October 27, 2025 • 30 mins
This week’s show featured Child Saving Institute’s Afrah Rasheed and Hannah Olafson discussing what they do for children and families throughout the year, and especially during this Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Then, Nebraska Airborne Association’s Brad Bohnert invited the public to their 2nd Annual Roach March fundraiser for Nebraska Gold Star Mothers.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is Community Matters, a weekly public affairs program to
inform and entertain you with some of the great people, organizations,
and events in and around Omaha. Now here's the host
of the program from news radio eleven ten KFAB. It's
Scott for Heats.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much for being a part of the
program this week. We've got a couple of absolute angels
right here in our community doing amazing work with Omaha's
Child Saving Institute. You'll find the Child Saving Institute online
at Childsaving dot org. We have their family Empowerment case
manager Hannah Olafsen with us. But we're going to start
(00:42):
this conversation with community Outreach specialist Afra Rashid with the
Child Saving Institute and ladies. Thank you so much for
being here. Afra, it's very nice to meet you.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
It's nice for me you too, Scott, thank you so
much for having.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Us, especially since we're talking here in the month of October.
It's domestic violence away in this month. So let's start off.
You're talking about the Child Saving Institute. Who is it
that you are and what is it that you do?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, So, as you all heard, I'm Upra. I am
the community Outreach specialist so I just go out in
the community. I tell everybody about how the awesome work
that we all do, and I talk about our upcoming events,
and that's pretty much it.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Other than fantastic radio programs like this. I mean, you're
not standing on street corners going go to child Saving
dot org. So and what example would you go out
there and talk with the community about this group? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Absolutely, So I go to a lot of community events.
I like to participate in, honestly, anything that's going on.
Sof we have walks or parades, I like to just
kind of hand out our information. I also like to
partner with or I'm attempting to partner with a lot
of folks in our community, a lot of different organizations.
I've been doing a lot of outreach to schools and libraries.
(01:54):
So that's something that and hopefully even more coming up
here in the next year.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So okay, so you're at a community event. Someone says,
child Saving Institute. How what is this all about? What
is it that you guys do? Tell me about the
Child Saving Institute?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Well, my cheeky response would be, I we like to
save the children.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yes, but this is exactly the radio show for cheeky responses, Yes,
so yeah, what form does that take?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yes, So we have twelve programs at our main location
which is on forty fifteen Dodge, and it can span
from We have early childcare centers. We have mental health therapists,
licensed therapist and a licensed nurse practitioner on board to
help children, adolescents and even young adults with their mental health.
And then we have and Hannah will go into this more,
but we have our free community based services as well,
(02:38):
so we help foster families, we help you know, women
who've been through domestic violence. We help children who are
having behavioral difficulties in school. We have and several different programs.
They are called say for kid Squad. They go by
all sorts of different names. And then we also have
crisis response. So we have an emergency shelter residential shelter
(03:01):
for teens who are roughly like twelve to eighteen in age,
but if they just need somewhere to stay for a
short while, for about like thirty to forty five days,
we'll have that. We have an amazing shelter. It has
like sixteen rooms, that has a great kitchen, washer and dryer.
I could go on about it forever but that's another
wonderful thing that we offer as well. And then we
(03:23):
just merged with Children's Square in Council Bluff, so we
will have services there as well. And then we have
our last location is Spelman which is on the College
at Saint Mary's campus, and that is childcare Center.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Well, I think a lot of people are realizing, Yeah,
I've heard of the Child Saving Institute. I can picture
that cute little logo. I didn't realize they did all
of this stuff across multiple sites and campuses and helped
this many people. How does Domestic Violence Awareness Month this
month of October relate to what you do at the
Child Saving Institute?
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Absolutely, and I'm sure Hannah probably could go into it more.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
But you're trying to give the microphone to Hannah. We'll
let you do that in a moment.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yes, for sure, for sure. I guess kind of the
slogan that we have or what we say is obviously
for saving children, we need to help the families as well.
And unfortunately, the domestic violence rates in Omaha itself is
quite high. I believe it's four thousand women seek services,
(04:24):
or at least four thousand survivors seek services justin Douglas
County alone every year, so we have there are a
lot of folks that definitely need some assistance or resources,
and that's something that our Family Empowerment Program offers, is,
you know, support specialists in groups to educate on the
cycles of abuse in the power and control wheel and
(04:44):
in order to empower our families and to create like
a better future for our children.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
We're talking here with the community outreach specialists with the
Child Saving Institute, Afra Rashid here with us. All the
details about what the Child Saving Institute does and who
they are is at Childsaving dot org. And we'll talk
again here in a moment, specifically with Afra about how
if you or someone you know needs help, what exactly
to do and how to have that conversation. But I
(05:12):
want to welcome the fore mentioned Family Empowerment case manager
Hannah Olifson into the conversation. Anna, you work directly in
some instances with these kids, with these families. How is
it that these individuals are brought into the sphere of
what Child Saving Institute does?
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Yeah, thank you and thank you, Offra. I'm not sure
why you were trying to hand off the mic to
me because you were doing wonderful.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, she's good at your job yet the right title.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
She's got the speech down. But yeah, So I'm a
family Support specialist. I've had the honor of working very
closely with both our moms and kiddos in our program.
We receive referrals various different ways. A lot of times
we do get moms who are core ordered at times,
(06:00):
so that can look like a DHS caseworker making a referral,
another family support specialist in the community making that for
our moms, and that just means that they come in
and complete our ten week empowerment program. But also anyone
is welcome to join our program. So moms can are
(06:21):
welcome and invited to complete our online submission form, or
they can call CSI directly and be directed to our
Family Family Empowerment Program call line to get a referral
submitted that way as well.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Okay, so someone calls up and is it something specific
that they're usually calling with or they just say I
need help? What is it you can offer? How does
that conversation go?
