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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. | ||||
Seth is 17 years old. At 16 he was a much different person than he is today. Seth was in a position that is all too common.
No one was making sure that he went to school in his rural Nebraska hometown, so he only attended classes 40 times during the first semester. The second semester he made the not too difficult move of dropping out of school altogether. From there, with too much idle time, his life began to slide.
Then Seth came to the Home. At the end of the first quarter, and
after being at the Home for only four months, he made the
Honor Roll with all As and Bs. His
goal was to have no grade below a C. Seth has set even more
challenging academic goals for himself in the future.
He now takes sophomore and junior classes at Benson High School. He was chosen Student of the Month at school and was presented an award at a monthly Optimist’s Breakfast. In fact, Seth was honored at three different Optimist meetings last November.
He is a very conscientious and responsible young man.
Seth has realized he was not in a good position to face the rest of his life. For him, The Omaha Home for Boys has provided the structure he needed in his life and shown him that self discipline and motivation are necessary to be successful.
Seth is experiencing personal success now and seeing how others respond to it. This is compelling motivation for a young man with tremendous potential to work hard and see how far he can go.
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(A little down home wisdom)The unofficial motto at the Home’s Valley View 4-H Club makes one point very clear to the boys when the going gets a little tough.
If YOU don’t make the effort, you will not complete your project, finish a job or be successful!
Three boys from the Home, involved in 4-H, got a tremendous opportunity last November. They attended the American Royal 4-H and FFA Livestock Show in Kansas City. This was the first time anyone from the Home had competed in a national livestock competition.
Joe, Jim and Kevin all earned the privilege of going to the show. They all worked very hard throughout the year on their own projects and came away with numerous local awards.
The American Royal in Kansas City is the big time of cattle shows. The competition brings entries from all over the United States. A great deal of time and planning are needed to prepare a calf to compete at this level. There is also the pressure of presenting your calf in the best way during the judging.
The Home had one calf of the caliber necessary for the competition. Joe would be in the ring showing “Buddy.” Jim and Kevin helped with all of the preparations.
This level of experience is very valuable for any young person. To see that you can go way beyond what you thought possible, even to a national competition, broadens a young person’s perspective on what he can accomplish.
Joe and “Buddy” placed eighth in their division, which we are all very proud of.
When the boys were asked what they enjoyed most about going to the American Royal, of course the thrill of competing in such a large event was exciting, but also talking to people from all over the country was a big part of the fun for them.
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SPEAKING PERSONALLYAt The Omaha Home for Boys our main purpose is to help youth and families reach a healthy status. We provide this help in a rather unique way.
We encourage our residents to lead a lifestyle that is as normal as possible. They attend public schools, go to the church of their own faith and their primary caregivers are married couples who live together in a cottage that functions as much like a normal home as possible.
Our goal is plain and simple, to prepare young people to live life in the real world.
We provide each youth the support, structure and guidance they need. And we show great concern for their well being in a caring and loving environment.
We expect quite a bit from the boys in return. They need to learn to be responsible for their actions, take pride in themselves, work to the best of their abilities and respect all living things.
No one can take the easy way out if young lives are going to be changed for the better. There is work to be done every minute of the day.
The type of care we provide at The Omaha Home for Boys is very expensive, but there is no charge to families for our services.
Turning young men around is worth every penny it costs, because all of these kids have the potential to be heroes, stars, fathers and just plain good men. They just need a chance that - because of the way their life has gone - has not been provided.
With your help, we are the chance these kids need. They respond very well to being given the opportunity to succeed in life. They know they are cared about by everyone at the Home and by the thousands of people like you who make their chance possible.
We have boys return to the Home and tell us how they would never have made it if it weren’t for being here. We have parents of boys who let us know how much living at the Home has helped their son and family.
Helping to solve family crises is a godsend to families that are at the end of their rope.
There is nothing more gratifying in my job than hearing from a former resident who is doing well in life, fulfilling his dreams or is just basically happy with himself.
We all deserve a certain level of happiness in our lives. If we can achieve that simple goal for as many young people as possible, we can solve many problems in the world today.
Self control, personal satisfaction and contentment with one’s life are the keys to a happy, normal life. That really is what we try to make happen at The Omaha Home for Boys.
