The Omaha Home for Boys...
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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
Steve Bauer 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.
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The OHB Video - "A Vision of Caring" |
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The Home's video, "A vision of Caring," is avaialable for viewing in your home of presenting before clubs or groups. If you would like to borrow a copy please let us know at 800/408/4663 and we will make sure you receive the tape. | ||||
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JOE’S JOURNEY ... Stepping into the future
Graduate (graj´ oo
at´)
1) To be granted an academic degree or diploma.
2) To change gradually or by degrees.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the dining
hall as Joe sat, with his arm around his grandmother, while a
letter
was
read from Joe’s father.
Joe’s immediate family, along with extended family from the Home, sat in silence as the letter was read. Joe’s father is incarcerated and Joe was headed for the same fate until ...
September of 1997 Joe entered The Omaha Home for Boys. An angry young man with little hope of a successful life. His aunt forbid him to go anywhere the night before coming to the Home – fearing he would run away and get into trouble which seemed to follow Joe wherever he went.
A quick smile crosses his face and his eyes twinkle as he tells of his first days at the Home. School seemed unimportant, having fun and staying one step ahead of the law was what intrigued him.
Standing before his family and staff at the Home, the entire audience applauds as Joe thanks those who have helped him turn from a life destined for ruin and find success. Since being at the Home Joe has made positive changes in his attitude and self worth. His grades improved and he graduated with his class from Omaha Benson High School. He received awards which have marked the change from Joe, the boy – to Joe, the young man. 4-H’er of the year, the Fred Bromley Achievement Award (awarded by the Home for youth that has made the most positive changes in his life) and now a high school diploma!
After
successfully completing the Home’s program Joe moved into a foster
home with the Auxier family in January, 1999. Bill Auxier is the
Director of Recreation at the Home. Bill and his family smile with
pride as they hear Joe recount stories of the past two years. And
then, the big moment comes as it is announced ... “introducing the
class of 1999.”
Phil Lorenzen, Chairman of the Board, said it best as he wished Joe well: “Joe, life is full of many peaks and valleys – may your peaks be many and your valleys shallow.”
We introduce to you – one of your boys – Joe, high school graduate, employed full-time and planning to attend Metro Tech Community College in the fall. Joe . . . a true graduate.
On June 24, 1999 the following from Joe’s father appeared as a letter to the editor in the Omaha World Herald:
They Rescued My Son
I want to thank every person at The Omaha Home for Boys–staff, parents, house counselors and mentors–for all they have done for my son and are doing for all the boys at the Home.
The Home for Boys welcomed this boy who was on the brink of making a mess of his life and taught him discipline, values, how to set goals and accomplish them. Last month, the same boy graduated from high school and walked out of the Home for Boys a young man.
Thank you again, Home for Boys, not only for my son but for giving all the boys who are thrown into situations beyond their control a chance to get a real life.
SPEAKING
PERSONALLY
Let’s take a moment to talk
about . . . Preparing for the Future
Preparation. No
single issue is more critical to the success of The Omaha Home for
Boys than effective preparation. And whether it is a student
preparing for a test, a job seeker preparing for an interview, or a
House Parent preparing to teach to a youth, effective preparation
will always make a positive difference.
At The Omaha Home for Boys we work hard at preparation. Each and every day our staff is helping to prepare youngsters for the future. We are helping prepare Josh for a career in meteorology. We helped prepare Greg to graduate from college. And we prepared Chris to make the right decisions when faced with peer pressure from other seventh graders at school.
But youngsters are not the only ones being prepared. Through our nationally recognized pre-service training program, the Home fully prepares our staff to better meet the needs of today’s youth. More than 80 hours of classroom learning, role playing, in-home observation and on-the-job training gives our House Parents and youth care staff the tools they need to help more boys be successful.
The Home also helps prepare other charitable organizations’ staff – like Family Service of Omaha – so they can better meet the needs of the youth they serve. In the last year alone the Home has trained more than 50 direct care youth workers from other organizations at no cost to them.
Individual parents can benefit from the Home’s preparation capabilities as well. Through our Parent Training Program, parents can learn effective techniques in youth communications, motivation, discipline and emotions management. Youngsters – especially teens – can push a parent to the end of their ropes. I know ... I’ve lived through it with my kids! The Home’s Parent Training better prepares Mom and Dad to meet the many challenges facing their children and help them grow in today’s complex world.
