On May 20, Civic Nebraska joins hundreds of Omaha-area nonprofits in OMAHA GIVES!, the Metro’s 24-hour giving event. If you like, you can schedule your donation any time before the big day and it will still count toward our May 20 total. This year, a group of donors will match the first $7,000 we raise – so give early and often to have your donation doubled!
Wondering how we use the funds we raise? We’re glad you asked! Here are five big ways:
1. We build young Omaha civic leaders.
Our Community Learning Centers at Lothrop, Sherman, and Lewis & Clark schools are powerful neighborhood hubs, serving hundreds of students before and after school. Youth learn social, emotional, and civic skills, which they then take into their communities. In the era of COVID-19, our mission continues with CIVIC U., our virtual learning hub that delivers lessons and activities.
2. We inspire Omaha youth to act.
Becoming a civic leader means acting for change in the community. Street Team brings these opportunities directly to middle schoolers. Service learning builds critical learning, civil discourse, and leadership skills. Street Team compels students to reflect upon their projects’ impacts and master the skills needed for active citizenship.
3. We empower Omaha girls.
Society tells girls their career aspirations shouldn’t include leadership or policymaking. And girls in underserved areas often are told their futures will be much like their present. Our Circles program changes that. We partner highly successful professional women with girls as role models, who demonstrate real-world skills they use to succeed in their careers. Along the way, students gain empowerment and a pathway to careers otherwise considered unattainable.
4. We protect Omaha voters.
Whether successfully fighting and advocating for online voter registration, uniform election guides, or access to polls on Election Day, our Voting Rights Initiatives advocate for voters across the city. In recent years, Civic Nebraska has deployed dozens of Election Protectors in Douglas and Sarpy counties to avert problems at the ballot box.
5. We build strong Omaha neighborhoods.
Neighborhoods across Omaha are sources of knowledgeable and change-making community leaders. To connect, organize, and activate them, Civic Nebraska sponsors One Omaha, which supports resident-led quality of life improvements across the city. The result is stronger social connectedness, community engagement, confidence in institutions, and civic involvement.
Your gift during OMAHA GIVES! goes directly to supporting these and other Civic Nebraska programs that lift up Omaha children, neighbors, voters, and civic institutions. Please donate today to help defend and sustain democracy from the ground up in the Metro. Thanks!