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Yeah, so it really depends on the person. So we've
had calls with moms who've come in saying that they've
immediately just left, like on the road, they don't know
where to go, so kind of that crisis intervention, but
with that short of time, it's really hard to get
(07:10):
an intake scheduled, get them officially enrolled in our program,
so that conversation is more likely to happen with our
supervisor who receives the referral, and she might give information
about shelters. We might direct her to another hotline that
could offer her more concise details about different resources, and
(07:32):
we try and offer the most support that we can
in that moment. Like that, we also get referrals coming
in of moms who've been out of their situation for
some time, Like they don't have to be currently going
through domestic violence. It can be post domestic violence. So
sometimes we get moms that are like, I just really
(07:54):
want to see what this group is about. I want
to see what resources you guys have. They can complete
the group and not be involved in any case management,
or they can do case management not the group. We
really try and just tailor it to whatever is going
to best fit mom's needs and the kiddo's needs, so
it's really client survivor centered and we just do our
(08:19):
best to meet them where they are and however they come.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
But listening to those staggering statistics that offer mentioned a
moment ago, like anyone, you're bound by space and finances.
So are you having to turn people away in some
instances or refer them to other groups because it sounds
like there's a lot of need out there.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Yeah, so there absolutely is a lot of need. We
do our best to if I should say, if we
don't have a case manager available at that time, they
go on a wait list for case management. But typically
we do have spots open in our classes so they
can complete an intake and be in the class instead,
(09:00):
get that support in that classroom setting. It just might
be a little bit of a wait to get case
management case management resources like housing assistants, food assistants or
things like that. But of course, if they reach out
and are like, what's a pantry that's open right now,
will try our best to respond to that as immediately
(09:20):
or as quickly as we can.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
So just think about the title that you have here, Hannah,
a Family Empowerment case manager with the Child Saving Institute.
When you're talking with family and friends and they're like, so,
what is it that you do, and you talk to
people and you know, and they say, well, I push
some papers around on a spreadsheet all day and then
I go home. I usually take my work with me
(09:43):
and I don't even know who my boss is. Some
corporate overlord across the country signs my paycheck. They don't
know me. I don't know that you're saving kids with
your job. This is this is impressive work. What does
it mean for you to be a part of this effort?
Speaker 4 (09:59):
Oh gosh, I got chills on my face with all
of that.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah, I thank you.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
That's that's so kind. I tell people that this job
is just so special and there's nothing like it. I
do get a little notional sometimes talking about it, because
it is just so incredibly impactful to work with our
(10:27):
moms and see the growth and change that they implement
because they want to, they want to be safe. They
want to they want to provide safety and security for
their children. They don't nobody enters a domestic violence relationship
wanting those things to happen to them, and so being
(10:49):
able to be that support for them is really special.
I mean, it's just indescribable the impact that these moms
let me have on them or let's see us I
have on them to for them to welcome us into
their home, their lives, to share all of that trauma
(11:12):
with us can be heavy, for sure, but the reward
is worth every every every part of it.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Yeah, it means everything, not just to you and everyone
else the Child Saving Institute, but to these families as well.
I mean, it's one thing for us to hear these
statistics about this many kids or this many families. When
you hear those statistics, you put faces with them. You
know these kids, you know these families, and I can
see the emotion in your eyes as to how much
you care about what you do. Thank you so much
(11:43):
for what you do, Hanna, Thank you and thank you
for being with us here on community matters. That is
Hannah all of Sin, family Empowerment case manager with the
Child Saving Institute. You'll find them online at Childsaving dot org.
You can actually meet them in person at an upcoming
open house AFRAA. Tell me about that event coming up
here in just over a month from now.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Yeah, absolutely, so it'll be really fun. We had just
a really big renovation happen. We have a brand new
mental health center. I was just talking about the shelter earlier.
That's all brand new, super spick and span, and we'll
have like a bunch of new classrooms built. So definitely
come and join us. It is on December twelfth from
(12:25):
four to six pm. It'll be really fun and we
are right off of forty fifth in Dodge. It's open
to anybody whoever wants to come and see it. You
can come and see it.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
You don't have to make a reservation or anything like that. Absolutely,
Now there might be some refreshments.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
There's plans for refreshments.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Yes. The open house for the Child Saving Institute right
there off forty fifth in Dodge, is on Friday, December twelfth,
four to six pm. Details again at Child Saving dot org.
But AFRA, when you hear Hannah and certainly you have
this experience as well, talk about the families that are
being mended, the children whose lives are being saved, the
community that is better off because of what you guys do.
(13:05):
If someone is thinking one of two things, will start
with this one. If they either are someone or know
someone who would benefit from your services, what do they
need to do today?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Absolutely the biggest and probably the most difficult step for
anybody is to get, you know, to seek out help. Yeah,
and so we fortunately have a good amount of resources
in Omaha. If someone is going through a crisis currently,
they can always call the w c A or the
Woman's Center for Advocacy, and then we have the obviously
(13:36):
nine to one one, and then there's also the Domestic
Violence Support hotline. And then if they need continued to
support or they just need someone to lean on during
difficult times, they can always call us at let me
double check our number here, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Let's get that right here. Well, child Saving dot org
is the website.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
The phone number is four two five five three.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Six thousand, four oh two five five three six thousand,
four oh two five five three six thousand or child
Saving dot org. So offer for that person who says, well,
I don't nor do I know anyone who needs all
this assistance, but I'm really touched by what these guys
do at the Child Saving Institute, and I want to
give you a whole lot of money. How can they
(14:20):
do that? Yes?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Absolutely, you can join us on You can join our
website again at child Saving dot org and write on
that homepage. De will sure you can donate even as
little as one dollar. We also that you know usually
have fundraising events coming up, so that's something you can
stay updated on our social media's for. Oh yeah, and
you can absolutely volunteer as well. We're revamping our volunteer
(14:43):
program and we have an amazing coordinator, Amanda. If you
go on our website you can find out more information
about that as well.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Does anyone need to have any particular background or skills
or licensing or anything to volunteer or just call up
if you've got a heart for this mission, they'll find
something to do with you.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yes. Absolutely, we have a lot of great opportunities. You
could work with our shelter youth, you could work with
our little kiddos in our education program, or if you
just want to come and hang out, help with administrative tasks.
