The Omaha Home for Boys...

2003 September Twig Newsletter

  THE TWIG is a publication of :
The Omaha Home for Boys
4343 North 52nd Street
Omaha, NE 68104

The Omaha Home for Boys is a member of the National Fellowship of Child Care Executives and the National Association of Homes and Services for Children.

Founded in 1920, The Omaha Home for Boys is licensed by the State of Nebraska and is governed by 70 Trustees and our Board of Directors of 30 who serve as volunteers without financial remuneration. Annual operating and financial statements are prepared by certified public accountants and filed as public information with the Nebraska Department of Social Services.

The Omaha Home for Boys 75th Anniversary History Books are available. To receive your copy contact Marsha Cussen at 1-800-408-4663 today! To read the Home's complete history, click on the history book to your right. Also available is the Home's new video -- "A Vision of Caring".

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HOME? If you have a question about the Home, would like to receive our financial statements, or we can help in any way, call us at our new toll free number 1-800-408-4663.

Graduation 2003: Successes Today and Tomorrow

Senior prom . . . class rings . . . caps and gowns. All part of         the pomp and circumstance surrounding graduation. This milestone is especially significant for The Omaha Home for Boys’ youth. Adam, Eric, Tim, and William each had to overcome personal and academic challenges before they could put on their cap and gown.

Adam: Going the Extra Mile

“I was so far behind, I didn’t know if I could ever catch up,” Adam says. “I talked it over with my mom, and she encouraged me to come to the Home.”

Adam is a strapping young man with a quiet voice and a warm smile. He arrived a year ago with one goal: he wanted to graduate. He knew The Omaha Home for Boys could help him achieve that goal, since the Home was already helping his younger brother Ryan succeed in school.

Adam worked incredibly hard at his studies, spending time with tutors before and after school every day. He also completed extra credit through the Internet during the evenings and weekends, spending hours in front of the computer.

Wrestling filled any gaps in Adam’s schedule. He was a bonus to the high school wrestling team, where his strength, size, and skill won him a letter.

Adam planned to work with his mother at a factory this summer, and then enter the Licensed Practical Nursing program at a local community college. “I love helping people, especially kids. Eventually, I want to become an RN,” he says with a smile.

We think that with Adam’s determination, his dreams can become a reality!

Eric: Learning to Trust

“We told Eric whatever it is, we can work it out,” remember Chris and Angela Reed, Eric’s House Parents. Because of that guidance, life is working out for Eric.

When he was eight years old, Eric’s mother died of breast cancer. He was then raised by his grandparents on a farm near a small town in Nebraska. Eric hid his pain and coped the best he could, and he spent the next few years helping his grandparents raise cattle and hogs.

At 14, the freedom of Eric’s special driver’s permit (to be used for school and a part-time job) landed him in trouble. His grandparents sent him to the Home on the advice of Eric’s probation officer.

“We saw that Eric’s anger and tough-guy exterior was the protective shell of a young man needing to trust,” Chris says. “We gave Eric the gift of time to build a relationship with us. We always told him, ‘There’s no reason to be dishonest about anything. Whatever it is, we can work it out.’ The transformation has been awesome—we can’t be more proud of him and how far he’s come.”

Not only did Eric turn his grades around, but he also lettered in football and played both offense and defense. He plans to attend college this fall and turn his love of cars into a career as a diesel mechanic, and eventually get a degree in landscape design. 

Eric’s House Parents aren’t the only ones touched by his progress. On graduation day, Eric’s grandmother smiled gently as she said, “I think Eric’s mother would be very proud.”

Tim: A Healed Heart

Tim’s first acknowledgement the night of his graduation was to his Heavenly Father. “I want to thank God for helping and watching over me,” he says. This is an amazing attitude for someone who lost both of his parents in an auto accident when he was only five years old.

Tim and his two younger brothers were adopted into another family, but tragedy struck again when one of Tim’s little brothers died in a swimming accident. Tim came to the Home needing lots of love and understanding—and he found it with Larkin and Racine Birdow of the Bruner Cottage.

With their help, Tim turned his life around. He worked hard, made the honor roll, lettered in track, and joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Tim’s heart is healing and the future looks bright for this survivor. 

William: Serving His Country

As Americans, we’re proud of the young men and women who are serving our country beyond our borders by keeping the peace and defending freedom. And, at the Home we are proud of William, who will be joining them.

William has been with us for six years. He arrived with his younger brother; despite a rocky beginning, they soon realized they were both in a better place.

Resilient to the end, William has flourished with the love, understanding, and encouragement from his House Parents, Larkin and Racine.

He sang as a member of the select high school choir while maintaining a spot on the honor roll. In 2001, he won the 4-Her of the Year Award and was promoted to the highest rank of Cadet in the ROTC.

At 17, William entered Basic Combat Training through the Army’s delayed entry program. Not only did he successfully complete boot camp, but he was chosen Squad Leader. His Army training will continue at Fort Leavenworth after graduation.

