Some time to one of his favorite charities!

This is Shea Feeney and Christina Souto from the U.C. Davis Graduate School of Management! We are excited to be part of a group of 20 students who have decided to give some of our time volunteering with Girl’s Inc. of Omaha during our trip to Nebraska. We have been coming back annually for the last several years because we strongly believe in the Girls Inc mission to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through their innovative programs to harness potential. What brings us to Omaha is the Oracle himself – Warren Buffett! And to stay true to Mr. Buffett’s philosophy of giving back, we make it a priority to volunteer with a charity he is passionate about while traveling to Nebraska for a lunch and Q & A session with the business legend.

Personally, we share a passion for girls in STEM as our backgrounds before business school were in those fields. It is an honor to support an organization engaging a diverse group of girls into a field where they are still widely underrepresented. We love to see not only how they have promoted STEM, but a whole lifestyle of well-being and are engaging their girls to become prepared for a rewarding adulthood.
Today we took a tour of the North Omaha Girl’s Inc facility, learned about their great programs, and heard that they received best affiliate of 2017 [Congratulations!!]. We are helping out with some cleaning activities to ensure the organization starts 2018 with a smooth start!

We have been so impressed with the Girls Inc at Omaha that we have been inspired to start a partnership with the chapter in the Bay Area back in California. It is an organization well deserving of volunteer time and we encourage others to seek out their local chapter to do the same! A big thanks to Girl’s Inc. of Omaha, and Ms. Sydney, for hosting us today.

Girls’ Nite Out Event | Linda Rozo’s Remarks

When I was first asked if I’d be open to sharing at tonight‘s event, my initial thought was… ‘Heck no.’

You see, speaking in front of crowds makes me (like many others) PRETTY nervous. But as I thought about it a little more and with the help of a couple friends, I came to realize… being up here isn’t about me.

It’s about Alendra and the girls she represents. It’s about sharing how one young lady, can truly change your life. So, if it’s okay with you all I’d love to give you a glimpse into our story.

We started out as neighbors about four years ago. She lived right up the street from me, along with her family. Oftentimes neighbor kids and I would play basketball outside my house. One day, Alendra was one of the kids that came by to play! We got to talking and before she went back home I told her about the Better Together Basketball program that I was a part of and invited her to join. By the next season I had the privilege of becoming not only her neighbor but her coach.

It was during our second season together though that she had gotten into a little trouble, requiring her to make some different decisions. And that’s where Girls Inc. came in. They gave Alendra the opportunity to ask someone in her life to be her mentor. Someone she knew, someone she trusted. And of all people, she chose me. It still blows me away thinking about this. As you can see by me standing here, I said, ‘Yes!’. That was about two years ago.

Since then I’ve had the opportunity of spending time with this incredible young lady, who I now consider family. We hang out during the week together, we go on trips together, we run errands together, we serve together, we lead together – we truly do life together. We’ve been through a lot together and in it we’ve learned from each other.

I was actually talking to her last night about this event and asked her if there was anything she wanted me to share with you all. And she said to me, ‘Yes! Tell them that you have REALLY changed my life Coach Linda.’

While that filled my heart more than she’ll ever know, I’d say the reverse is just as true, ‘Alendra has REALLY changed my life.’

If there’s one thing I’ve learned along the way, it’s that in order to bring change we must be willing to be changed.

So, I encourage you- open yourself up to being changed. Alendra modeled this for me when she asked me to be her mentor. She let me into her life fully and made it easy for me to let her into mine fully. Allow a young person into your life, learn from them, listen to them, love and care for them, be present with them, and I guarantee your life will not look the same because of them. And you will be able to say… they have REALLY changed your life.

My name is Fatuma Mberwa and I am eighteen years old. I attend the University of Nebraska Omaha. I am majoring in Public Health. I received both the Buffet and the Girls Inc. local scholarship.  It is because of Girls Inc. I’m standing here today as a Muslim girl in college. Girls Inc. has had a significant impact on my life as a Muslim Somali Bantu. It gave me and my sisters a safe place to go and learn and have fun at the same time. Girls Inc. has given me the confidence and courage to stand up for my rights. As a girl in my culture, going to college is frowned upon because we are supposed to get married by the time we are eighteen. It is a big deal to branch out and put your education before marriage and family. I’m able to do this because I know I have my Girls Inc. family to hold my hand throughout this journey.

Because of Girls Inc. I was able to see myself as teacher, an artist or a doctor and at the same time keep my religion and cultural norms. For example, when I needed a hijab swimsuit to cover up as I learned how to swim, Girls Inc. was there for me.

As I embark in my college journey, I know that I have the skills and courage to change the world and educate my Muslim community because I’m a Girls Inc. girl. Thank you for supporting Girls Inc. and fueling the fire for girls like me.

My name is Taylor Byrd. I’m 16-years-old and I’ve been attending Girls Inc. for 9 years.  Girls Inc. is a home away from home for me and many girls. At Girls Inc. I’ve been a peer teacher for B.E.L (Board of Educated Ladies) where we teach other youth in our community about sex education. I’m in success prep, a job prep skill building program where I practice skills from the program at a summer job and earn a paycheck working at Girls Inc. I’m a Sparks Positivity near-peer leader where I help teach the younger girls learn about compassion and kindness. And this will be my 5^th year in the Eureka! STEM program. This past summer I finished my second externship at Avirture, a software company in Sarpy county. During the 4-week externship I worked on bugs and errors and used visual studio code to fix the bugs. I love coding and computer programming. I got to sit in meetings to discuss the day’s progress. I got a glimpse of what I want to study when I go to college.