As always thank you for the crucial part you play in giving young men the chance to live a happy life.
Sincerely,
John C. Furstenberg
Executive Director
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On September 4, 1998, The Omaha Home for Boys was officially notified by the Council of Accreditation of Services for Families and Children (COA) that the Home had been accredited by the Council.
COA is an international, independent organization which accredits approximately 1,000 behavioral healthcare programs and 3,000 social service programs in the United States and Canada. Organizations like the Boys’ Home must comply with service standards ranging from placement to discharge and aftercare.
The accreditation marked the end of nearly 15 months and 2,422 man hours of preparation and work. The entire Board of Directors and staff pitched in to help as more than 1,000 pages of documentation, policies and procedures were prepared for the first phase of the review. “Many organizations have to hire additional staff during the accreditation process,” explains Executive Director, John C. Furstenberg, “but our volunteers and staff pulled together and took on the extra work load without complaint. Accreditation was most definitely a group accomplishment.”
The second phase of the accreditation process involved an on-site review by accreditation team members. Both COA officials who visited, noted that the Boys’ Home was one of the best organized, quality organizations they had ever reviewed.
The Omaha Home for Boys is very proud of our accredited status,
and would like to take this opportunity to thank all the friends,
donors, volunteers and staff who have helped make the Home one of the
finest youth homes in the country. Thank you all!
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Timing is everything! We recently heard from David and had started writing a story about his unique career choice … then David showed up on the OHB campus.
He was in Omaha for a friend’s wedding.
David graduated from High School in 1992. He lived at the Home from February of 1989 until he graduated.
During that time David was an active participant in our 4-H Program. He credits 4-H with being a great influence on his life, “Because it made you stick to long term projects from beginning to end.” David showed the Grand Champion Market Heifer in 1991 at the Douglas County Fair.
After graduating from High School, he spent his first two years of college at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He then transferred to the University of Utah because of the quality film department there.
David attended the New York Film Academy’s Filmmaking Workshop at UCLA last summer. The intensive four week course in 16mm filmmaking was presented by a highly accredited staff. David learned a great deal about film from the workshop and was able to complete three short features.
In a letter written to our Education Director, David said, “I do wish to extend my highest appreciation to The Omaha Home for Boys for enabling me this opportunity to pursue my dreams. I feel completely sound in my career goals and extremely blessed to have the Home’s support.”
In Salt Lake City, David volunteers his time to help others, too. He is an Assistant Coach for Special Olympics and works with handicapped kids in a wide range of sports.
David is a firm believer in giving back as he has received. His education is funded entirely by the Home. That says a lot about the thousands of people who support The Omaha Home for Boys and make it possible for dreams to come true.
Recently, David showed a 5 minute short film at the Utah Film and Video Center in Salt Lake City. He was selected for the 16mm filmmaking program at the University of Utah for the coming year. That is quite a special honor because of the advanced nature of the course work and there are only 15 students in the program, half of which are graduate students.
He has just completed the Graduate Records Exam to prepare for Graduate School. David has several universities in mind that have quality filmmaking programs.
He plans on sharing his knowledge and success. During his visit, he mentioned that he would like to do a documentary on The Omaha Home for Boys. We informed him that we were considering producing a new video for the Home’s 80th Anniversary.
David would certainly have the inside perspective to make the film.
With everyone hoping the best for him, we’re sure David will be a shining star in his career.
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The question: How to better thank friends and donors whose dedicated support changes the lives of needy youth at The Omaha Home for Boys every day?
The answer: Honor them with membership in the Home’s new Annual Giving Clubs.
After three years of review, The Omaha Home for Boys is excited to announce the formation of Annual Giving Clubs. The Clubs are designed to recognize friends and supporters who have reached certain giving levels. All gifts during the calendar year are credited toward membership in the Giving Clubs.
The Clubs have been established at the following levels:
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The Giving Clubs are just another way for the Home to thank friends and donors -- like you -- for the critical role they play in helping to strengthen needy families and youth.
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“Bye-bye … see you soon.” Karilyn Bale waves as the mother of one of Karilyn’s “boys” walks down the steps and leaves the Buck Cottage at The Omaha Home for Boys. The boy’s mother has just been a part of a quarterly evaluation of the boy’s progress at the Home.