You don't need any sort of background.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
And who wouldn't want to do that.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
So if you are working directly with kids, you will
need a background check, but that's pretty standard across yeah,
most organizations.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Right Hannah, Do you want to chime in on that.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Yeah, So we do love to have volunteers like help
with our kids club if they can, or any other
kiddos that do need support. We also have a self
care event coming up for the moms in our program
that we're asking volunteers to help with. That can be
like creating survivor pins for our moms, packing up like
(15:47):
take home gift packages, or helping with the kiddos. We're
trying to set up like a circuit activity for them
of different stations and crafts. So that's one thing we
just assigned to volunteers is please help us with this
craft situation we have going on. So yeah, that's a
way volunteers can help too.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Or, as Afra said, you can donate as little as
one dollar and that would pay half of Hannah's annual salary.
Nonprofit work is rewarding in other ways, ladies. I really
enjoyed this conversation. That is Hannah all ofsen Family Empowerment
case manager and then Afra Rashid, community outreach specialist with
Child Saving Institute. Now, before we get out of here,
(16:28):
I want to make sure that we said everything we
need to hear about the Child Saving Institute, and I
could tell by the look in your face we haven't
offer so I know.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
We asked earlier about if someone suspects that a loved
one is going through domestic violence in any capacity, and
it can come in many forms as verbal abuse, manipulation,
emotional or financial abuse as well. It doesn't always have
to be physical. I think the best thing is just
to be someone who can be of support. You don't
necessarily have to say I'm not going to talk to
(16:57):
you anymore because you're refusing to get support, and it's
a difficult and arduous process for people to get out
of that situation. So just being a pillar of support
and having these resources on hand in case your friend
ever needs it. And then if you want to hear
actually about one of Hannah's clients, I just we put
a blog post up last week. It's titled you Are Worthy,
so it's on our website at child Saving dot work,
(17:20):
and it's just a very beautiful story and it just
really showcases just the dedication and hard work that Hannah
puts into her job and seeing how this client was
able to or is continuing to rebuild her life. It's
a very heartwarming story. So I'd recommend you check it out.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I'm so glad you pointed that out, Afra Hannah. They're
at the Child Saving Institute Childsaving dot org. Thank you
so much for what you're doing. For kids and families
in our community. Thank you so much for telling us
about it on Community Matters. Thank you you're listening to
Community Matters. And now we welcome back to the program
with the Nebraska Airborne Association. Brad Bonner tis here and Brad,
(17:58):
it's good to have you back on the show.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Thank you, Scott, Thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
This is a great event coming up here in about
two weeks time, just outside of Omaha at Camp Ashland.
Tell me about this event, where it is, what it is,
and most importantly why it is.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
So.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
This is the second year that we've hosted this. This
is the gold the twenty twenty five gold Star Road
March for gold Star Mothers of Nebraska.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Now I don't want to gloss over that point because
maybe some people have heard the phrase gold Star mothers,
gold Star families and say, yeah, something military, right, what
is it? This is a very important designation.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Yes, definitely, and I'm glad you ask because the gold
Star mothers, of course, by definition, are an active a
mother of an active duty service member who lost gave
up their life, a son or a daughter who gave
up their life while on active duty. Yeah, so it's
a mother with an obvious tragic loss.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
So this is a march to kind of help out
those families. And there's so many needs that happened after
a situation like that. So what is being done here
through your organization to help these families out?
Speaker 5 (19:08):
So it came to mind of just a way to
help them with their fundraising efforts. To last year, we
were able to give them approximately eighty five hundred dollars
to help their retreat that they had at Mahoney State Park. Now,
the gold Star Mothers of Nebraska, it's an amazing organization here.
(19:29):
You think of the the what they've already given up.
They've given up their sons or daughters for our country.
But they do a lot of service projects, so they
don't focus on raising money for themselves. So that's where
we came in to try and bridge that form so
that way they could host some retreats and some other
stuff for the healing process. But I'd like to come
(19:51):
back and talk a little bit about the gold Star
Mothers themselves and all the things that they do. Barba Escus,
thank you. She is the head of the Nebraska gold
Star Mothers and an amazing woman. Of course, of you know,
she lost her son in Afghanistan. A lot of people
know that last name. I think it was in a
(20:13):
movie here recently. The organization that she helps run, she's
probably embarrassed if I mentioned her name right now on
the air, but they've given over four thousand dollars towards
veteran causes. They do some things for the Omaha Lincoln
Victory Apartments. Those are the veterans of funded apartments for
(20:36):
the food pantry, and they also put on holiday meals
for those Victory apartments. They do quilts of valor for veterans.
I think they've done several hundred of those quilts of
valor over the years. So they're an organization that also
volunteers and gives to veterans' causes, but they don't really
do anything for themselves as far as raising money to
help fund some of the healing events that they're trying
(20:59):
to put on for the other gold Star Mothers around
the state.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Good So that's where your organization comes in. Let's talk
here as we're discussing this with Brad Bonnard, Nebraska Airborne Association.
Tell me about this group.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
So primarily the Nebraska Airborne Associates made up of paratroopers
that reside in Nebraska and all. Honestly, we don't check
where you're live in. If you're over an eye on
you want to join us, that's fine too. I would
say the core of our organization consists of former members
of the Nebraska Army National Guard. Of course, the Nebraska
Army Guard has had airborne units over the last forty years,
(21:36):
but we also have some paratroopers that came off active
duty served even over in one of the other branches
in the Marine Corps, the Navy and Special Operations some
of their airborne. So the organization any service member who
is on airborne status is welcome to join our organization.
(21:56):
The website is Neairborne dot org, n E Airborne AI
r b O r n E dot org.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
And that's also the website you can go to to
learn more about this upcoming event, which again is on
November ninth, and it's starting early and you can put
in as much work during this event as you want to.
It's the Nebraska Airborne Association second annual Road March, benefiting
as Brad's been talking about here, Nebraska gold Star Families.
(22:26):
So tell me about the event itself.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
The Road March so it's just a real scenic course
around Camp Ashland, Nebraska course. A lot of folks maybe
haven't been on that. It is a military installation, so
you need an I need card to come to get in,
but we have that process taking care of. We have
people at the gate, so if you're non military and
you want to come in, that's not a problem anyway.
