For the past six years, the Cirrus House youth services has co-hosted a mental health awareness arts exhibition along with the West Nebraska Arts Center, with Snow-Redfern Foundation as a funding partner.

Cirrus House has worked with dozens of local artists of all ages to share stories and images of trials and healing every year.

“In 2021 we decided to try something new and after completing our typical two-month stint the Bronson Gallery in Scottsbluff, we have taken this year’s show “Re-Bound: New Beginnings” on the road”, shared Matt Reese with Cirrus House.

Traveling Exhibit

This traveling, pop-up version of the exhibit has been in Chadron, Oshkosh, Kimball, Bridgeport, and is currently on campus at WNCC in Alliance, where it will stay until January 31st, before moving on to the next stop.

The show has been very well received at the different venues, and Cirrus House has received excellent feedback. In addition, they have been invited to return next year, and plans are already underway for their 2022/2023 mental health awareness exhibit.

Planning for Next Year

Next year’s theme will be “The Hero Inside: Comics and Mental Health,” which will run in the Bronson gallery from September through October 2022 before making the rounds across the Panhandle.

These art shows are but one small part of what Cirrus House does. From their Day Program, to their counseling program and Community Support programs, they are dedicated to providing the people of the Panhandle with mental health services, from the most urban to the most rural environments.

Without partners like the Cirrus House, many kids would not be able to access quality mental health support in the Panhandle.

Carnegie Arts Center had an incredible summer working with the Alliance Recreation Center’s Summer youth camp. The Carnegie, with support of grant funds like ours, visited the Alliance Recreation Center weekly to partner with the ARC to provide free summer art workshops to their students.

“Stay Wild” Sidewalk Safari

Visiting artist and Professor, Sandra Williams from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and two honors students travelled across the state to bring “Stay Wild” Sidewalk Safari to Alliance, NE in June of 2021. The project was the brainchild of Professor Williams who had developed it in partnership with the Museum of Nebraska Art.

Her exhibit, “Anthropocene Blues” opened at MONA while they were closed for COVID in 2020. The museum proposed having a virtual lecture series.  However, Professor Williams prefers hands on experiences.

“Community based arts have always been, and always will be, part of my creative agenda. Instead of a ‘top down’ lecture I prefer that the community explore the role arts play in creative placemaking, having the tactile experience of handling ‘cut paper’ in the form of stencils, and engage with the topic of animals in a creative manner”.

Sharing Art Project with Alliance Youth

After successfully conducting the project with multiple schools in Lincoln, Professor Williams reached out to the Carnegie Arts Center to see if we would be interested in bringing the project to Alliance.

The ARC’s total attendance of 60 youth within classes of 15 produced beautiful art!

After two days of spray chalking and stenciling, the students were given fact sheets about the different endangered species.  The youth that were old enough to write created haikus about the animals, and the younger students created beautiful drawings of the animals and recited facts they had learned. In the end, students asked to keep the fact sheets and take-home extras to learn about all the animals.

Interested in helping us support important programs for youth across Nebraska?

Give today at: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E349291&id=1

Dr. Maya Chilese is a friend of the Snow-Redfern Foundation and a consultant for some of the great new kids programs we have been developing, including our new young women’s leadership development experience.  She is also an exceptional example of how strong, empowered, educated, supported, resilient women have the propensity to have a positive impact on the future generation of young women.  Dr. Maya has graciously provided this lovely piece to help us celebrate the Month of GIRLS!

Girl Power

My office is filled with pictures of powerful women and I swear their vibration feeds my soul. My spirit reverberates with the energy from powerful women – like the sounds of Pat Benatar and Queen Latifah, the words of Maya Angelou and Margaret Thatcher, the brilliance of Rosalind Franklin and Frida Kahlo, the bravery of Harriet Tubman and Marsha Johnson. I stand in awe of the perseverance of women through centuries of oppression and celebrate the revolutionary act of being exactly who you are. To describe “girl power” is to humanize ALL women and to elevate the voices of every single one of us. It is to honor the divine feminine as well as to own our masculine energy.  It is to do the intentional work of discovering your strengths and thrust that onto the world before it even dares to ask. Girl power is the demand that of all creation pay attention to us who give it life; for we are the nurturers, the protectors and the warriors of it all.