Yes, preparation is truly critical to the Home. And you help make our efforts possible. I hope you feel good knowing your kindness and support are giving youngsters and families the skills they need to be better husbands, fathers and neighbors in the years to come. I know I do .. and I thank you for your help.
Special Note
John Furstenberg,
President of the Home, received the 1999 Viking of
Distinction award. This award was created 17 years ago to
help inspire and motivate current high school students by
acquainting them with former graduates who are recognized
for their outstanding achievements. John, who is actively
involved in numerous community activities and associations
says, “It’s all fun, making a difference is fun, whether
it’s helping individuals or groups, the pleasure is being a
witness to the birth of hope.” We’re proud to call John our
boss – Congratulations John!
Summer
is here and the 4-H program is in full swing. This year twice as many
boys as last
summer are participating in the program. In
addition, more than 30 participants learned about preparing cattle
and sheep for the show ring as the Home sponsored the 4th Annual 4-H
Clipping Clinic.
June 12
was the date for the annual Klover Kids Day Camp held at Cooper Farm.
Children who are too young to enroll in 4-H meet to have fun playing
games and doing craft projects at the day camp. This special event is
a joint venture between the Home and the Douglas County Fair
Extension Office.
During
May, staff from the Home participated in a Cultural Diversity
Workshop to share their own experiences. Participants realized the
one thing we all have in common is cultural diversity. Because the
Home accepts boys from culturally diversified backgrounds, this
workshop has been added to the House Parent training program at the
Home.
Sports,
animals and food combined to make the 4th Annual Spring picnic a very
enjoyable time.
Four boys were recognized as
graduates of the program. Parents, mentors and friends of the boys
joined together to congratulate them.
Wayne
E. Decker understood what it meant to be a friend and an award to
recognize that trait in others was started by his family. This year,
Amos is the recipient of that award. As part of the program at the
Home Amos has, during the past year, exemplified the spirit of
compassion and sincere regard for fellow boys and those who have
counseled him.
For his
athletic achievements during the past year, hard work on the field
and demonstrating outstanding qualities of leadership, sportsmanship
and competitive spirit, John, from the Neef Home, received the James
D. Collins Athletic Award. He sets an excellent example for all to
follow.
Jeremy,
from the Forster Patton Home, was presented the Fred Bromley
Achievement Award. This award is given in honor of a man who never
said quit and is presented to a youth who has continued to work and
excel against the odds. We congratulate Jeremy on never saying
“quit.”
Boys from the Home and staff members enjoyed a beautiful day 
as
they took part in the Benson Days Parade. The horses and smiles from
the riders are always a hit at this popular event.
Charles “Chuck” Sederstrom, Jr., current Board Member and Longtime
friend of the Home, was recipient of the highest award bestowed by
The Salvation Army. The Others award recognizes genuine compassion
and unselfish service to “others.” Chuck, who is involved in more
than 16 professional and civic groups, believes it is important for
children to see their parents participating in activities that are
beneficial to others. We are thrilled for Chuck and proud to be
associated with such a caring man.
1999 Marks the 50th anniversary of the College World Series being
played in 
Omaha. For
several years, players from various teams have visited the Home
during this time. This year players and coaches from Stanford toured
the campus, ate with the boys, played ball and signed autographs.
They didn’t win the series but they sure won our support!
As we travel through each of our
individual lives, we see the constant change that surrounds us. In
the national and in the world arenas, we see conflicts that cause
concern for the future. However, now, in this 
calm setting today at the entrance to
this new arboretum at The Omaha Home for Boys, we find peace, comfort
and optimism for the future.
Words of encouragement and hope were spoken by Chairman of the Board, Philip Lorenzen, as the Arboretum at The Omaha Home for Boys was dedicated.
Nestled next to a busy thoroughfare at the edge of the Home’s campus – more than eight acres of land have come to life.
Dr. C.C. Tomlinson found comfort,
peace and optimism for the future through his love of nature and
his
untiring dedication to planting and
nurturing trees and other forms of plant life. His daughter wanted to
share part of her father’s legacy with the Home.
From her generous start-up gift – the Arboretum began. On May 15, more than 125 people gathered to dedicate the Arboretum in memory of Dr. Tomlinson. Since the initial gift, more friends have donated money, time and materials to make the Arboretum a reality.