It's a beautiful little area down along the Platte River.
(22:50):
We've got a real flat six mile course that goes around.
It was really beautiful last year. Beautiful little area along
the Platte River. And we're asking our Violet, we really
don't care how far you march, but we're just one
or two laps. So one lap be six miles or
a little bit more, and second lap would be, of
course twelve miles. I can do addition today, but I.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Know I'm impressed. Yes, exactly, not our strong student radio, but.
Speaker 5 (23:14):
Nora in paratroopers.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
But so.
Speaker 5 (23:20):
It kicks off at eight in the morning. We're asking
everyone to get out and get registered at seven in
the morning or to I'm sorry, show up at seven
seven thirty in the morning.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
So the marg itself, is it a race, is it
timed are there prizes if you if you go sprinting around?
Is this six mile track or is it just to
be out there and go for a good walk and
be out here to benefit a good cause.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
Yep, No, it's not a race. It's just go at
your own pace. We don't care what if you're carrying
a pack on your back or if you're not. Of course,
the term road march is a little bit deceiving. I
think the modern term is more rock march. But you know,
in the Middleitary we generally called them a road march.
This one is on a road, it's loose gravel. But yeah,
(24:07):
it's not a race. Just go at your own pace.
Of course, we'll have water stations out there and some
folks out making sure everyone knows the route. It's really
last year, the weather was fantastic. It was a real
beautiful day that everyone enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
So yeah, I think a military road march. I think
we have all of our gear on and it's usually
the worst weather conditions possible. Hopefully that won't be the case.
A nice Chris morning to do this here in Nebraska
in November. But and then you've got some sort of instructor,
you know, yelling insults about your mom as you're going
on the We're not going to make it that real, right.
(24:45):
I imagine some people will probably put, as you said,
some gear on to be a part of this, But
you don't have to write exactly. Yeah, So as strenuous
as you want to make it exactly.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
You know, if you show up with five people, I
want to race and you guys want to have a race,
go in.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
You know, we're just out there to facilitate.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Okay, good, that's the That's November ninth, that's Sunday.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Morning, Sunday morning before, two days before Veterans Day. Sure,
our goal is to kind of have this over the
Veterans Day weekends as we can hopefully continue this event
through the years.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
And if someone says, I really love what you're doing
for the gold Star Mothers and I want to help
with this, but shoot them out of town that weekend,
I can't do it. There's a way to help this
organization without actually being at the event, right.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. You just go on
our website ne Airborne AI R B O r n
E dot org and when you open up the home
page right there, it says show your support for the
twenty twenty five charity Road March benefiting Nebraska gold Star Families.
And if you go into that page, you it says
click here, so you click here and then you it
(25:56):
gives you an opportunity either enter the road March or
to just donate if you'd prefer to donate. And we
do have a lot of people that already have donated,
and we have some corporate sponsors. So yeah, as you
scroll down on that page, you'll see those options for you.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Really easy to do at Nairborne dot org. It is
one hundred percent of the donations to the Nebraska gold
Star Mothers. They are a one hundred percent tax exempt organization,
as is the Nebraska Airborne Association. Again ne is in
Nebraska Airborne a I R B O R N E
(26:34):
n E Airborne dot org. For the details about the
second annual Road March benefiting Nebraska gold Star Families coming
up here in just a couple of weeks on Sunday,
November ninth, at cap Ashland, which, as Brad pointed out,
not someplace you can just wander onto. It is a
military installation, so this is a special time to be
(26:56):
a part of this and I'm sure that those at
Camp Ashland and appreciate having the civilians come in here
and get a chance to show off what they do
and who they are there as well. I yes, how
many staff members active duty will be able to be
a part of this.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
So we reach out to some of the Nebraska Army
National Guard organizations and some Junior ROTC organizations and even
some of the college ROTC and we invite them. And
last year we had a good showing from the Omaha
Central Junior ROTC and we had some active duty folks,
some of them weren't in uniform. And with the Army
(27:32):
Guard folks, some different units around the states sometimes will
send some participants.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
So anything going on before or after the road march
for people to participate in.
Speaker 5 (27:43):
So after the road March, we do have a little
bit of a luncheon and the gold Star Mothers we
like to recognize them and they also like to take
the opportunity to give out quilts of valor, and so
that'll be immediately following the road March. Last year kicked
off around eleven o'clock. Of course, we trying to raise
some additional funds by having a raffle and some other things.
(28:07):
So that's a lot of fun to stick around. You
don't have to stick around for that, but you're certainly
welcome to a real nice facility out there at Camp Ashland.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yeah, and how long does it take a group of
people of various ages, demographics and physical abilities to walk
six miles?
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Six miles? Last year it seemed like the core group
made the lap in an hour and a half.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Wow. Yeah, well that's impressive.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
Yeah, it's I could be mistaken, of course it maybe
it was two hours, but that's a ballpark. We wrapped
it up and this year's course is just a little
bit longer than last year. We changed the route to
go down around the southeastern part of the post, so
if some of the listeners were out there last were
with us last year, they'll notice that the change this year.
(28:54):
It's something that we really enjoy doing at as an organization,
and the gold Star Mothers are amazing. They're all out
there participating, wanting to get their hands dirty and get
involved in all the volunteer activities need to go on.
And this year, I'd like to point out that the
gold Star Mothers are going to take the funds and
they're going to have a retreat again. The focus of
(29:14):
this year's retreat, they're trying to reach out to people
in the western part of the state that they feel
maybe go unnoticed a little bit. So they're going to
put on a retreat with the focus of reaching out
to our folks in central and western Nebraska.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Details online at Nairborne dot org for the Nebraska Airborne Association.
Brad Bonnard, thank you so much for what you're doing
for gold Star Mothers. Thanks for telling us about it
on Community Matters.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
Thank you, Scott.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
This has been Community Matters, a weekly public affairs special
on Cat one O three Omaha's Greatest Hits ninety nine
point nine KGr News Radio, eleven ten KFAB, Country's Greatest
Hits ninety three three The Wolf, and ninety six to
one Kiss FM. Thank you so much for listening, and
enjoy the rest of your day.
