It's Not To Late For An Evening Escape!

Join The Partnership For Our Kids at the Summer Wine and Food Festival, "An Evening Escape", July 30th at Midtown Crossing!


Click here for more information!

Happy 4th of July!

Looking for something to do this 4th of July weekend? Check out these family-friendly activities happening throughout the Omaha metro area.

Bank of the West Celebrates America, July 1st
Free concert featuring, Cheap Trick and 38 Special. Fireworks to follow.
Location: Memorial Park, Omaha NE
Cost: FREE

Omaha World Herald Fireworks Night, July 2nd
Ameritrade Park, 1200 Mike Fahey ST
Fireworks following Home Run Derby
Cost: $12

Ralston 4th of July Parade and Fireworks, July 4th
Parade starts at 1pm at 8th and Highland STS;
Fireworks at Lake View Golf Course, 9:30pm
Ralston, NE
Cost: FREE

Bellevue 4th of July Fireworks and Family Day Activities, July 4th
Bellevue Downtown Park, NE
Games and family activities; 2pm-10:30pm
Cost: Activity pricing varies

The Partnership Has A New President!

Earlier this week, Deb Denbeck began her new position as president of The Partnership For Our Kids.

Denbeck, who comes to the Partnership from Creighton University, is taking over for Julie Hefflinger, who is retiring from the Partnership this week, after 14 years of service.

Denbeck is honored to have been selected for this position. "I feel very blessed and fortunate to be following in the footprints of someone I have great respect for," says Denbeck. "Julie has done an amazing job of building a strong team and a program that is so needed in the Omaha area." She feels that the Partnership's work to continue providing quality role models and mentors is paramount to helping more Omaha students succeed.

Inspiring commitment to achieving greatness among young people is something that Denbeck knows a lot about, having devoted 21 years of her life to coaching collegiate volleyball. Denbeck has also served as a volunteer mentor for the Partnership’s group mentoring program.

In addition to her coaching and mentoring experience, Denbeck has an extensive background in education as well as fundraising and development. She is very passionate about the power of an education and she says the thing she is most looking forward to about working at the Partnership is having an opportunity to help more young people succeed. "We need to be strong advocates for today's youth--they are our future," she says.

To learn more about Deb, check out our team page

Announcing A New PFOK Addition

Meet the newest member of the PFOK team, Jennifer Arnold.

Jennifer will be serving as the Partnership’s administrative assistant. She will be responsible for providing assistance to the Partnership’s executive team, helping with event and meeting planning logistics, assisting with the new hire process, ordering office supplies, and ensuring that the office runs as smoothly as possible.

Jen is happily married and has two beautiful boys, Joshua and Cole. She and her family house what she refers to as “a small petting zoo,” consisting of 3 dogs, a snake, lizard and fish and various other critters that her boys bring home.

In her spare time, Jen enjoys summer bike rides and camping on the weekends, decorative painting, reading and evening walks.

To learn more about Jen, view her profile on our website “Teams” page

Order in the court!

This week Partnership middle school students visited the Douglas County Courthouse to learn more about the justice system. “Students enjoyed getting to explore the court room and were excited to sit in the jury box and the witness stand,” says Program Specialist, Ramey McNamara.

In addition to exploring the courtroom, students also heard the history of the courthouse and had an opportunity to chat with Judge Larry Barrett. Belvedere sixth grader, Maurice was shocked to find out how many cases appear before the judge on a daily basis. “Judge Barrett told us that there are usually 20 people that come through, and that’s just in the morning,” says Maurice. Maurice added that he was also surprised to learn how much he discovered about the courts from the tour. “Students definitely understood the court system better when we left,” says McNamara. “They walked away with a lot of great knowledge.

To learn more about Partnership For Our Kids summer outings, visit our events page.

What’s Coming Up At The Partnership!

School is officially out and it is time for a lazy summer season, right? Wrong! The Partnership has a jam-packed summer full of activities, workshops and tours. Here is a peek of just some of what is coming up:

Women Leaders Luncheon-Thursday, June 2nd Attention leading ladies! Learn more about how you can connect with youth of the Omaha community at the Partnership’s upcoming Women Leaders Luncheon, June 2nd. The luncheon will be held from 12-1:30p.m. at Omaha Country Club and will present upcoming opportunities to volunteer with students in the Partnership programs. For more information, call 402-930-3008.