This year I also stepped out of my comfort zone and joined the fitness club with Mr. Joe.  We all know that sports and fitness is important for our health but not all of us like to do it or enjoy doing it.  For me, this was important because on my grandmother’s side of the family they have a history of diabetes and I’ve seen what that looks like. I know that staying healthy is the only way I will avoid diabetes.  In our fitness club we learn that nutrition and exercise go together. Mr. Joe makes sure to add healthy cooking using items we had in our garden at Girls Inc. and items we would have at home. He showed us how to make vegetarian spaghetti and limit frying our foods. I know it’s hard to eat healthy but being at Girls Inc. I’m reminded each day why it’s important. I’m grateful that we have Girls Inc. in our community to keep us healthy and smart.

Destinee

My name is Destinee Juber and Girls Inc. helped me reach my potential.

I went to Girls Inc in 2011 and 2012, during my days in foster care, and at the time I was a completely different person. I was a mess of a girl that was constantly making terrible choices. I’ve struggled with PTSD and depression for the better part of my life. However, back then it controlled me; I let those words define me as a person. I didn’t know anything else, until the staff at Girls Inc. showed me compassion and wanted to help me.

Each day after school I was routinely the first girl to enter the building for many months. Sometimes the hopelessness was overpowering and my heavy heart brought my shoulders down with it. Other days I’d strut down the hallway with undeniable confidence. I was given a special job to do, in effort to help me grow. I grew each and every time I watered the garden, trimmed the oregano, and fed the worms. I delicately took care of that garden and kept a certain fascination with the worms. At the time they were one of my few friends. You’ll find that my heart was longing for an opportunity, for a chance at life. But I chose to go about it all wrong.

One day I decided I needed more and I was tough, I was an adult. I’d show them. I defiantly walked out of the building and down the devilishly crooked street. I can hardly believe that I, myself would just walk out in the dark, in Omaha, but I had to prove I was grown. I wandered foolishly as the darkness of night stalked my every move. 3 hours later a group of teenagers took me in and had the police pick me up. I was scared and angry that they would betray me like that, but they saved me from being kidnapped or making yet another idiotic decision.

With shame I was hauled back to my foster home and continued to act defiantly because I wasn’t going down without a fight. After things died down and I had received my punishment, I was sure I’d never re-enter that brick building. But these gracious and amazing people looked past my foolishness and decided I had potential and they stuck with me. I was given a second chance I have yet to forget. It was so powerful I only wish I could express in words how grateful I am. It was magical for that lost 12-year-old girl.

After a few months of gardening and time with my amazing and ever-faithful mentor, I was changing. My mentor taught me so many skills, from all things engineering, problem solving, and good habits. I excelled in school, proudly challenged myself in my STEM groups at Girls Inc, and felt as if I truly belonged. Believe me, I was 12, I had my days, but they always stood by my side. The doors they opened were questionable for me. I was confused as to why they wanted to help me and not just push me away. The truth is they really do care, because if they didn’t I can assure you they had many opportunities to prove me wrong and they chose to stand by me. Mental health was one barrier that kept me from reaching my potential and they embraced it. If I had a hard day, they gave me a reason to push through it.

It’s a great feeling to know you will always have someone in your corner! To this day I keep in contact and let me just say this world does not deserve to have such wonderful people all in one place.

I am Destinee and I am strong, smart, and bold!

My name is Kendra Trimble and I’m fifteen years old. I’ve been a Girls Inc. member for nine years. With the expansion of the North Omaha Katherine Fletcher center, we are very lucky to have an elevated track, fitness center and a yoga space. So, when Mr. Joe started his first fitness club last year, I was one of the first group of teens to join the club. When I joined the club, my goal was to lose 10lbs. Little did I know that I was going to learn about patience, how to set personal goals, learn different ways to relieve stress and enjoy working out with Mr. Joe. As I mentioned earlier my goal was to lose ten pounds; I’m happy to say that I lost fifteen pounds.  It took me half a year to do this, and that’s a life time for a teen. I definitely exercised patience and on top of that I learned how to eat healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I learned that I can accomplish a lot with patience and determination.

On top of fitness club, I’m a member of the Eureka! program and B.E.L. (Board of Educated Ladies)-our sex education peer teaching program. When I was younger I was a part of Operation SMART and Techbridge both STEM programs. At Girls Inc., staff have helped me with my resume building, interviewing skills, homework help and public speaking. I’ve become better in science, more comfortable in my math classes and most important they have helped me with my communicating skills. As you can see, Girls Inc. is molding me to be the next travelling nurse. That’s my career goal.

Thank you for being in my corner.

The girls returned from a trip – an adventure! – to Yellowstone National Park and more. Click here to read their about their experiences.

Aloha from sunny Hawai’i!  To read all the details – travel, food, shopping, cultural excursions, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and more! – click here: 2016 Hawaii Trip Journal Excerpts