This is Community Matters, a weekly public affairs program to
inform and entertain you with some of the great people, organizations,
and events in and around Omaha. Now here's the host
of the program from news radio eleven ten KFAB. It's
Scott for Heats.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much for being a part of the
program this week. We've got a couple of absolute angels
right here in our community doing amazing work with Omaha's
Child Saving Institute. You'll find the Child Saving Institute online
at Childsaving dot org. We have their family Empowerment case
manager Hannah Olafsen with us. But we're going to start
(00:42):
this conversation with community Outreach specialist Afra Rashid with the
Child Saving Institute and ladies. Thank you so much for
being here. Afra, it's very nice to meet you.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
It's nice for me you too, Scott, thank you so
much for having.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Us, especially since we're talking here in the month of October.
It's domestic violence away in this month. So let's start off.
You're talking about the Child Saving Institute. Who is it
that you are and what is it that you do?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, So, as you all heard, I'm Upra. I am
the community Outreach specialist so I just go out in
the community. I tell everybody about how the awesome work
that we all do, and I talk about our upcoming events,
and that's pretty much it.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Other than fantastic radio programs like this. I mean, you're
not standing on street corners going go to child Saving
dot org. So and what example would you go out
there and talk with the community about this group? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Absolutely, So I go to a lot of community events.
I like to participate in, honestly, anything that's going on.
Sof we have walks or parades, I like to just
kind of hand out our information. I also like to
partner with or I'm attempting to partner with a lot
of folks in our community, a lot of different organizations.
I've been doing a lot of outreach to schools and libraries.
(01:54):
So that's something that and hopefully even more coming up
here in the next year.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So okay, so you're at a community event. Someone says,
child Saving Institute. How what is this all about? What
is it that you guys do? Tell me about the
Child Saving Institute?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Well, my cheeky response would be, I we like to
save the children.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yes, but this is exactly the radio show for cheeky responses, Yes,
so yeah, what form does that take?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yes, So we have twelve programs at our main location
which is on forty fifteen Dodge, and it can span
from We have early childcare centers. We have mental health therapists,
licensed therapist and a licensed nurse practitioner on board to
help children, adolescents and even young adults with their mental health.
And then we have and Hannah will go into this more,
but we have our free community based services as well,
(02:38):
so we help foster families, we help you know, women
who've been through domestic violence. We help children who are
having behavioral difficulties in school. We have and several different programs.
They are called say for kid Squad. They go by
all sorts of different names. And then we also have
crisis response. So we have an emergency shelter residential shelter
(03:01):
for teens who are roughly like twelve to eighteen in age,
but if they just need somewhere to stay for a
short while, for about like thirty to forty five days,
we'll have that. We have an amazing shelter. It has
like sixteen rooms, that has a great kitchen, washer and dryer.
I could go on about it forever but that's another
wonderful thing that we offer as well. And then we
(03:23):
just merged with Children's Square in Council Bluff, so we
will have services there as well. And then we have
our last location is Spelman which is on the College
at Saint Mary's campus, and that is childcare Center.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Well, I think a lot of people are realizing, Yeah,
I've heard of the Child Saving Institute. I can picture
that cute little logo. I didn't realize they did all
of this stuff across multiple sites and campuses and helped
this many people. How does Domestic Violence Awareness Month this
month of October relate to what you do at the
Child Saving Institute?
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Absolutely, and I'm sure Hannah probably could go into it more.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
But you're trying to give the microphone to Hannah. We'll
let you do that in a moment.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yes, for sure, for sure. I guess kind of the
slogan that we have or what we say is obviously
for saving children, we need to help the families as well.
And unfortunately, the domestic violence rates in Omaha itself is
quite high. I believe it's four thousand women seek services,
(04:24):
or at least four thousand survivors seek services justin Douglas
County alone every year, so we have there are a
lot of folks that definitely need some assistance or resources,
and that's something that our Family Empowerment Program offers, is,
you know, support specialists in groups to educate on the
cycles of abuse in the power and control wheel and
(04:44):
in order to empower our families and to create like
a better future for our children.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
We're talking here with the community outreach specialists with the
Child Saving Institute, Afra Rashid here with us. All the
details about what the Child Saving Institute does and who
they are is at Childsaving dot org. And we'll talk
again here in a moment, specifically with Afra about how
if you or someone you know needs help, what exactly
to do and how to have that conversation. But I
(05:12):
want to welcome the fore mentioned Family Empowerment case manager
Hannah Olifson into the conversation. Anna, you work directly in
some instances with these kids, with these families. How is
it that these individuals are brought into the sphere of
what Child Saving Institute does?
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Yeah, thank you and thank you, Offra. I'm not sure
why you were trying to hand off the mic to
me because you were doing wonderful.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, she's good at your job yet the right title.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
She's got the speech down. But yeah, So I'm a
family Support specialist. I've had the honor of working very
closely with both our moms and kiddos in our program.
We receive referrals various different ways. A lot of times
we do get moms who are core ordered at times,
(06:00):
so that can look like a DHS caseworker making a referral,
another family support specialist in the community making that for
our moms, and that just means that they come in
and complete our ten week empowerment program. But also anyone
is welcome to join our program. So moms can are
(06:21):
welcome and invited to complete our online submission form, or
they can call CSI directly and be directed to our
Family Family Empowerment Program call line to get a referral
submitted that way as well.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Okay, so someone calls up and is it something specific
that they're usually calling with or they just say I
need help? What is it you can offer? How does
that conversation go?
