land management with grant dollars supporting land acquisitions in 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2011. Since the county purchased Hitchcock Nature Center in 1991, more than $2.8 million REAP dollars have supported land acquisitions to expand the park, all of which were from willing landowners who saw the value in making their property available for public use.

The new addition to Hitchcock Nature Center includes remnant prairie, of which less than 0.1% remains in the state of Iowa, and contains 20 species on the Iowa Species of Greatest Conservation Need list. Last winter, conservation staff converted row crop on the property to a prairie reconstruction, which will be accessible for public recreation in next spring.

“Connecting Community with Opportunity” is the theme of the 17th annual Nonprofit Summit of the Midlands to be held Thursday at the Embassy Suites La Vista Hotel and Conference Center.

Hosted by the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands, the daylong summit annually brings together more than 300 nonprofit executives, employees, board members and volunteers from Nebraska and Iowa.

“The Nonprofit Summit of the Midlands is an opportunity for our nonprofit community to come together to foster collaboration, connect with other nonprofit organizations and collectively drive positive change,” said NAM CEO Anne Hindery. “The Summit this year will explore nonprofit connections that we all can leverage to continue to support those in need across the Midlands.”

Tiffany Turner-Allen, the Executive Director of Nonprofit Prince George’s County in Maryland, will host a keynote presentation and workshop entitled “Celebrating Life! The Thoughts, Perspectives and Life Lessons of a Nonprofit Leader.”

As a Black woman with more than a decade of experience in both national and local nonprofits, Turner-Allen brings an innovative approach to racial equity work. Her discussion will provide a fresh perspective on the urgency of change and holistic healing through racial equity.

The summit also will feature presentations, breakout sessions and workshops on a variety of topics such as “Connecting Community with the Transfer of Wealth Opportunity,” presented by Nebraska Community Foundation; “Neurodiversity: Understanding and Inclusion,” presented by Autism Action Partnership; and “From Grant Review to Grant Writer: Develop Your Skills from the Other Side of the Table,” presented by Omaha Community Foundation.

NAM also will present its annual Catalyst Award which recognizes an organization that has made an impact in the nonprofit community. Recent winners include Girl’s Inc. and Kids Can Community Center.

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission customer service offices will be open on Veterans Day, Nov. 10. That also is the day before the nine-day firearm deer season opens.

That means hunters will be able to purchase deer permits at Game and Parks headquarters in Lincoln, district offices in Norfolk, North Platte and Alliance, service centers in Omaha, Kearney and Bassett, and at the Schramm Education Center south of Gretna. The offices will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The November firearm deer season is Nov. 11-19.

Joe and Melissa Giesick of Plattsmouth’s Buccaneer Bay subdivision came up with an idea that sounded good at the time. They wanted to get a companion for Melissa’s son CJ, who teaches special education in Atchison, Kansas.

Melissa, CJ and a couple of other family members traveled to a dog rescue southeast of Des Moines to pick up a Corgi named Echo on Sept. 29.

That was the day their week-long nightmare began.

Shortly after the blended family members pulled into the driveway of their home , Echo managed to slip out of her collar and took off. Joe arrived soon after from refereeing a high school football game. Stunned, they sought help from Buc Bay residents via Facebook posts.

With help from many residents — most of whom they didn’t know — Echo was located over several days, but she continued her disappearing act.

“It was like this whole community was invested in this dog,” Melissa said. “The people here were so unbelievably amazing. We had people constantly out looking.”

The turning point came around 4 p.m. on Oct. 6, when Melissa and her ex-husband (who volunteered to help look) spotted something in a trap. Sure enough, after a week of hiding, Echo was captured.

The next day, Echo was taken to the Plattsmouth vet and received a clean checkup, a new air tag and microchip. She then was reunited with CJ, who now has his new companion.