Education
Education is the cornerstone of individual and community success. It is essential to getting and keeping a job with a livable wage and health benefits. The strategies proven to work are those that connect communities to their schools such as parent involvement, literacy volunteers in the classroom, mentors for disadvantaged students, and business leaders engaged in early childhood advocacy.
See the Change in the Kearney Area...
- Along with mentoring services provided in all Kearney Public Elementary schools, the Friends Program also now resides in three rural schools, including Pleasanton, Ravenna and Elm Creek with a total of over 160 children matched.
- Head Start/Early Head Start actually served 485 preschool children and their families and 68 pregnant women, infants or toddlers through home based and center based services.
- Last year, the Boy Scouts had over 1,200 participants from United Way’s six-county area.
- In Buffalo County, 77 percent of the girls in the Girl Scouts program participated in projects to help connect them to their communities such as collections for local charities and landscaping work.
- Kearney Adult Education provided over 180 individuals with the proper GED and ESL classes to help increase their economic potential.
- United Way helped 40 children participate in developmental activities through the Recreational Scholarship Program.
Overcoming Obstacles
In Spring 2011, Peggy Brown and her two daughters, Jessica and Katy, were
getting by, but they missed their dad and husband, Tim, whom had passed away of cancer a few years before. Katy, a fourth grader at the time, was struggling with their family life and was showing her frustration. Peggy became frustrated, too, because she didn’t know what to do about it.
The girls’ Girl Scout Troop had a camp out at Cottonmill Park & Recreation Area in May that year and invited dads and grandpas out to fish with the girls on the Saturday morning of the camp-out. Each girl received a purple fishing pole and tackle box. Peggy and her father-in-law came out to fish with the girls that day. The family fell in love with fishing! Peggy got a fishing license and a pole of her own and throughout the summer took her girls fishing. Katy and Jessica loved it! Fishing became their family hobby and brought them together in a positive way. 
It was awesome to see this family grow close together and learn to enjoy a fun, outdoor activity together. So if you stop by their home some summer afternoon and find that the family isn’t home, chances are they’ve “Gone Fishin”.