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Yeah, so it really depends on the person. So we've
had calls with moms who've come in saying that they've
immediately just left, like on the road, they don't know
where to go, so kind of that crisis intervention, but
with that short of time, it's really hard to get
(07:10):
an intake scheduled, get them officially enrolled in our program,
so that conversation is more likely to happen with our
supervisor who receives the referral, and she might give information
about shelters. We might direct her to another hotline that
could offer her more concise details about different resources, and
(07:32):
we try and offer the most support that we can
in that moment. Like that, we also get referrals coming
in of moms who've been out of their situation for
some time, Like they don't have to be currently going
through domestic violence. It can be post domestic violence. So
sometimes we get moms that are like, I just really
(07:54):
want to see what this group is about. I want
to see what resources you guys have. They can complete
the group and not be involved in any case management,
or they can do case management not the group. We
really try and just tailor it to whatever is going
to best fit mom's needs and the kiddo's needs, so
it's really client survivor centered and we just do our
(08:19):
best to meet them where they are and however they come.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
But listening to those staggering statistics that offer mentioned a
moment ago, like anyone, you're bound by space and finances.
So are you having to turn people away in some
instances or refer them to other groups because it sounds
like there's a lot of need out there.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Yeah, so there absolutely is a lot of need. We
do our best to if I should say, if we
don't have a case manager available at that time, they
go on a wait list for case management. But typically
we do have spots open in our classes so they
can complete an intake and be in the class instead,
(09:00):
get that support in that classroom setting. It just might
be a little bit of a wait to get case
management case management resources like housing assistants, food assistants or
things like that. But of course, if they reach out
and are like, what's a pantry that's open right now,
will try our best to respond to that as immediately
(09:20):
or as quickly as we can.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
So just think about the title that you have here, Hannah,
a Family Empowerment case manager with the Child Saving Institute.
When you're talking with family and friends and they're like, so,
what is it that you do, and you talk to
people and you know, and they say, well, I push
some papers around on a spreadsheet all day and then
I go home. I usually take my work with me
(09:43):
and I don't even know who my boss is. Some
corporate overlord across the country signs my paycheck. They don't
know me. I don't know that you're saving kids with
your job. This is this is impressive work. What does
it mean for you to be a part of this effort?
Speaker 4 (09:59):
Oh gosh, I got chills on my face with all
of that.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah, I thank you.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
That's that's so kind. I tell people that this job
is just so special and there's nothing like it. I
do get a little notional sometimes talking about it, because
it is just so incredibly impactful to work with our
(10:27):
moms and see the growth and change that they implement
because they want to, they want to be safe. They
want to they want to provide safety and security for
their children. They don't nobody enters a domestic violence relationship
wanting those things to happen to them, and so being
(10:49):
able to be that support for them is really special.
I mean, it's just indescribable the impact that these moms
let me have on them or let's see us I
have on them to for them to welcome us into
their home, their lives, to share all of that trauma
(11:12):
with us can be heavy, for sure, but the reward
is worth every every every part of it.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Yeah, it means everything, not just to you and everyone
else the Child Saving Institute, but to these families as well.
I mean, it's one thing for us to hear these
statistics about this many kids or this many families. When
you hear those statistics, you put faces with them. You
know these kids, you know these families, and I can
see the emotion in your eyes as to how much
you care about what you do. Thank you so much
(11:43):
for what you do, Hanna, Thank you and thank you
for being with us here on community matters. That is
Hannah all of Sin, family Empowerment case manager with the
Child Saving Institute. You'll find them online at Childsaving dot org.
You can actually meet them in person at an upcoming
open house AFRAA. Tell me about that event coming up
here in just over a month from now.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Yeah, absolutely, so it'll be really fun. We had just
a really big renovation happen. We have a brand new
mental health center. I was just talking about the shelter earlier.
That's all brand new, super spick and span, and we'll
have like a bunch of new classrooms built. So definitely
come and join us. It is on December twelfth from
(12:25):
four to six pm. It'll be really fun and we
are right off of forty fifth in Dodge. It's open
to anybody whoever wants to come and see it. You
can come and see it.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
You don't have to make a reservation or anything like that. Absolutely,
Now there might be some refreshments.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
There's plans for refreshments.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Yes. The open house for the Child Saving Institute right
there off forty fifth in Dodge, is on Friday, December twelfth,
four to six pm. Details again at Child Saving dot org.
But AFRA, when you hear Hannah and certainly you have
this experience as well, talk about the families that are
being mended, the children whose lives are being saved, the
community that is better off because of what you guys do.
(13:05):
If someone is thinking one of two things, will start
with this one. If they either are someone or know
someone who would benefit from your services, what do they
need to do today?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Absolutely the biggest and probably the most difficult step for
anybody is to get, you know, to seek out help. Yeah,
and so we fortunately have a good amount of resources
in Omaha. If someone is going through a crisis currently,
they can always call the w c A or the
Woman's Center for Advocacy, and then we have the obviously
(13:36):
nine to one one, and then there's also the Domestic
Violence Support hotline. And then if they need continued to
support or they just need someone to lean on during
difficult times, they can always call us at let me
double check our number here, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Let's get that right here. Well, child Saving dot org
is the website.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
The phone number is four two five five three.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Six thousand, four oh two five five three six thousand,
four oh two five five three six thousand or child
Saving dot org. So offer for that person who says, well,
I don't nor do I know anyone who needs all
this assistance, but I'm really touched by what these guys
do at the Child Saving Institute, and I want to
give you a whole lot of money. How can they
(14:20):
do that? Yes?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Absolutely, you can join us on You can join our
website again at child Saving dot org and write on
that homepage. De will sure you can donate even as
little as one dollar. We also that you know usually
have fundraising events coming up, so that's something you can
stay updated on our social media's for. Oh yeah, and
you can absolutely volunteer as well. We're revamping our volunteer
(14:43):
program and we have an amazing coordinator, Amanda. If you
go on our website you can find out more information
about that as well.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Does anyone need to have any particular background or skills
or licensing or anything to volunteer or just call up
if you've got a heart for this mission, they'll find
something to do with you.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yes. Absolutely, we have a lot of great opportunities. You
could work with our shelter youth, you could work with
our little kiddos in our education program, or if you
just want to come and hang out, help with administrative tasks.
