On December 1, 2022 the Salvation Army began its 35th year and Judy Coffey from the Heartland Pioneer started volunteering with the Night Watch program. A few weeks later Judy got a phone call from a friend she knew. The freind told her she taken up knitting again and had made about 54 stocking hats.

She asked Judy if she knew of a place to donate them. Judy told her she knew of a group that would be happy to receive the stocking hats. After making a couple of phone calls Maria at the Salvation Army Disaster Service told Judy they had a current need for stocking hats and would like to have them. Judy stopped by and dropped off 54 stocking hats. .

The Salvation Army of Omaha begins its 35th year of Night Watch

The Salvation Army of Omaha loaded up its trucks and set up in two different locations in Omaha Wednesday night for the 35th year of the Winter Night Watch program.

The program is aimed to help the homeless and near-homeless by handing out food and winter apparel such as hats, coats, gloves and socks.

“It’s just so critical for those who are just trying to literally just survive out there on the streets,” Capt. Kelsie Moreno with The Salvation Army said.

The trucks set up five nights a week and go through the winter. Thomas Miller has volunteered with Night Watch for 12 years and says the gratitude for both volunteers and those being served goes both ways.

“They’re really gracious and really nice about receiving and I feel good about giving, so yeah, it works both ways,” Miller said.

The Salvation Army’s programs, like Night Watch, function in large part to volunteers. Captain Moreno says they are always in need of volunteers to help.

For those who prefer to donate instead of volunteer, The Salvation Army is always in need of winter coats. Those can be donated during regular business hours at any Salvation Army location.

Submitted by Judy Coffey

The Don MacKenzie Charitable Foundation Grants Completed by the Heartland Council Pioneers in 2022 calendar year

TelecomPioneers Charitable Foundation (TPCF) Grants, now named the Don Mackenzie Grants, are grants for educational and/or charitable community service projects that make a significant impact in local communities and generate substantial recognition for the Pioneers. The annual Foundation grant awards are determined by the prior year’s investment earnings. The distribution allocation percentage to each group will be based on year-end membership numbers.

Pioneers takes a grassroots approach towards volunteerism, responding to the unique needs of our hometowns. Pioneers submit grant applications on behalf of the local schools/school systems and/or community service projects they support. The Foundation will fund local Pioneers educational and charitable activities, and not merely serve as a distributor of funds to unaffiliated schools/school systems or other organizations.

The strength of Pioneering is the volunteer. Pioneers projects are as diverse as the communities we serve. We take a grassroots approach towards volunteerism, responding to the unique needs of our hometowns. The Pioneers Charitable Foundation Fund (Foundation) provides grants for educational and/or charitable community service projects that make a significant impact in local communities and generate substantial recognition for the Pioneers.


Below are just our Don MacKenzie Grant Projects for the Pioneer Year of 2022 for the Heartland Council of New Outlook West Ch. 131. The last photo is a picture of our December 2022 Life Member Luncheon. The picture of the LML is just a reversal of the group and saved as one. It turned out as a eye catching photo and we decided to post it as one of our non-grant projects. Around 115 Omaha Works retiree enjoyed a great luncheon and get together. The Don MacKenzie projects will be listed in order.

• 1. 31st TurkeyFest co-sponsored with the Salvation Army serving around 1500 meals annually at Thanksgiving
• 2. The next is Hook and Needles that started in 1987 with 157 members.
• 3. Line 3 is Care Bears of Lincoln, NE. They moved here from CA and are working with a number of groups doing community service in the name of Pioneering
• 4. The Hug A Bears group started around 1991 or 1992 and had over 55 members at the time. From around 2000 to date the group has produced over 53,000 HAB’s. The lady that makes Quilts of Honor has been making them for some time. I encourage you to google Quilts of Valor and find out more about them
• 5. We found out from a nurse at the Hospice House that there are items that they need all year and Heartland has been helping them secure the needed items
• 6. The next is Bellevue, NE Food Bank. This was a new Grant Project of the Heartland Council
• 7. Hot Fans is a project by the Salvation Army to provide fans to the elderly that need them during the hot months of the summer and Heartland Council buys fans and donate them to the drive each year
• 8. The WCA is the go-to place for anyone in the Omaha area who is experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking. This was also a new project this year
• 9. This is a photo of Heartland Council’s Life Member Luncheon in December 2022. This is one of our non-grant projects that takes place 3 time a year. The picture was made to see what it looked like and turned into an eye catcher. Actually around 115 retiree’s of the Omaha Works enjoy the time together and the meal
  

N.O.W. Ch. 161 Heartland Council	Grant Name	Requested $	Contact	Grant funded	Heartland Council Funded	Total Spent
Heartland Council	Hooks & Needles	$4,000	Bob Wolkins	$600.00	$2,183.96	$2,783.96
Heartland Council	Hug A Bears	$4,000	Bob Wolkins	$600.00	$40.19	$640.19
Heartland Council	TurkeyFest	$3,000	Bob Wolkins	$1,835.00	$623.58	$2,458.58
Heartland Council	Cozy Wraps	$4,000	Bob Wolkins	$3,000.00	$17.61	$3,017.61
Heartland Council	Care Bears – Lincoln	$2,500	Bob Wolkins	$500.00	($25.45)	$474.55
Heartland Council	Hot Fans	$3,000	Bob Wolkins	$1,500.00	$249.30	$1,749.30
Heartland Council	Hospice Housel	$700	Bob Wolkins	$600.00	($278.46)	$321.54
Heartland Council	Sunshine Project	$500	Bob Wolkins	$360.00	$144.47	$504.47
Heartland Council	WAC	$1,500	Bob Wolkins	$1,150.00	$3.63	$1,153.63
Heartland Council	Food Bank	$2,000	Bob Wolkins	$1,150.00	$1,350.00	$2,500.00
	Total Funded by New Outlook Region	$25,200	NO Funding	$11,295.00	$4,308.83	$15,603.83

Submitted by the Volunteers of Heartland Council Pioneers

This year for Thanksgiving, Heartland Council has purchased $2,500.00 worth of Turkey’s and other non-perishables for the food pantries in Bellevue. The three food pantries came together to ensure that food is distributed equally to the needy in the South Omaha and Bellevue area.

The total cost for this one day is over $10,000.00. Heartland Council is proud to help sponsor this effort. This year, we ordered Turkeys at a cost of 99 cents per pound, 125 Turkeys. This purchase will ensure that at least 125 families will have a fresh turkey for Thanksgiving this year. As you can see, our volunteers work very hard to fulfill the needs in this community.

Bob Wolkins knew of the need earlier this year at the food banks for the coming Thanksgiving and worked with Fareway Grocery to purchase the Turkey’s and non-perishables for Thanksgiving.

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Submitted by Bob Wolkins