Empowering Girls and Women

Too many girls and women today do not understand that cultures have existed in history that upheld women as leaders, honored women as powerful agents, and elevated women as central to society’s survival. American culture hosts a million ways that girls and women are unknowingly taught to be quieter, to feel unworthy, to shrink ourselves, to be less. It is imperative that every girl and woman learn the truth about their power and harness it for good. History has shown that women are resilient, magnificent, brilliant, brave, and most specifically – of no lesser value. The rules around us are fake news and do not accurately reflect all that we are and can be! Girls and women must learn to be loud, take up space, demand visibility, take action, and ensure equality for all female-presenting humans.

Career Influence

A string of influential women have graced my path and shaped my career in unexpected ways. I find it’s not the ‘big break’ or ‘perfect job’ that launches us; but the quiet influence of people that pass like the seasons, as well as the hard parts that challenge us to change. My grandmother planted the helping seeds, teachers watered the sprouts, mentors tended the soil, friends hoisted the sagging branches, and somehow I withstood the storms with enough force to thrive. As a single mom, it often felt like endless days of multiple jobs, school, exhaustion, struggle… “and still, like air, I rise.” (Maya Angelou, 1978) There is so much power in the journey – and I wish for girls and young women to set their eyes on deconstructing what they think they know about the world and write their own path.

Life Shaping

As I was helping a customer one day at a jewelry store that I once I managed, I handed him a business card. With surprise in his voice, he declared that he recognized my name from his law books. That was the day I learned that my father was the first to gain custody of his child during a divorce settlement in our state. It was the mid 70’s and I vividly remember being one of very few “divorced kids” at my school. My father is an incredible man with an easy smile and tenacious spirit, and my mother is a punk rock bad@ss who lived a life of revolution. She moved to the upper east coast, devastated not to be taking me with her. As the years passed, I experienced a very different lifestyle and culture between the two environments, which significantly shaped my worldview. And despite the trauma I had to heal, I was also bestowed invaluable life experiences that shaped who I am today. And let me tell you how cool it was to bring fashion and music ‘back from the big city’ before it arrived in the Midwest. Oh gosh the pre-internet 80’s were amazing.

It Makes Me, ME

I have come to firmly believe that we land exactly where we should at each juncture of our journey. Many times those steps were unpleasant or difficult, and definitely not what I chose. But when we are more curious than we hold ego, we see the opportunity in each experience. I’ve learned that every life moment is filled with data that helps better understand oneself, others and the human experience. I like to think that I inherited some of the tenaciousness of my father and the badassery of my mother, and hopefully the persistence of my ancestors.  I hope to remain humble enough to learn, eager enough to try, flexible enough to adapt, forgiving enough to stumble, and brave enough to act.

Supporting Nonprofits

The most important aspect of ‘girl power’ is redistributing power to girls and women, especially to those who’ve been particularly marginalized. I cannot express a desire for equality without also taking action to create equitable environments and eradicating systems of oppression. Having worked in the human services field for nearly 30 years, my contributions feel meager under my office full of powerful women. Yet it is in their aura that I keep growing, pressing, adapting, and creating strategies to help people.

Today, I gain deep satisfaction from helping organizations that help people, supporting nonprofits and government agencies to stretch into maximum impact. Some days I wonder how the heck I got here and feel woefully unprepared to help the world. But then I remember that I carry the generational strength of the women before me; that I hold a responsibility to become a good ancestor; and that I am indeed a bad@ss warrior ready to rumble.

Help us support more projects that empower girls at: https://bit.ly/3r1t92b

Girl Power

Snow-Redfern Board member and Division Production Control Manager with Parker Hannifin Corporation, Denise Harris, is the epitome of Girl Power in action.

“Girl power is simply having the confidence to challenge traditional gender roles and step up to the plate to do the right thing to make progress,” shared Denise.

Denise attributes her growth mindset and confidence as a female leader to her upbringing. Her parents expected her to work at the family hardware store and “get the job done,” teaching her that the better job you do, consistently, the more respect you earn.

“That has stuck with me,” she said. “They encouraged my abilities and supported me so that I could make mistakes and turn them into lessons that ultimately improved my life.”

Strong Female Role Model

Having a strong female role model- her mother- Denise did not initially understand gender inequality as a child. Her mother worked full time, coached her and her brother’s sporting events, and was always a strong supporter in the community. In middle school, she began to question why gender mattered, seeing gender-specific programs like “Girls Are Powerful” and Girl Scouts that operated on gender.

As she matured and began to observe that women were traditionally underrepresented in leadership roles, she was able to understand the importance of the female engagement she had witnessed in gender-specific programs as a child.