You don't need any sort of background.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
And who wouldn't want to do that.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
So if you are working directly with kids, you will
need a background check, but that's pretty standard across yeah,
most organizations.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Right Hannah, Do you want to chime in on that.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Yeah, So we do love to have volunteers like help
with our kids club if they can, or any other
kiddos that do need support. We also have a self
care event coming up for the moms in our program
that we're asking volunteers to help with. That can be
like creating survivor pins for our moms, packing up like
(15:47):
take home gift packages, or helping with the kiddos. We're
trying to set up like a circuit activity for them
of different stations and crafts. So that's one thing we
just assigned to volunteers is please help us with this
craft situation we have going on. So yeah, that's a
way volunteers can help too.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Or, as Afra said, you can donate as little as
one dollar and that would pay half of Hannah's annual salary.
Nonprofit work is rewarding in other ways, ladies. I really
enjoyed this conversation. That is Hannah all ofsen Family Empowerment
case manager and then Afra Rashid, community outreach specialist with
Child Saving Institute. Now, before we get out of here,
(16:28):
I want to make sure that we said everything we
need to hear about the Child Saving Institute, and I
could tell by the look in your face we haven't
offer so I know.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
We asked earlier about if someone suspects that a loved
one is going through domestic violence in any capacity, and
it can come in many forms as verbal abuse, manipulation,
emotional or financial abuse as well. It doesn't always have
to be physical. I think the best thing is just
to be someone who can be of support. You don't
necessarily have to say I'm not going to talk to
(16:57):
you anymore because you're refusing to get support, and it's
a difficult and arduous process for people to get out
of that situation. So just being a pillar of support
and having these resources on hand in case your friend
ever needs it. And then if you want to hear
actually about one of Hannah's clients, I just we put
a blog post up last week. It's titled you Are Worthy,
so it's on our website at child Saving dot work,
(17:20):
and it's just a very beautiful story and it just
really showcases just the dedication and hard work that Hannah
puts into her job and seeing how this client was
able to or is continuing to rebuild her life. It's
a very heartwarming story. So I'd recommend you check it out.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I'm so glad you pointed that out, Afra Hannah. They're
at the Child Saving Institute Childsaving dot org. Thank you
so much for what you're doing. For kids and families
in our community. Thank you so much for telling us
about it on Community Matters. Thank you you're listening to
Community Matters. And now we welcome back to the program
with the Nebraska Airborne Association. Brad Bonner tis here and Brad,
(17:58):
it's good to have you back on the show.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Thank you, Scott, Thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
This is a great event coming up here in about
two weeks time, just outside of Omaha at Camp Ashland.
Tell me about this event, where it is, what it is,
and most importantly why it is.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
So.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
This is the second year that we've hosted this. This
is the gold the twenty twenty five gold Star Road
March for gold Star Mothers of Nebraska.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Now I don't want to gloss over that point because
maybe some people have heard the phrase gold Star mothers,
gold Star families and say, yeah, something military, right, what
is it? This is a very important designation.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Yes, definitely, and I'm glad you ask because the gold
Star mothers, of course, by definition, are an active a
mother of an active duty service member who lost gave
up their life, a son or a daughter who gave
up their life while on active duty. Yeah, so it's
a mother with an obvious tragic loss.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
So this is a march to kind of help out
those families. And there's so many needs that happened after
a situation like that. So what is being done here
through your organization to help these families out?
Speaker 5 (19:08):
So it came to mind of just a way to
help them with their fundraising efforts. To last year, we
were able to give them approximately eighty five hundred dollars
to help their retreat that they had at Mahoney State Park. Now,
the gold Star Mothers of Nebraska, it's an amazing organization here.
(19:29):
You think of the the what they've already given up.
They've given up their sons or daughters for our country.
But they do a lot of service projects, so they
don't focus on raising money for themselves. So that's where
we came in to try and bridge that form so
that way they could host some retreats and some other
stuff for the healing process. But I'd like to come
(19:51):
back and talk a little bit about the gold Star
Mothers themselves and all the things that they do. Barba Escus,
thank you. She is the head of the Nebraska gold
Star Mothers and an amazing woman. Of course, of you know,
she lost her son in Afghanistan. A lot of people
know that last name. I think it was in a
(20:13):
movie here recently. The organization that she helps run, she's
probably embarrassed if I mentioned her name right now on
the air, but they've given over four thousand dollars towards
veteran causes. They do some things for the Omaha Lincoln
Victory Apartments. Those are the veterans of funded apartments for
(20:36):
the food pantry, and they also put on holiday meals
for those Victory apartments. They do quilts of valor for veterans.
I think they've done several hundred of those quilts of
valor over the years. So they're an organization that also
volunteers and gives to veterans' causes, but they don't really
do anything for themselves as far as raising money to
help fund some of the healing events that they're trying
(20:59):
to put on for the other gold Star Mothers around
the state.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Good So that's where your organization comes in. Let's talk
here as we're discussing this with Brad Bonnard, Nebraska Airborne Association.
Tell me about this group.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
So primarily the Nebraska Airborne Associates made up of paratroopers
that reside in Nebraska and all. Honestly, we don't check
where you're live in. If you're over an eye on
you want to join us, that's fine too. I would
say the core of our organization consists of former members
of the Nebraska Army National Guard. Of course, the Nebraska
Army Guard has had airborne units over the last forty years,
(21:36):
but we also have some paratroopers that came off active
duty served even over in one of the other branches
in the Marine Corps, the Navy and Special Operations some
of their airborne. So the organization any service member who
is on airborne status is welcome to join our organization.
(21:56):
The website is Neairborne dot org, n E Airborne AI
r b O r n E dot org.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
And that's also the website you can go to to
learn more about this upcoming event, which again is on
November ninth, and it's starting early and you can put
in as much work during this event as you want to.
It's the Nebraska Airborne Association second annual Road March, benefiting
as Brad's been talking about here, Nebraska gold Star Families.
(22:26):
So tell me about the event itself.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
The Road March so it's just a real scenic course
around Camp Ashland, Nebraska course. A lot of folks maybe
haven't been on that. It is a military installation, so
you need an I need card to come to get in,
but we have that process taking care of. We have
people at the gate, so if you're non military and
you want to come in, that's not a problem anyway.
It's a beautiful little area down along the Platte River.