“She believes in this program,” Karilyn says, “she’s already seen a positive difference in Zack!”
Karilyn Bale believes in the program, too. And she believes in helping youngsters in need. So does her husband Dave … he’s as enthusiastic as she is. That’s why they are House Parents with The Omaha Home for Boys.
After
meeting and falling in love, the Bales were married in 1983. With
family in Monmouth, Illinois and Burlington and Fort Madison, Iowa,
the Bales chose Burlington, Iowa to be their home. Both had been
married before and both had children from their previous marriages.
They knew the difficulties in raising children, and they knew they
wanted to help others. But they just could not find an outlet.
Then Karilyn saw an ad for House Parents. “The job looked interesting,” she admitted, “but I’d been a RN and manager of a medical supply firm for 23 years. And Dave had his own accounting services firm as well. So we just kept dreaming.”
Later, those dreams turned into reality. “We’d made a decision to change our professional lives,” Dave explains, “we were ready to switch careers … but not to the Boys’ Home.” On their way to Nashville to meet with a Christian music company, Karilyn saw the ad again. She showed the ad to Dave, but neither of them thought much about it.
The music company wanted him, provided he could begin immediately. But that simply wasn’t possible. The Bales had commitments in Burlington, and grandchildren too. So they took another look at the Boys’ Home ad. They prayed and decided to give the Boys’ Home position a shot.
“We interviewed in early December,” Karilyn says, “and afterwards I told Dave that all I wanted for Christmas was eight boys – just like the ones we met in one of the cottages we visited during the interview.” Christmas came, and Karilyn and Dave got their wish.
“I don’t think anyone can look at the circumstances of how we came to be at the Home and believe anything other than we were led here by God,” says Dave, “too many things had to happen just in the right order for this to work out. I know it wasn’t a coincidence!”
After selling their house, their business and moving to Omaha, the Bales officially started at the Home in June, 1997. Since then, they have had one heartwarming experience after another.
“I invest a part of myself in every boy in our cottage,” Dave says, “the bonds we develop are quite strong.” So strong, in fact, that a number of the boys who’ve lived with the Bales stay in touch on a regular basis. “I even stay in touch with some of the parents,” Karilyn says.
And what do the boys get from the Bales? “Consistency, structure, love and maybe even bending the rules a bit when love says I should,” confides Dave. In the short year and a half the Bales have been at the Home, they have directly worked with almost 80 needy youth.
“We know we can’t reach every boy,” Karilyn notes, “but that doesn’t keep us from trying. Even the stinkers make me love them!”
Even with all the positives, working with eight youngsters and teenagers every day has got to be tough. “Oh, it can be stressful,” Dave admits, “but we do the job because we love it. I love spending time with the boys.” “And we enjoy helping the boys’ parents, too” Karilyn adds.
Both the Bales swear that being a House Parent at The Omaha Home for Boys is the best job a person could have.
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We are pleased to announce the Grand Opening of The Omaha Home for Boys’ eighth cottage on Inspiration Hill. The House Parents and boys worked diligently to prepare for and move into their new home on October 26, 1998.
The cottage looks just like any home in a normal residential neighborhood. Inside, the cottage offers the conveniences and built-in privacy of a regular home, including a full kitchen, living room, dining room, family room, and split level bedrooms. Two boys share a bedroom, with a study center dividing the sleeping areas.
According to Diana Rugg, House Parent, “moving into a brand new home with new furniture, linens, and kitchen equipment are conveniences many people (boys and families) do not get to experience in their lifetime.” She feels the home-like layout and atmosphere provides the boys with more personal space and privacy, in addition to being able to take on more responsibility within a family setting.
“We have dedicated ourselves to serving youth and families and this cannot be more evident than by looking at our growth over the past 75 years,” said Executive Director, John Furstenburg.
The 9,000 square foot cottage allows the Home to serve an additional eight disadvantaged and homeless young men. The Home is now able to help 64 youth on the campus, daily.
In addition, the Ruggs have a three and a half year old daughter named Danika and are expecting a new boy (of their own) at the end of March!