At his graduation, William thanked God for helping him. We offer thanks, too, for young men like William who are willing and able to serve us all.

The Omaha Home for Boys is proud of these young men.  Their persistence and resiliency against all odds, plus their willingness to change their lives and get back on track, is something to be admired.

Congratulations to Adam, Eric, Tim, and William. May your example be contagious!

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Personally Speaking
Let’s Take a Moment to Discuss . . . Leaving a Legacy of Helping

 Friends and donors to The Omaha Home for Boys are among the most special people I have ever met. Their desire to help ... to make a difference in a young life ... goes beyond just being a good neighbor. Their care and love is often passed down from one generation to the next.

This legacy of helping others is one of the big reasons The Omaha Home for Boys is so successful.

So thank you, to each and every one of you, for caring enough to share.

This legacy of helping others takes many forms. Here at the Home, our House Parents work hard to instill this attitude in the boys. Sometimes, teaching the importance of helping others to boys who have had to struggle and fight for each meal can be challenging. But the results, like seeing the satisfaction on a boy’s face after his cottage family did the yard work of an elderly neighbor, are worth all the work.

I received a letter not long ago that came right to the heart of leaving a legacy of helping others. The letter was from a young woman making a gift for one of the Home’s scholarship funds.

The letter stated, “The scholarship is named after my deceased father. He thought very highly of your organization.  I told him before he died that I would carry on his support by sending the Home a gift every year for Father’s Day.”

When I read that letter I had to catch my breath. What a wonderful way to carry on a parent’s support! What a wonderful gift to give a parent’s child! What a wonderful legacy of helping others!

Thank you again for all your help and support—and for building your own legacy of helping.

                                                                                                John C. Furstenberg
                                                                                                  President

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Where Are They Now?

Dan: Fighting for Freedom

“We’re very proud of him!” Dan’s mother writes. And we are too.

Dan was a member of The Omaha Home for Boys’ family from 1998 to 1999. He got his life on track with the help of his House Parents and is now making a significant contribution to freedom as an infantry airborne trooper near Baghdad, Iraq. Helping to resolve the conflict and rebuild a government is a task we think Dan can handle.

“His family is anxiously awaiting his return,” his mother says. “We all appreciate that the Home helped prepare Dan for the Army and for life.”

Here at the Home, we appreciate Dan and all the other fine young men and women who have chosen to serve our country. We’re proud of them all.

Tai: A New Path

“The Home turned my life around,” Tai says.

And what a life he’s building for himself! Tai recently graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha with a degree in Construction Engineering Technology. He has already been hired as a field engineer by a large company in Irvine, California.

In 1996 Tai came to the Home. “I was going down the wrong path, and my parents knew it. I didn’t think they would actually send me here, but I’m glad they did!”

Tai listened and learned how to be himself rather than try to “fit in.” His fondest memories of the Home include playing card games, basketball, and volleyball, and learning to play guitar.

“I have my own identity now,” he says. “I follow my own path.” We at the Home proudly acknowledge that new path has all the markings of the “road to success” for Tai.

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Home Happenings

Clover Kids Camp a Success

Cooper Farm’s 4-H program held its 2nd Annual Clover Kids Camp. Boys and girls ages 5–8 learned all about livestock showing from the Home’s 4-H members and staff. Hands-on learning made the day fun!

Cooking Up Sweet Treats in Cookie Lab

The Wurdeman Learning Center’s Life Skills room was filled with the sweet smell of baking cookies.  That alone would be enough to bring boys running to the room, but these boys were listening attentively to local culinary instructor Kate Beiting as she taught the boys how to mix, measure, and bake!  “Mrs. B”, as the boys call her, is also a food columnist for Women’s Edition.  The boys had a wonderful time learning – and of course, tasting the results!

Family Picnic Honors Graduates More than 200 boys, children, and adults attended the Spring 2003 Family Picnic Program, celebrating the graduation of nine boys from The Omaha Home for Boys program. Three boys were recognized for their special achievements. Corillian received the Wayne E. Decker Award. This award for Outstanding Eighth Grader recognizes academic progress and citizenship in school and at the Home, combined with leadership among his peers and sensitivity for fellow youth. Jack was presented with the James D. Collins Award. This honor recognizes athletic achievement and perseverance. The Fred H. Bromley Award went to Dan. This award is given to the boy showing the greatest improvement in attitude, along with leadership. Congratulations to all our award winners and graduates of the program!

Volunteer Named Firefighter of the Year

Mike Pallas, the Home’s Cooper Farm Manager, has also been a volunteer firefighter for the past seven years. Mike was honored by his peers for his commitment and abilities with the Firefighter of the Year Award. Congratulations, Mike!

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The Gift of Giving

Alex is 10 years old. Like other boys his age, he goes to school, plays with his friends, is on a baseball team, and complains about his little sister. But Alex is very special in another way—he cares deeply about needy kids.