(22:50):
We've got a real flat six mile course that goes around.
It was really beautiful last year. Beautiful little area along
the Platte River. And we're asking our Violet, we really
don't care how far you march, but we're just one
or two laps. So one lap be six miles or
a little bit more, and second lap would be, of
course twelve miles. I can do addition today, but I.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Know I'm impressed. Yes, exactly, not our strong student radio, but.
Speaker 5 (23:14):
Nora in paratroopers.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
But so.
Speaker 5 (23:20):
It kicks off at eight in the morning. We're asking
everyone to get out and get registered at seven in
the morning or to I'm sorry, show up at seven
seven thirty in the morning.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
So the marg itself, is it a race, is it
timed are there prizes if you if you go sprinting around?
Is this six mile track or is it just to
be out there and go for a good walk and
be out here to benefit a good cause.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
Yep, No, it's not a race. It's just go at
your own pace. We don't care what if you're carrying
a pack on your back or if you're not. Of course,
the term road march is a little bit deceiving. I
think the modern term is more rock march. But you know,
in the Middleitary we generally called them a road march.
This one is on a road, it's loose gravel. But yeah,
(24:07):
it's not a race. Just go at your own pace.
Of course, we'll have water stations out there and some
folks out making sure everyone knows the route. It's really
last year, the weather was fantastic. It was a real
beautiful day that everyone enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
So yeah, I think a military road march. I think
we have all of our gear on and it's usually
the worst weather conditions possible. Hopefully that won't be the case.
A nice Chris morning to do this here in Nebraska
in November. But and then you've got some sort of instructor,
you know, yelling insults about your mom as you're going
on the We're not going to make it that real, right.
(24:45):
I imagine some people will probably put, as you said,
some gear on to be a part of this, But
you don't have to write exactly. Yeah, So as strenuous
as you want to make it exactly.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
You know, if you show up with five people, I
want to race and you guys want to have a race,
go in.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
You know, we're just out there to facilitate.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Okay, good, that's the That's November ninth, that's Sunday.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Morning, Sunday morning before, two days before Veterans Day. Sure,
our goal is to kind of have this over the
Veterans Day weekends as we can hopefully continue this event
through the years.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
And if someone says, I really love what you're doing
for the gold Star Mothers and I want to help
with this, but shoot them out of town that weekend,
I can't do it. There's a way to help this
organization without actually being at the event, right.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. You just go on
our website ne Airborne AI R B O r n
E dot org and when you open up the home
page right there, it says show your support for the
twenty twenty five charity Road March benefiting Nebraska gold Star Families.
And if you go into that page, you it says
click here, so you click here and then you it
(25:56):
gives you an opportunity either enter the road March or
to just donate if you'd prefer to donate. And we
do have a lot of people that already have donated,
and we have some corporate sponsors. So yeah, as you
scroll down on that page, you'll see those options for you.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Really easy to do at Nairborne dot org. It is
one hundred percent of the donations to the Nebraska gold
Star Mothers. They are a one hundred percent tax exempt organization,
as is the Nebraska Airborne Association. Again ne is in
Nebraska Airborne a I R B O R N E
(26:34):
n E Airborne dot org. For the details about the
second annual Road March benefiting Nebraska gold Star Families coming
up here in just a couple of weeks on Sunday,
November ninth, at cap Ashland, which, as Brad pointed out,
not someplace you can just wander onto. It is a
military installation, so this is a special time to be
(26:56):
a part of this and I'm sure that those at
Camp Ashland and appreciate having the civilians come in here
and get a chance to show off what they do
and who they are there as well. I yes, how
many staff members active duty will be able to be
a part of this.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
So we reach out to some of the Nebraska Army
National Guard organizations and some Junior ROTC organizations and even
some of the college ROTC and we invite them. And
last year we had a good showing from the Omaha
Central Junior ROTC and we had some active duty folks,
some of them weren't in uniform. And with the Army
(27:32):
Guard folks, some different units around the states sometimes will
send some participants.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
So anything going on before or after the road march
for people to participate in.
Speaker 5 (27:43):
So after the road March, we do have a little
bit of a luncheon and the gold Star Mothers we
like to recognize them and they also like to take
the opportunity to give out quilts of valor, and so
that'll be immediately following the road March. Last year kicked
off around eleven o'clock. Of course, we trying to raise
some additional funds by having a raffle and some other things.
(28:07):
So that's a lot of fun to stick around. You
don't have to stick around for that, but you're certainly
welcome to a real nice facility out there at Camp Ashland.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Yeah, and how long does it take a group of
people of various ages, demographics and physical abilities to walk
six miles?
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Six miles? Last year it seemed like the core group
made the lap in an hour and a half.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Wow. Yeah, well that's impressive.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
Yeah, it's I could be mistaken, of course it maybe
it was two hours, but that's a ballpark. We wrapped
it up and this year's course is just a little
bit longer than last year. We changed the route to
go down around the southeastern part of the post, so
if some of the listeners were out there last were
with us last year, they'll notice that the change this year.
(28:54):
It's something that we really enjoy doing at as an organization,
and the gold Star Mothers are amazing. They're all out
there participating, wanting to get their hands dirty and get
involved in all the volunteer activities need to go on.
And this year, I'd like to point out that the
gold Star Mothers are going to take the funds and
they're going to have a retreat again. The focus of
(29:14):
this year's retreat, they're trying to reach out to people
in the western part of the state that they feel
maybe go unnoticed a little bit. So they're going to
put on a retreat with the focus of reaching out
to our folks in central and western Nebraska.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Details online at Nairborne dot org for the Nebraska Airborne Association.
Brad Bonnard, thank you so much for what you're doing
for gold Star Mothers. Thanks for telling us about it
on Community Matters.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
Thank you, Scott.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
This has been Community Matters, a weekly public affairs special
on Cat one O three Omaha's Greatest Hits ninety nine
point nine KGr News Radio, eleven ten KFAB, Country's Greatest
Hits ninety three three The Wolf, and ninety six to
one Kiss FM. Thank you so much for listening, and
enjoy the rest of your day.
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