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The Fifth
Annual Omaha Home for Boys' Invitational Golf Tournament, held July
20, 1998 was a huge success. More than 128 friends and donors
participated in the event at the Pines Country Club in Valley,
Nebraska. Over $5,300 was raised, making this year's tournament the
most successful ever!
During October, 1998 The Omaha Home
for Boys’ staff participated in the annual community United Way of
the Midlands/CHAD Campaign. We reached our goal of 50% staff
participation with a total of $1,100 in contributions.
The Omaha Home for Boys sponsored our
first Red Cross Blood Drive in October, 1998 which was a huge
success. Thirty-three donors rolled up their sleeves with 30 units of
blood donated (including 19 first time donors). Donors included staff
members, their spouses, construction workers and two of our youth.
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The boys and staff sincerely thank you for sending
your special holiday messages on the stocking cards enclosed in our
Holiday appeal package. We received literally 1,000’s of meaningful
thoughts and well wishes.
It was a delight to see the smiles on their faces and the joy that many of the boys experienced when they saw that so many people care about them.
Thanks again for showing your support for the Home and its residents.
The boys enjoyed reading all of the notes from their friends
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Planning for the Future...
Happy New Year! I
hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season. We find ourselves beginning
a new year with all the promises that new beginnings can bring.
This past year was a very good one for The Omaha Home for Boys. The progress on campus greatly impacts the lives of the boys we serve. We have been blessed!
When asked about a new year’s resolution, I find myself determined, “To get out and meet more of you personally.” What a wonderful experience as I have been warmly received in the homes of friends. I enjoy being called on to assist you in the planning of a gift, or assisting in your philanthropic efforts to support the Home.
All of the accomplishments and advancements that have been achieved this past year would not have been possible without you. On behalf of the boys we serve and the entire staff, I want to express our thanks to you, the faithful supporters of The Omaha Home for Boys.
I am looking forward to another year with tremendous opportunities which lie ahead of us. Thank you. You are making a difference!
Respectfully,
Bill Martin
Planned Giving Administrator
Gifts of Appreciated Stocks, Bonds or Mutual Funds
If you are considering a gift to The Omaha Home for Boys, it may be to your advantage to give stocks, bonds or mutual funds instead of cash.
Any securities you have owned for (12) twelve months or more which have increased in value are subject to the capital gains tax if you sell them. However, if you make a gift of these securities to The Omaha Home for Boys, you get a charitable deduction for the full market value as of the day of transfer and avoid the tax on the capital gain.
This allows you to make a gift using an asset which might have been considered frozen because of the capital gain that would be experienced if you sold it. Because you get a charitable deduction for the market value and avoid the capital gains tax, you are making a gift that saves taxes twice!
Example: Mary S. owns $10,000 worth of XYZ Corporation stock, which she purchased for $2,000 two years ago. By donating this stock to The Omaha Home for Boys she receives a charitable deduction of $10,000 and avoids tax on the $8,000 of capital gain.
Please call Bill Martin if you would like to discuss this or any other gift.
A Giver of the Gift
Bob, a long time friend of the Home, responded to a Twig article regarding The Omaha Home for Boys’ Charitable Gift Annuity Program. After an exchange of information he decided to make a gift to the Home. The gift was in the form of appreciated mutual funds. After further discussion, Bob decided to make this an outright gift rather than purchase a gift annuity which would have provided him with income for life.
Bob gave a significant gift of $10,000. During the transaction the Boys’ Home got to know Bob better.
When gifts are received sometimes we do not know much about the people making the gift, except their heart is in the right place. In Bob’s case, his intentions were clear and the gift was being made while he could experience the joy of giving – for he expected nothing in return.
Bob shared a little of his story, revealing part of his motivation for making such a gift. Three years earlier Bob was diagnosed with lung cancer. Being a retired mail carrier and having no children himself, Bob wanted to make a gift that said he cared. When asked about his gift, I could hear his voice break a little and he took a brief moment to gain his composure. In that moment I sensed Bob had realized his true reason for giving. He said, “If I can make a difference in the life of one boy . . . it is worth the gift.”
To Bob, as well as all of you who are donors to the Home, we are grateful for all the support you give. We thank you for your prayers, your gifts and your service. May God Bless you in all your endeavors and the mission of The Omaha Home for Boys.
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.