Because of her strong background of empowerment, Denise went on to receive her degree at UNL and is now a leader in the community, refusing to give credence to inequality as a factor in that role.

When asked why girls should be empowered to be strong, independent, compassionate leaders, she said:

“Even if you are in a male-dominated industry or looking into a career that is currently male-dominated, you need to have the confidence to know you have something to contribute that is going to benefit others! Having a diverse representation on any leadership team brings more depth and complexity to the organization, making it robust!”

Giving Back Through Snow-Redfern Foundation

Denise invests her talents and leadership with various organizations in the community, including the Snow-Redfern Foundation Board, while also devoting herself to her family, friends, and career.

“Knowing that I’m contributing to something greater than myself helps to drive my sense of purpose. Being on the board has educated me on so many programs and opportunities for our youth and it is so encouraging to see that the support is there to develop the next generation of strong & independent leaders!”

Want to help us continue to support Girl Power in Action? Give the gift of empowerment today at: https://www.snowredfern.org/give-today/

Today, Snow-Redfern Foundation is celebrating 70 years of empowering youth with a special focus this year on empowering girls! We are declaring December 1st (our birthday) as the Day of Girls- in honor of our founder, Arvilla, and all the amazing girls that deserve a shout out!

the United Nations Foundation introduced and celebrated the Day of the Girl and the extraordinary power of girls in our world.  This year’s theme, “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030,” highlights the importance of girls to achieving the global goals for sustainable development. Simply put: To reach our global goals, we have to reach girls.

Join us tonight from 5-7pm at our open house to learn more about how we are honoring Arvilla and impacting kids!  The open house will be at our new office- 305 Box Butte Ave in Alliance, and more details can be found on our Facebook event page!

Here are five reasons why empowering adolescent girls matters to all of us, as shared by the UN Foundation (https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/5-reasons-why-empowering-girls-matters/):

  1. It’s her right.

Fundamentally, this is a human rights issue. Discrimination has no place in the 21st century, and every girl has the right to go to school, stay safe from violence, access health services, and fully participate in her community.

  1. Empowered girls mean healthier families.

When girls are educated, healthy, and empowered, families are healthier. According to UNESCO, 2.1 million children under age 5 were saved between 1990 and 2009 because of improvements in girls’ education. And closing the gap in the unmet need for family planning for the 225 million girls and women who want to delay or avoid pregnancy but aren’t using modern contraception would reduce maternal deaths by 67% and newborn deaths by 77%.

  1. Empowered girls are key to breaking the cycle of poverty for families around the world.

Research from the Brookings Institution has found that every additional year of school increases a girls’ eventual wages by an average of 12% – earnings she invests back into her family. Empowered, educated girls have healthier, better educated children and higher wages – helping to break the cycle of poverty.

  1. Empowered girls strengthen economies.

According to a new Brookings report, “Increasing the number of women completing secondary education by just 1 percent could increase a country’s economic growth by 0.3 percent.” Additionally, a report just released by the McKinsey Global Institute found that if women’s level of participation in the labor market was the same as men’s it would add up to $28 trillion to annual global GDP in 2025.

  1. Did we mention it’s the right thing to do?

Investing in girls is one of the smartest things we can do to promote a healthier, more prosperous world. More importantly, it’s the right thing to do. Every girl has the right to be in charge of her future and her fate, and we have the collective obligation to protect her rights and promote her wellbeing.

This is a priority for Snow-Redfern Foundation. To join our movement to support our programs that empower adolescent girls, visit

 

44 new project grants have been awarded to nonprofits across Nebraska!

Helping young people is the inspiration that moves us—but where does it lead?

Experience has guided us toward three pathways where we can foster the greatest change: Basic Needs, Well-Being, and Education. In each, we have met so many exceptional, caring people who are impacting young lives every day.

Our role is to provide the funding that empowers the work they do.

As our 2021 grant cycle finalizes, we are encouraged by the inspirational work being done by our nonprofit partners, including through their recent grant applications.

This year’s project grant cycle challenged applicants to align their grant goals with their local public health district’s Community Health Improvement Plans, so we are excited to see how they can increase impact for children in their region.

The most prevalent connections cited were mental health and access to services with basic needs being the most common priority area.

“In the past few years, we have seen an increase in the number of applications seeking to address food insecurity and unmet basic needs for children.  This year, however, we saw more applications that intend to focus on well-being and children’s mental health”, said Grant Committee Chairman, Jared Mracek. 

