Andy and Erin Marsh of Grand Island were the 2023-2024 campaign chairs for Heartland United Way. They gave announcements, including announcing award recipients, at Heartland United Way’s annual meeting March 27 at Riverside Golf Club, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – Heartland United Way raised a record amount of $1,802,863 in its 2023-24 campaign.
The results were announced at the 78th annual meeting March 27, which was a luncheon at Riverside Golf Club. Heartland United Way supports 20 non-profit agencies in Hall, Hamilton, Howard, and Merrick Counties.
Karen Rathke is president and chief executive officer of Heartland United Way.
After the luncheon, Rathke said she felt “incredibly blessed and very grateful to each and every donor. Our campaign chairs worked very hard. We have a great team. I am grateful that we can support the organizations.”
Rathke said for the previous campaign year, Heartland United Way raised approximately $1,670,000.
Rathke said the top honor awarded March 27 was the Outstanding Business Leadership award, given to Hornady Manufacturing. The business is celebrating its 75th year of operation.
Four people gave testimonials about the support they received from United Way agencies: Erika Ventura Rico, American Red Cross; Alondra Zapata, TeamMates mentoring program; Sandra Reynoso, former student, Adult Education; and Leah Baker, former client with Legal Aid of Nebraska.
Ventura Rico described going to a friend’s apartment to do babysitting. She took a nap, and when she woke up, she felt very hot and smelled an unusual smell. The apartment was pitch black. She ended up discovering that there was a fire in a closet. She was then worried, because the only exits she had from the apartment were through a door or a window. In the past, she had difficulty opening the door. She was concerned about breaking glass and going through the window. She was able to exit the apartment through the door and alerted people on the second floor to leave the apartment. She was in front of the apartment and opened the door. A firefighter fell on top of her, and the apartment exploded.
Ventura Rico then described the arrival of a Red Cross vehicle. She was given a blanket and a container with essentials such as a toothbrush. She was also given a voucher to stay at a local hotel.
Because of the help she received from the Red Cross, Ventura Rico has become a volunteer for the agency. She is involved in numerous tasks, including serving as a CPR instructor.
Next, Alondra Zapata spoke about the support she received in the TeamMates mentoring program. Her mentor, Dianne Schneider, stood on the stage as Zapata told her story. Zapata became involved in TeamMates when she was in sixth grade.
“I did not have the best childhood,” Zapata said.
She enjoyed activities that she did with her mentor when they met including playing board games and doing crafts.
“She was there for me,” Zapata said about Schneider. Schneider attended events in which Zapata was participating when she was in high school. Zapata had a goal of attending college. She learned of the Tom Osborne Legacy Scholarship, which covered all expenses for attending Hastings College for four years. Zapata received the scholarship.
Zapata said that Schneider continued to stay in touch with her after she graduated from high school. Schneider paid for the food at her wedding.
“She continues to be a part of my life,” Zapata said. “I am where I am because of the TeamMates program.”
Last year, Zapata signed up to be a mentor and is assigned to a student at Dodge Elementary School.
“I really enjoy being on the other side now,” Zapata said.
Leah Baker gave testimony about how she was helped by Legal Aid of Nebraska. Laurie Heer Dale, executive director of Legal Aid of Nebraska, was on stage with Baker while she spoke.
Baker said her marriage “had fallen apart.” She had no job and had children ages 3 and 4. She needed to file for divorce and was living in Ord at that time. She searched on the Internet to try to find affordable legal representation and discovered Legal Aid of Nebraska. She came to Grand Island to receive services.
“They gave me the courage to stand up for who I was,” she said.
Her husband contested the divorce, so Legal Aid provided the assistance needed.
“I owe Legal Aid my life,” Baker said.
Andy and Erin Marsh of Grand Island were the 2023-24 campaign chairs. They introduced award recipients and announced the 2023-2024 campaign total.
Award recipients were: Milestone Campaign, Hornady Manufacturing; Outstanding Campaign, Chesterman Coca-Cola; Outstanding Campaign Coordinator, Stephanie Plate, Amur; New Workplace Campaign, Island Heating and Air; Outstanding Community Champion, Copycat Printing and Signs.
New officers are: Board Chair, Kent Brown; First Vice Chair, Angela Simborn; Second Vice Chair, Grand Island Police Chief Kevin Denney; Third Vice Chair, Brandon Hotovy; Treasurer and Ethics Officer, A.J. Fruchtl.
Newly elected board members are Natalia Del Cid, Mirta Delgado, Jeremy Gillam, Brent Grummert, and Kevin Ottman.
Retiring board members are Alec Anania, Barrett Hahn, State Sen. Dan Quick, Dr. Kavir Saxena, and Monisha Sood.
Heartland United Way assisted 42,112 people in 2024. The number of children enrolled in the Imagination Library program was 3,449. Almost 1,100 families received food through the Christmas Cheer program. The number of children receiving toys at Christmas was 2,479 children. Tom and Kim Dinsdale were recognized for donating a vehicle annually for 22 years. The vehicle is the grand prize in an annual fund-raiser that Heartland United Way does.