You
enter the Arboretum through majestic columns and you immediately
notice an expansive dry creek bed formed by unique side-by-side
formations of field, granite and limestone all donated to the Home.
Boys from the Home helped in planting trees and shrubs native to
Nebraska which, along with a gazebo, bridges and benches, make this a
perfect spot for reflections on the past or planning for the
future.
Thanks to you, The Omaha Home for Boys is engaged in a parallel kind of planning and planting for the future – not only of plants and trees, but of young men and their lives. The two go hand in hand.
The Arboretum is dedicated to the heritage and memories of our past, the joy of the present and the promise that the future holds for each of us.
“Why is Damien going!” That was the question two year old Elexis Martinez asked her mother, June.
“He’s going home to live with his mommy, honey. He’s not going to live with us anymore.”
“But he’s MY
boy!” Lexi cried. And she feels the same way about every boy who
lives in the Shrine Home with June and Amado Martinez at The Omaha
Home for Boys. Little Lexi isn’t alone … June and Amado feel much the
same way.
June grew up in Omaha just a few miles from the Boys’ Home. Amado’s background was different. As a youngster in Panama City, Panama, Amado lived in a building with two bathrooms for two hundred people. The economically depressed area was a tough place to grow up. But Amado’s grandmother – who raised him – made sure he always had food to eat and a place to sleep.
Amado’s size was a blessing … At 6’8” it allowed him to play basketball and ultimately meet June.
After earning an associate’s degree from Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, where he started as center for the varsity basketball team, Amado became an international professional basketball player. He’s played in 16 different countries mostly in South America and in 1986 he played in the Pan Am games in Indianapolis.
During a break from basketball, Amado visited friends in Sioux City. As fate would have it, June – who by this time was working in advertising in Kansas City – was on a business trip to the area. The two met and began a long distance courtship.
In 1996 they decided to tie the knot.
Two days later Amado was back on the international circuit. The
couple’s phone
bills were staggering!
After Lexi was born, Amado and June made a tough decision. Amado, who was tired of the lonely life of a professional athlete – always away from June and Lexi – decided to retire. After winning the world championships in Nicaragua, Amado hung up his sneakers.
Now what? “Finding the Boys’ Home was God’s plan for us,” says June. Amado nods in agreement.
June remembered how difficult it was when she was growing up. She remembered her own trying teenage years when she made her fair share of mistakes. For Amado, growing up without a father and being raised by his grandmother gave him a strong sense of wanting to help children and youth.
So, June got in touch with her high school track coach Dave James. She knew Dave was working with a home for boys and wanted to learn more about it. Dave – who serves as The Omaha Home for Boys’ Successful Living Educator – met with the Martinezes and began a dialogue. The rest is history.
Since joining the Home in 1998, Amado, June, and Lexi have worked directly with more than 50 needy boys. “We love it here,” says Amado, “Elexis loves it, too. The Home is a great place to live and work.”
But there are hard days, too. June remembers one day in particular when four of the boys in her cottage were very upset and crying. “One boy had been disappointed by his mother … he was hoping to visit her but it fell through. Another was mad because of an incident at school.” And when the boys are sad, it breaks the Martinezes’ hearts.
Even so, both June and Amado agree that there are many more good days than bad ones. Like the day not long ago when Damien successfully completed the Home’s program and returned home to live with his mother and family. “When you see a youngster, like Damien, grow and mature and turn his life around, you can’t imagine the way you feel inside,” says Amado, “That’s when you know you’ve really changed a young life for the better!”
June and Amado are both pursuing degrees from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Both agree that right now this is God’s plan for them and they are content to let Him dictate the future.
Stormy Weather ... Not a Problem
The word ‘Graduation’ seems to spark many different thoughts for people … excitement, fear, college, job, and/or entering the world of adulthood, to name a few. For Josh, graduating from high school included all of the above sentiments – along with the trials of living on his own for the first time.
Josh successfully completed the Home’s on-campus program in 1992. After returning home to his family, he eventually graduated from high school in 1995. Several months after graduation, Dave James, Successful Living Educator, received a call from Josh who was having some difficulty living on his own for the first time.