In fact, over 50% of the applications cited strategies directly linked to mental health in some capacity, including some applications that were additionally focusing on basic needs and education.

“Mental health is an important part of overall health and well-being. It includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, affecting how we think, feel, and act. It is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood”, shared Executive Director, Sara Nicholson.

Our focus is giving these 44 grant recipients the funding, support, and other resources to do more of the things they do best.

Join us in acknowledging this year’s project grant awardees!

  • Nebraska Family Support Network
  • Camp Scott
  • CASA- South Central NE-Franklin County
  • Lexington Public Schools Backpack Program
  • CASA Connection
  • YWCA Adams County
  • African Culture Connection
  • Carnegie Arts Center
  • TeamMates of Scotts Bluff County
  • Nebraska 4H Foundation
  • CASA of South Central Nebraska
  • Panhandle Partnership dba CAPWN
  • United Way of Western Nebraska
  • Panhandle Public Health District
  • Willow Branch Foundation
  • Fillmore County CASA
  • CASA for York County
  • Compass
  • City Sprouts Inc
  • Poverty Impact Network, Inc
  • Omaha Conservatory of Music
  • Dawson County Parent-Child Protective Services
  • Panhandle Partnership Inc
  • Nebraska Children’s Home Society
  • CASA of Northeast Nebraska Inc
  • Alliance Recreation Center
  • Lexington Public School
  • Mystic Rhoads Productions Inc
  • Carpenter Center
  • PlainsWest CASA
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Nebraska
  • Threads of Grace
  • DIBS for Kids
  • Southeast Nebraska CASA
  • Family Navigation Program- CASA
  • Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska
  • Alliance Bulldog Backpack Program
  • WhyArts Inc
  • Trails West CASA Inc
  • Banister’s Leadership Academy
  • Cirrus House
  • LyonHeart Equine Assisted Learning
  • Families CARE Inc
  • Banister’s Leadership Academy

Jared Mracek grew up on a cow/calf ranch north of Alliance, Nebraska.  From a very young age, he found joy working with animals and knew that he wanted to study them in college one day.  His ranch upbringing taught him strong ranch values, including hard work, dedication, and perseverance.

“Living the ranch life has provided ample opportunities for me to develop many skills I may not have otherwise developed”, shared Jared.

He later used some of these same skills to complete his formal education in Animal Science and achieve his master’s degree in Ruminant Nutrition.

“After college, the heart for the ranch life brought me back to Western Nebraska to work with cattle on my family ranch and start a family of my own”. 

Living the Ranch Life

Now Jared shares this with his wife Melissa and their two beautiful children, Brayden and Hadleigh and uses his all the life-long skills he has developed as the Feed Division Manager at WESTCO.

Reflecting on his middle school days, Jared recalls having kids in his class that resided at the Nebraska Boys Ranch. He spent time getting to know them, always interested in their life stories that brought them to the Ranch.  He never forgot those touching stories, and when he was asked to join the Snow-Redfern Foundation board (formerly the Nebraska Boys Ranch), Jared knew he could make a difference for kids like the ones he met in middle school.

Impacting Thousands of Kids

What he did not initially realize when he committed to the work of the organization was that in addition to creating opportunities for local kids, he would have the opportunity to impact thousands of kids across the entire state during his time on the board.

As a dedicated board member, Vice President, and Grant Committee Chairperson, Jared has continually demonstrated how “ranch values” can be shared in his community and across the state.

If you are interested in helping share these values with kids across Nebraska, considering giving today at: https://bit.ly/3lwhtjl

Difficult Year for Kids

“2020 was a particularly difficult year for everyone, but even more so for my daughter, Mae.  Often times I found myself at a complete loss trying to help her”, shared a parent working with Families CARE in Kearney, Nebraska.

“As a parent, there are times you just can’t connect on the same level as a teenager.  When Mae approached me with the need to connect to local teens that share her struggles with mental health, I set out to find a program like this”.

Families CARE Supports Youth

Mae’s father found Families CARE’s Wellness Café.  For decades, Families CARE has been providing support, advocacy, activities, and opportunities like Wellness Café to children, youth, and families who are at risk and/or experiencing a mental or behavioral health challenge.

Facilitators, like Peer Support Specialist Jenn, engage youth in groups that are intended to foster connection and wellness, reduce stigma and isolation, and build skills for lifelong growth.

