NONPROFIT NEWS Wear Yellow Nebraska Presents 2nd Annual East-West Groveler Gravel Race
CenterPointe Walk-in Crises Double, Hotline Calls Increase 42% in Wake of COVID
If you’re up for a little competition between friends while supporting a great cause, Wear Yellow Nebraska’s 2nd Annual East-West Groveler Gravel Race is for you. On tap for October 10 to October 18, the “virtual” race format means that cyclists have that week to complete the race route starting and finishing at Parker’s Smokehouse in Ashland. Using the Platte River as the divide, register for a team (either East or West) by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 9 to participate. In an email along with your Strava, RidewithGPS, or Garmin handle, you will need to submit a picture of yourself, with your GPS device showing the time and distance when you finish the race route. The course spans about 40 miles.
While CenterPointe recognizes that COVID has clearly had negative effects on people’s physical health, their main focus has turned to the more pervasive and the devastating repercussions it is having on the community’s mental health. Calls to CenterPointe’s crisis hotline have increased 42% since March, and walk-ins to the clinic have doubled. On a national level, research indicates that the number of individuals reporting anxiety have increased an alarming 279% and those who are experiencing depression have increased 188% since April.
The Team with the lowest number of points wins! Once registration closes, team size will be set by the lowest number of participants signed up for the East or West team. Finishers receive a point equal to their finish position based on the finishing time provided in a photo with your GPS device. Your Strava, Garmin, or RidewithGPS handle will also need to be provided again for verification. On Monday, October 19, Wear Yellow Nebraska will be sharing the results through a live Facebook event (@ WearYellowNebraska). Wear Yellow Nebraska is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a clear focus on niche initiatives that offer cancer survivors with support that was not otherwise addressed and for people who might otherwise fall through the cracks—truly caring for each individual’s special circumstances. For more information about the East-West Groveler Gravel Race, visit wearyellownebraska.org/groveler or call (402) 965-1699.
Open Door Mission Seeking Donations to Meet Urgent Holiday Needs Open Door Mission needs the Omaha community’s help to provide for the neediest neighbors this holiday season, as they gear up to gather the required support through three holiday initiatives: Turkey ‘N’ Fixin’s, Project Santa, and Christmas Bells. This year has been hard on many people financially and more families need help, so the Mission is asking residents to consider hosting a drive or shopping their Amazon WishList to help them meet the most urgent needs. This holiday season, Open Door Mission expects to provide more than 284,820 fresh, nutritious meals to the Heartland’s hungry and homeless. To do this, their Turkey ‘N’ Fixin’s project collects canned vegetables and fruit, cereal, cookies, peanut butter, boxed meals and potatoes, stuffing, canned meat, pasta and pasta sauce, soup, mac ‘n’ cheese, and frozen turkeys and hams. Project Santa provides toys to needy boys and girls so that everyone gets gifts on Christmas morning. Needed toys include toddler toys, small and medium Lego sets, all sports balls, board games and puzzles, dolls, gift cards for Walmart and Target, Play-Doh sets, cars, and more. Finally, Open Door Mission’s Christmas Bells program will provide gifts to homeless men and women. Needed items include men’s underwear, decks of cards, earbuds, tube socks, men’s wallets, men’s and women’s watches, bath sets, makeup, hair dryers, adult coloring books with colored pencils, shaving kits, and gift cards. If you want to make a difference this holiday season, consider hosting a drive to help Open Door Mission. Contact Kristen Dineen at (402) 829-1538 / kdineen@opendoormission to help. Learn more at opendoormission.org. #PrintProudDigitalSmart
If you are in need of mental-health or substance-abuse services or know somebody who is, CenterPointe’s crisis line is available 24/7 at (402) 475-6695. The organization’s new outpatient clinic in Lincoln is open to walk-ins without an appointment on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The organization’s Lincoln location officially began operating as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center on August 1 and is looking to establish outpatient services at its Omaha location soon. CenterPointe provides treatment, rehabilitation, housing, and crisis services for people experiencing mental-health and substance-use disorders. Their goal is to address mental-health and addictionrecovery needs, in concert with primary care, to support whole-bodyand-mind health in the journey toward overall well-being. For more information, visit centerpointe.org or call (402) 475-5161.
Midlands Community Foundation Brings Back Matching Charitable Program Midlands Community Foundation is excited to bring back its MCF Matching Charitable Program beginning on Giving Tuesday, December 1, 2020, and ending January 5, 2021. For years, Midlands Community Foundation (MCF) has provided donors a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving. As 2020 comes to a close, MCF looks forward to again helping donors accomplish their charitable objectives. Under the Matching Charitable Program, MCF will provide matching funds for new contributions made to existing and newly created Affiliated General, Designated, Donor Advised, Field of Interest, and Scholarship Funds. Matching donations will be made on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to a limit of $5,000 per individual donor, and subject to a maximum of $100,000 of matching dollars being available in the aggregate for all Funds. If more than $100,000 is contributed on an aggregate basis to all Funds, the matching dollars will be pro-rated among such donors based on the total contributions made. Last year, 1,170 donors raised more than $794,821, with $481,154 qualifying for matching funds, to support the missions of 80 charitable funds established at MCF. “Our Matching Charitable Program offers a great opportunity for our new and existing charitable funds to stretch their charitable dollars, raise awareness, and make a difference, and we are pleased to be able to offer this program again this year,” said Tonee Gay, Midlands Community Foundation executive director. The mission of Midlands Community Foundation is to benefit the diverse needs of the Sarpy and Cass county communities by providing financial support, involvement and service. Since its inception, the Foundation has donated millions of dollars to many worthy organizations. Learn more online at midlandscommunity.org. OCTOBER 2020 Strictly Business 27