“Josh has always been an intelligent young man,” explains Dave, “but he just wasn’t as prepared for the responsibility of independent living as he thought.” Dave recommended the Home’s Transitional Living program to Josh, who took him up on the offer. According to Dave, the first year in the program Josh primarily focused on working full-time. He then entered a local community college while working and living at Jacobs’ Place, the home of the Transitional Living program.
Josh has just finished his first year at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, with the help of the Home’s Scholarship Program and is living on his own. He has taken a strong interest in Meteorology and Communications. “Josh is excited about his future,” explains Dave, “and hopes to become a TV Meteorologist.”
In fact, Josh is participating in a 10-week research program this summer at the Oklahoma Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS).
This is quite a commitment and opportunity for Josh to further develop education and skills for future success. He will also be provided housing, transportation, some living expenses, and a stipend to support his education finances.
“He (Josh) is just another example of us (the Home) fulfilling our mission to strengthen youth and families for a healthy and successful future, and we are in it for the long haul.” explains Dave.
In 1998, 16 former residents were assisted by the Home’s Scholarship Program. Currently the following are enrolled in college programs.
PLANNED
GIVING DEPARTMENT
Planning for the
Future...
The
question has come up about special considerations people should be
aware of in estate planning. One such consideration is from the
question, “Do you know what happens to pre-tax money left in an IRA,
401K, or 403B (Tax Sheltered Annuity) when the owner dies?”
When the owner dies, the remaining untaxed amount becomes taxable as ordinary income to an estate beneficiary at their personal income tax rate. The extra ordinary income has the potential to push a beneficiary into a higher tax bracket. The remaining untaxed amount is not only subject to income tax by the beneficiary, but is included in the value of the estate for estate tax purposes. Attorneys and accountants report that beneficiaries could wind up with only 30% of the dollars after taxes. These retirement income accounts are designed this way by law. However, the law does provide another way where 100% of the pre-tax dollars can go to charity, income and estate-tax free. To pass on the pre-tax balance, you must designate the recipient organization as beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of your IRA, 401K, or 403B while you are “living.” The designation can further specify a dollar amount and/or a percentage. This process is a win-win for individuals and your favorite charity. Be sure to talk with your estate planning advisor, attorney or accountants for more detailed information on the benefits to you through your estate planning.
Respectfully,
Bill Martin
Planned Giving Administrator
A
Unique
MEMORIAL GIFT
DID YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU MAKE A
BEQUEST, YOU CAN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE ANNUAL GIFTS THAT WILL GO ON
FOREVER? HERE’S HOW:
WITH A
BEQUEST OF AT LEAST:
YOUR ANNUAL GIFT FOREVER
WOULD BE:
$2,000
$100
$4,000
$200
$6,000
$300
$10,000
$500
$20,000
$1,000
$40,000
$2,000
$100,000
$5,000
A 5% ANNUAL RETURN ON YOUR BEQUEST, AS REPRESENTED IN THESE TABLES, WOULD INSURE THAT YOU COULD ALWAYS CONTINUE YOUR THOUGHTFUL SUPPORT. IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MAKING A BEQUEST OR OTHER PLANNED GIFT, PLEASE CONTACT:
BILL MARTIN • THE OMAHA HOME FOR BOYS
4343 NORTH 52ND STREET • OMAHA, NEBRASKA 68104
OR CALL 1-800-408-4663 OR (402)457-7022
In
April donors gathered for a donors’ reception held at the Miami Beach
- Wyndham Hotel. Director of Development, Todd Simpson and Planned
Giving Administrator, Bill Martin - who were in town for a conference
- were able to take time to meet with area donors. Todd and Bill had
a wonderful time talking with the donors and sharing the Home’s good
works! We look forward to seeing you as we do more receptions
throughout the United States.
GIFT
ANNUITY RATE CHART FOR 1999
The following chart is based on a
gift of $5,000:
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Age |
Annual Return |
Charitable Deduction |
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65 |
7.0% - $350 |
$1,940 |
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70 |
7.5% - $375 |
$2,105 |
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75 |
8.2% - $410 |
$2,275 |
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80 |
9.2% - $460 |
$2,475 |
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85 |
10.5% - $525 |
$2,730 |
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90 |
12.0% - $600 |
$2,955 |
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American Council Gift Annuity Rates as of July 1, 1998
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.