These pieces of artwork were created by four different Camp Fire after-school programs.  Elementary students created acrylic paintings of their dreams that were then cut and collaged to form the image of a giant gift bow.  High school students then constructed a small mural made of birch and pine where you “open the gift” created with the bow.  The boxes spill out their contents as they roll through space, sometimes leaping off the panel.

Thank you to Mutual of Omaha and Kristin Pluhacek for helping Camp Fire youth reach for their dreams.  Watch youth from Camp Fire create their masterpieces.

Camp Fire is proud to offer local schools, children and parents a powerful Internet safety education tool.  The Adventures of Natalie the Net Nanny is an interactive play designed to equip kids with the skills to keep them safe in the digital world.

Camp Fire is proud to announce that our dedicated volunteers were able to provide more than 300 hours toward the project!  Thank you to every volunteer who offered a morning, afternoon or evening to help with the success of the project - we could not have done it without you!

If you are interested in supporting Camp Fire’s Snack Pack program, please contact Michelle Zych at 397-5809 or mzych@campfireomaha.org. 

Support Camp Fire USA in this initiative and watch for the exhibit at the Qwest Center during the world-class swimming events during the month of June.  For more information, visit www.mutualofomaha.com/swim.

Thank you, Ivonne, for all that you continue to give to Camp Fire and the kids we serve.

From Ivonne Valentin, Camp Fire’s 2007 Volunteer of the Year

“I almost don’t even know where to start…

Last February, I came to Camp Fire at Jackson as a requirement for one of my classes.  It is only required for us to do 15 hours of community service and then write reflections over that experience.  From the moment I walked in I knew I couldn’t just limit myself to 15 hours and be done.  Within a few minutes of being at the program I already was attached and made friends with kids.  They were not aware of who I was or where I was from but trusted me with helping them with their homework and just talking about their day.

When they found out I was a former soccer player/current coach their faces lit up.  If I wasn’t inside playing board games, I was on the black top kicking the ball around with kids.  It’s so special to have the soccer connection with them and play for hours outside.  I realized that after my first visit I had a purpose here in two ways:  my purpose as a volunteer to spend quality time with the kids during activity and help them in any way that they need me to and my purpose as a role model in helping develop them into becoming young adults.

I feel very blessed with the opportunity of going to college and getting a magnificent education.  In addition, I also have been given the opportunity to show my talents on the soccer field for Creighton’s University team and the Puerto Rican National Team.  My experience with these teams has left me with great stories and memories to last a lifetime.  And I want these kids to see they can have these same opportunities too.  Nothing is impossible.  If those kids want to get an education, they can.  If they want to play a sport for their school or at a higher level, they can.  Or if they just pursue whatever it is that makes them happy in life, they should.  I don’t ever want them to feel that they are below or different from others in our community.  In fact, they are so special in my eyes.  And they are fortunate to have a program like Camp Fire USA that has a great staff who cares and believes in them.  With that alone, they are a step ahead of some who do not have that support.

I try and do my best to remember names but sometimes it is a bit hard.  However, I always remember their smiles and hugs.  Seeing their happy faces and knowing that they’re having fun is my reward.  It is so unreal how taking two or three hours of my time can mean to someone.  But that is what keeps me coming back.  It means a lot knowing that I am a part of an organization that is making a difference in our youth.  I hope to continue working with Camp Fire and expand to their other programs as well.

For me, this is something that I just cannot walk away from.  Those kids mean too much to me and there is still so much more that we can do.  I feel very honored to have received the Volunteer of the Year Award.  Out of any award I have received this is my favorite and most important.  I would definitely like to thank all of those involved in Camp Fire USA for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this organization.  And I can’t wait for future visits at Jackson Camp Fire!”

For information about how you can make a difference in the lives of children as a Camp Fire volunteer, contact Nick Brotzel at 397-5809 or nbrotzel@campfireomaha.org.

In the middle of a $5.7 million capital campaign, it was Physicians Mutual who provided help with the deconstruction and moving of old cubicles and equipment, allowing Camp Fire staff to focus on the quality of our programs.  When it came time for Camp Fire to re-evaluate performance appraisal practices, it was Physicians Mutual who provided specialists and guided our management team through the long process of developing standards that kept them the agency current in the field of human resources. 

It was Physicians Mutual who, for the second year in a row, lit up the faces of the kids at Camp Fire’s After School program at Jackson Elementary with their sponsorship of the Holiday Gift Drive.  Physicians Mutual took on the entire program and provided not only a gift for the holidays, but a party for more than 100 children that included face painting, a live band, and the opportunity for each child to pick out a gift for a member of their family.

It is for these reasons and many more that Physicians Mutual has been chosen as Camp Fire’s 2007 Community Partner of the Year.  For information about how to get your company involved with Camp Fire, contact Michelle Zych at 397-5809 or mzych@campfireomaha.org.

For more information about how to get your group involved with Camp Fire and the Designer Showhouse, contact Nick Brotzel at 397-5809 or nbrotzel@campfireomaha.org.

Thank you, Skyline Elementary, for supporting our mission to build caring, confident youth and future leaders!