Volunteer Appreciation Reception-Thursday, June 9thWe’d like to give a huge THANK YOU to all of our amazing volunteers. We would not exist without you, and we appreciate all that you do! A special reception will be held in your honor on June 9th. It will take place at Security National Bank, 1120 S 101st St., from 4:30-6p.m. Current volunteers, please drop by and say hello. No reservation necessary!

Student Activities:City Sprouts Workshop- June 1st-24thSeventh grade students will participate in Omaha’s City Sprouts program, June 1-24. They will get a chance to learn about healthy eating, community sustainability and how community gardens can play a part in achieving both!

Iceplex Tours-June 2nd, 7th and 17th Partnership students will go on one of the coolest tours in the city this summer-literally. Sixth through eighth graders will tour Tranquility Iceplex and learn about the intricacies of running an ice complex. Tours will take place June 2nd, 7th & 17th.

Cops and Kids Workshop- June 9th & 10thOn June 9th and 10th, sixth grade students will get a chance to learn more about the justice system through the eyes of a police officer. An Omaha police officer will speak to Partnership students about duties as a law enforcement officer and proper police procedures. Students will also tour the Douglas county courthouse.

For more upcoming event information, visit the events page on our website

Golf For Our Kids, A Swinging Success~ Thank You Supporters!

The Partnership For Our Kids would like to thank the generous sponsors and supporters of Golf For Our Kids. Nearly $30,000 was raised and will benefit 5,000 students participating in the Partnership goal setting and group mentoring programs. “The Partnership For Our Kids programs effectively address an urgent and critical need for a segment of our community’s children,” says Golf For Our Kids Honorary Chairman, Bob Bates. “This program not only gives them hope but develops them into well adjusted and productive people.”

More than 120 golfers from 30 metro-area businesses and corporations hit the Omaha Country Club fairway on Monday, May 16th for the 18-hole scramble tournament. Honorary chairpersons for the event were Bob and Judy Bates and John and Anne Nelson. The tournament’s official golf chairmen were Dick Holland and Mike Yanney and Jim Siedlecki from WOWT Channel 6 served as emcee and media chairman.

Despite the amazing skill displayed on the course, and some extremely close calls, the 2011 Chevy Equinox hole-in-one prize, donated by Gregg Young Chevrolet, remained unclaimed by any of the tournament participants. This didn’t discourage players from giving it their all and ending the day with some pretty remarkable final scores. The first place team, with a combined foursome score of 59, included players Brian Csipkes, Dennis Hein, Kelly Karmazin and Jeff Engdahl from accounting firm, Seim Johnson Sestak and Quist, LLP. "Our strategy was just to have fun," says Seim Johnson foursome member, Dennis Hein.

*Keep an eye out for information to come on the Partnership's upcoming summer event, "An Evening Escape" Summer Wine & Food Festival.

2011 Golf For Our Kids Tournament Sponsors and Supporters
Thank You For Your Support!

Event Sponsors:
Bob and Judy Bates
John and Anne Nelson
SilverStone Group

Meal Sponsors:
Omaha Steaks, International, Inc.
Union Pacific

Hole Sponsors:
Bob and Judy Bates
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Burlington Capital Group
Coventry Health Care
Creighton University
Godfather’s Pizza
Gregg Young Chevrolet
HDR
McGrath North
Mutual of Omaha Bank
John & Anne Nelson
Omaha Steaks International, Inc.
Seim Johnson Sestak & Quist, LLP
SilverStone Group
Tetrad Corporation
Union Pacific
UNO Athletics
Valmont Industries, Inc.
WOWT Channel 6

In-Kind Sponsors:
Addy’s Sports Bar and Grill
Central States Indemnity
Creighton University Athletics
DJ’s Dugout, Downtown
Eileen’s Cookies
Godfather’s Pizza
Hy-Vee
Omaha Country Club
Scheels
Sign IT
Tetrad Corporation
UNO Athletics
Upstream Brewing Company

Participating Foursomes:
Access Bank
Baird Holm
Bob and Judy Bates
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Burlington Capital Group
Coventry Health Care
Creighton University
First Comp Insurance
Five Points Bank
HDR
Richard Holland
McGrath North
MECA
Mutual of Omaha Bank
Mutual of Omaha
Nelson/SilverStone
OPPD
Omaha Public Schools
Omaha Steaks, International, Inc.
Omaha Track Materials
Seim Johnson Sestak and Quist, LLP
Sonburst Communication
The Partnership For Our Kids
UNMC
University of Nebraska Foundation
WOWT Channel 6
Gail and Mike Yanney