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Today is Omaha Gives, the Omaha Community Foundation’s annual 24 hour charitable challenge to non-profits. Omaha Gives is a day when your donation can go further by helping us compete in a friendly competition with other non-profits for drawings, prizes, and bonus dollars. Last year, more than 18,000 people raised $6.3 million for nearly 600 organizations.

At Voices for Children, we strive to be an independent voice for Nebraska’s children that is driven by informed research.

In order to maintain our independence, we are not funded by state, federal, city or county dollars. We are generously supported by people like you who want to make difference for the kids in our state. Our independence allows us to speak loud and clear and to shine the spotlight on the needs of children in our state.

By giving today, you can help support the work we do to ensure that there are opportunities for all Nebraska children to succeed. 

Since the start of the 2015 legislative session, your donations have helped create positive changes for children across the state:

• Non-criminal youth status offenders will now be screened into pre-court, community based programming, reducing the number of children jailed in youth detention facilities.
• Juveniles can no longer be indiscriminately shackled in court.
• Efforts to lower the minimum wage for Nebraska youth were defeated.
• The Supreme Court will create standards to hold Guardians ad Litem accountable in representing our state’s most vulnerable children.

And our previous legislative victories are having real impacts on children:

• 160,000 children have health insurance through Kids Connection
• 1,100 more Nebraska babies have access to prenatal care
• 16,000 kids will avoid being sent to the court system just for missing school
• 1,200 kids will avoid adult criminal records and be able to access appropriate service
• More than 500 additional Nebraska children have access to safe, affordable, child care every year
• 6,000 kids in the child welfare system benefit from caseworkers being able to spend time with them and their family
• 3,400 low-risk youth were referred to diversion programs in 44 counties

With your help, we hope to achieve many more legislative victories for kids. Consider scheduling a donation for Omaha Gives and being part of the effort to create opportunities for all Nebraska children to succeed.

Thank you to taking the time to share!