TD Ameritrade Helps Partnership Students Celebrate Fall

Thanks to a generous sponsorship from TD Ameritrade employees, a group of 17 sixth-grade students in The Partnership For Our Kids mentoring program were able enjoy a cornucopia of autumn activities at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, Monday, October 25th.

“My favorite part was the haunted house,” said Daniela, one of the students. “It was fun even though it wasn’t very haunted.” Along with spooky ruins, students explored a large corn maze, watched pumpkins being fired from a large cannon, jumped on inflatable ‘pillows’ and fed llamas, goats and camels. Four TD Ameritrade employees also joined the fall fun, assisting program staff members as additional chaperones for outing. “It was fun to hear the volunteers interact with the students,” Partnership Development Director Nicole Everingham said. “I also think we broke a few eardrums with the haunted house and the screaming,” she added. At the end of the evening, students roasted hot dogs over a campfire and ate s’mores, many of them for the first time.



More than 95% of the over 500 students in the Partnership’s mentoring program qualify for free and reduced lunch, an indicator that places these students near or below the federal poverty line. Students below the poverty line are six times more likely to drop out of school than their peers. The dropout rate in the Omaha Public School district is currently above 30%. By taking a targeted approach focusing on life skills, career exploration, graduation and college access, the mentoring program has worked with students for over 20 years, with more than 85% of students graduation and more than 90% of graduates going on to college or trade school.

The Partnership For Our kids is currently looking for 90 new mentors to work with teams of four students in a classroom setting twice a month between 3pm-5pm. Each meeting is facilitated by two staff members who plan lessons, provide student snacks and arrange student transportation. Other volunteers and their small groups are also present in the meetings. For more information on volunteering, visit www.thepartnershipforourkids.org.

Have You Become A Fan?

Have you become a Facebook fan of The Partnership For Our Kids yet? We are so excited to have more than 200 Facebook fans and we want to keep the momentum going. To make things easier for our fans, beginning December 1, 2010, we will officially dissolve our individual program fan pages for All Our Kids and Winners Circle and will begin exclusively sharing all updates through our Partnership For Our Kids fan page.

If you haven’t taken a minute to ‘like’ us yet, now is your chance! Visit: www.facebook.com/PartnershipForOurKids and start receiving instant news and events updates. We are constantly posting student stories, pictures and videos posts so that you can be the first to know what we are up to. Fan page friends also receive notices of upcoming training opportunities, community events and much more. Join us today!

Dr. Chambers, Ak-Sar-Ben Court Difference-Maker!

Congratulations to The Partnership For Our Kids Chairman of the Board, Dr. Ward Chambers for his recent induction into the Ak-Sar-Ben Court of Honor! Dr. Chambers was selected by the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation and the Women’s Ball Committee as one of three 2010 Ak-Sar-Ben Court of Honor Difference-Makers. Chambers was recognized for his lifetime achievements in the area of professions.

Known and respected for his exceptional work in cardiology, it might be surprising to learn that Chambers’ first career path was not medicine. His initial degree was in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri, Columbia and he worked for Collins Radio for a year before accepting a position as a physiology research assistant at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Chambers went on to earn his medical degree from UNMC , where he also did his internal residency. He then received his cardiology training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and went on to practice cardiology at Bishop Clarkson Hospital and UNMC.

For the past eight years, Chambers has been spending much of his time in Afghanistan, where he is working to improve health care and medical training in the country’s two most premier medical schools; Kabul University Medical Center and Afghan National Army Medical Center.

In addition to his international work, Chambers also serves in a variety of local leadership positions including UNMC’s director of community outreach and multicultural affairs, active member of the Williams Prepared Place and Iowa Western Community College Foundation boards of directors and of course as the chairman of The Partnership For Our Kids board of directors.

Thank you Dr. Chambers for your service and dedication to your profession and for the difference you make in our community!

To read more about all of the 2010 Ak-Sar-Ben Court of Honor Difference-Makers, click here.

Get To Know Me – Movie and Lunch Event for Young Professionals

Attention Young Professionals!

Looking for a great way to spend your lunch hour? Join The Partnership For Our Kids and Film Streams on Wednesday, November 17th, from 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Ruth Sokolof Theater, 1340 Mike Fahey Street (just around the corner from the new downtown ballpark).

Enjoy a free lunch and a short biographical film, featuring a day in the lives of two Partnership For Our Kids students. Guests will also have an opportunity to preview upcoming Film Streams trailers and learn more about volunteering with The Partnership For Our Kids.

All attendees must pre-register! Register online here email us at mentor@thepartnershipforourkids.org or call 402.930.3095.

Make it a group outing! Invite your friends to attend by sharing our event on Facebook.

Omaha, A City That Cares!

With hundreds of non-profit organizations that are serving the local community and working to make the quality of life better for its citizens, it is no exaggeration to say that Omaha is a city that cares. It’s also no secret that it is the city’s volunteers that keep these compassionate service agencies up and running. What might be surprising to learn is that Omaha’s volunteers are as diverse in age, background and talents as the community in which they live.

This fall, Mutual of Omaha employees stepped outside their cubicles and teamed up with students of The Partnership For Our Kids as part of Mutual of Omaha’s Month of Caring initiative. "Corporate citizenship and volunteerism have great emphasis in Mutual's culture. We hope through this effort, employees will realize the win-win experience of volunteerism and remain an active volunteer in their communities," said Christine Johnson, president of the Mutual of Omaha Foundation.

Together, Partnership students and Mutual of Omaha volunteers worked to assemble care packages for local counseling and support agency, Heartland Family Service Children’s Emergency Shelter. This service project not only gave Mutual of Omaha volunteers an opportunity to help their community in a hands-on way, but it also gave them a chance to see that serving the community is something that is taken seriously by even Omaha’s youngest citizens.

For Mutual of Omaha volunteer, Aaron, participating in the service project with the Partnership students was an opportunity to gain a new perspective. “As adults we get caught up in our daily lives and tend to forget some of the things that are important,” he said.
Currently, The Partnership For Our Kids is still in need of 130 volunteers to serve as mentors and Goal Buddies. If you would like to find out how you can help, visit http://www.thepartnershipforourkids.org/volunteer.shtml or call 402-930-3000.

*To see video footage of “Kids Serving Kids” visit The Partnership For Our Kids YouTube channel.