“Having educational things to teach kids about how to take care of their mental health is invaluable!”, she said.

Mae shared that she has mental health challenges and the program has helped her share her story and learn how to deal with the world, learn coping skills that she can use during hard times, and make friends that can provide support.

“Being an organizer (with Wellness Café)”, said Mae, “helped me learn how to live in the real world and realize there are bigger problems in the world than mental health”.

Wellness Café Support Groups

Wellness Café support groups are offered to two age groups, 11-14 & 15 and older.  Groups focus on teaching youth how to learn from lived experiences of their peers, WRAP skills, & exploring physical health as it relates to mental health.  The Café also helps reduce stigma and improve wellness while it provides activities for families to experience inclusion and a sense of community by meeting other parents & families that experience similar challenges.

With our 2022 grant recipients being required to align their grant goals with their local public health districts Community Health Improvement Plan, Families CARE identified the connection between services, such as the Wellness Café, and decreasing risk factors for youth.

Decreasing Risk Factors

There is some evidence that suggest that this kind of support and connection can decrease risk factors, including the risk of suicide, because youth are interacting with peers with similar challenges, in a healthy setting, facilitated by Certified Peer Specialists. They are learning physical & mental wellness tools that they can use during challenging times.

We are thankful for non-profit organizations, like Families CARE, that are invested in the lives of children and that make a difference in their lives every day!

Please join us to address mental health challenges and grow healthy, happy young people across Nebraska by donating today: https://bit.ly/3lwhtjl

Giving Back

Kevin remembers that during National Jaycees Week in the late 1980s, he and his fellow Alliance Jaycees would visit the former Nebraska Boys Ranch and play basketball and other games with the boys residing there. The joy he found in being surrounded by young people has continued throughout his life, impacting many lives.

After graduating from Brown Institute of Broadcasting in Minneapolis, Kevin enjoyed 30 years of radio broadcasting in Nebraska.

Though he is now the Box Butte County Clerk of the District Court, he has continued to be involved with broadcasting Hemingford High football games and supporting kids in many ways, including driving an Alliance Public Schools Activity Bus for 23 years. He also has served on the Box Butte County 4-H Council, Extension Board and Alliance Chamber of Commerce Board.

The Gift of a Scholarship

As Kevin finishes his final three-year term with the Snow-Redfern Board of Directors this year, he has been contemplating how he might help more kids through Snow Redfern. With his radio broadcasts of Hemingford Bobcats football games, Kevin has teamed up with Eagle Communications (KCOW, Alliance) to offer a Snow Redfern Foundation scholarship that will provide financial assistance to a graduate of the Hemingford High School Class of 2022.

A lifelong Nebraska resident, Kevin highly regards the values and work ethic instilled within our rural communities and embedded within our culture. As a parent, husband, county official and volunteer, Kevin has helped to embody these standards and ideals through all he does, which is a lot!

Unite Nebraska makes it easier to share information between social service providers through a shared technology platform called Unite Us.  Joining the network is free for community-based organizations!

Technology Addresses Social Needs

This community data exchange of health and social service providers is sponsored by CyncHealth and coordinated with Nebraska 2110.  It enables providers to send and receive electronic referrals, address people’s social needs, and improve health across communities.

Community Engagement Manager with Unite Us, Emily Lehmann, has seen the benefit of this platform in her experience working with Child Protective Services and Juvenile Parole.

“So many times I sat in team meetings and court hearings feeling like we had failed children and families”, shared Emily. “Time-and-time again, we asked them to complete a laundry list of items instead of meeting them “where they were at.” Unite Nebraska allows for just that. Families that are already in crisis no longer have to re-tell their story over and over to different organizations while trying to access services”.

Wrapping Families with Services

Emily shared that the responsibility is now on the provider to connect to the family and wrap them in services, creating strong health equity among the underserved, and within rural communities.

“ I couldn’t be more honored to be a part of this groundbreaking opportunity”, shared Emily.

Joining the network is at no cost for community-based organizations and many organizations that are considered part of the safety net, like community health centers, tribal clinics, and mental health centers.

“We see the benefit of community-based organizations collaborating for shared success of children and families and in a world of growing needs there is hope in new technology that can create connections for change”, said Snow-Redfern Foundation Executive Director, Sara Nicholson.

For more information about Unite Us, contact Emily at (308) 231-0017, [email protected] or visit their website at: https://uniteus.com/.