In March on his 10th birthday, Alex decided that rather than have his friends give him gifts, they could give donations to The Omaha Home for Boys. What a wonderful thought!

A few days later Alex, his mom, his little sister, and three of his friends visited the Boys’ Home and dropped off their donation—nearly $300! Then they toured the campus and saw where the boys live. They even got to meet some of the boys, including Najee, who was happy to show them his home.

The birthday group wrapped up their tour with ice cream in the home’s Dining Hall.  Alex is sure to remember this birthday for years to come—and the gift of giving to others.

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College World Series Team Visits Home

The bus pulled up and boys mobbed the players as they got off. “What’s your position?” “How was your trip?” “Come and sit with my cottage.”

Southwest Missouri State University’s baseball team, led by Coach Keith Guttin, were in for lots of questions, cottage tours, and baseball talk when they visited The Omaha Home for Boys in conjunction with their first trip to the College World Series in June.

The team was treated to dinner, and afterwards the boys crowded around the players, getting autographs and team photos. You couldn’t spot an SMSU player without seeing two or three boys around him with baseballs and pens!

Then the boys took the players on tours of the campus. They visited cottages before meeting at the Rec Center, where the baseball players and the boys played basketball together before the team boarded the bus for the trip back to the hotel.

Brad Ziegler, SMSU’s All-American pitcher, especially enjoyed his visit with the boys. “It’s nice they have a place like this, to take care of them and get them back on the right track,” he said. Brad is on the right track, too; he's been drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies and will begin his career in the minor leagues.

The Home gives special thanks to the Omaha Lion’s Club for orchestrating this visit. The Lions have sponsored a CWS team visit to the Home for more than 13 years.

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Wurdeman Learning Center Grand Opening

The Omaha Home for Boys celebrated the opening of the Wurdeman Learning Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in April. Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey and Omaha Public Schools Superintendent John Mackiel were on hand to help the Home’s President, John Furstenberg, cut the ribbon.

One and a half years in the making, the Wurdeman Learning Center features 25,000 square feet of space where boys can get one-on-one tutoring, make pottery, draw, paint, design robotics, do research, create computer and video projects, or just sit down with a good book. The new building replaces a decades-old, two-story converted house that held a small library and tutoring rooms.

Long-time Home friend and supporter Trafford J. Wurdeman passed away more than 22 years ago. Before his passing, he and his wife, LaVanche, made provisions to support The Omaha Home for Boys through a trust. When LaVanche passed away in 1999, their gift became the largest single gift ever made to the Home. The building is named in their honor.

For Chris, age 17, the Wurdemans’ gift means he can read a book in the library, get help from a tutor, take a guitar lesson, learn how to cook in the Life Skills room, or bake a pottery creation in the kiln—all without leaving the 52-acre campus. “I really like the new learning center,” he says. There’s more light, a lot more room—and the computers and library are all in one place. It’s a lot more convenient to do my homework.”

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Unique Ways to Use Your Retirement Funds for Beneficiaries

Did you know that if you name your children as beneficiaries on your retirement plan, their interest will be subject to both estate and income taxes, thereby reducing the ultimate bequest by 50 percent or more?

However, you might consider a way to provide for your heirs, reduce your taxable estate, and fund programs for The Omaha Home for Boys. By providing for your heirs with other assets in your estate and naming The Omaha Home for Boys as the beneficiary of your retirement plan, your estate will receive a federal estate tax deduction for the amount that passes to the Home. This could even result in your heirs actually receiving more from your estate in the end.

Let’s look at an example. Say Mrs. Jones wants to provide for her niece Renee and has named her the beneficiary of a $200,000 401(k) plan. Mrs. Jones also wants to leave the Home a $100,000 cash gift from her estate. When Mrs. Jones passes away, her $200,000 bequest to Renee will be subject to federal and state income taxes and federal estate tax.

However, Mrs. Jones’ gift to the Home from her 401(k) plan makes her estate eligible for a $100,000 charitable deduction. This means that only $100,000 of her $200,000 gift to Renee would be subject to taxes.

There are a number of ways you can use your retirement plan to perpetuate The Omaha Home for Boys’ work. To learn more, please call R. Todd Simpson, CFRE, at 1-800-408-4663. Be sure to consult your attorney or financial advisor to ensure that your income and estate tax objectives are met.

R. Todd Simpson, CFRE
Director of Development

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Whether in your town or on The Omaha Home for Boys' campus, Director of Development Todd Simpson wants to share the Home's story with you.  Don't be surprised if Todd calls you the next time he's in your town to visit with you and say, "Thanks from The Omaha Home for Boys!"

GIFT ANNUITY RATE CHART
The following chart is based on a gift of $5,000:

OHB rates American Council Gift Annuity Rates as of July 1, 2003

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QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HOME? If you have questions about the Home, would like to receive our financial statements, or we can help in any way, please call us at our toll free number 1-800-408-HOME.