Community Resource Sharing Newsletter

Alright 2026 ~ Let ’s do this!

January means three things in Nebraska: the Unicameral is back in session, Temperature Tuesdays are on at Runza, and we formally announce we love working with you, our amazing partners in the four-county service area.  

We thank our Steering Committee members Tammy Classen/CNCAP and Sara Colford/Columbus Public Schools for their dedication, time, and direction they provided to Community & Family Partnership over the years. They have reached their cap in terms of how long they can be with the Steering Committee. We are grateful for your service!   

We welcome new Steering Committee members Molly Pofahl/East Central District Health Department, Rosa Pinto/Heartland Workers, Jonathan Holland/ECDHD & GNCHC, and Katy McNeil/DHHS. We are thrilled to have you join our amazing team of folks who guide CFP.

Looking for a job change? Want to make a difference in the lives of those in our communities? You’re in luck! Our Community Prevention Director position is open. Check it out and see if you are ready to join our team!

Our annual report from 2024-2025 is in! Take a few minutes to browse through the report and see the impact we’ve made.

Speaking of annual report, here is a summary of the participants served through Central Navigation from July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025. Look for updates every quarter on the great work done by our Community Prevention team!

We had our Christmas Party for all three Cohorts on Dec 1^st. We shared a meal, fellowship, games and put together a basket of things for our Cohort 3 provider who lost her home this Thanksgiving. Time was spent getting to know each other and just having some fun with other providers in the Rooted Program.

Cohort 3 will be starting their CHIME training this upcoming January. They will continue to meet with their coaches every month and our Cohort 2 providers continue to meet for their last year of coaching with us as well.

Rooted in Relationships has met with the Chamber to do some strategizing for a new project to have for families and children in our community and is also working with the library to start preparing for our Week of the Yong Child events in April. Sign-ups for these events were done at our Christmas Party and will have follow up on activities planned throughout the months of Jan and Feb.

PRAPARE Survey

We need your help. 

We are partnering with the East Central District Health Department to distribute a brief community survey. The results will help identify factors that impact the health of our community members, often referred to as social determinants of health. These surveys are vital to collect data in our communities.

The survey is available in both English and Spanish. It contains 11 questions and takes approximately 2 minutes to complete.

We ask you distribute the survey to:

• Those who volunteer within your organization
• Staff at your organization, if applicable
• Those served at your organization

These surveys can be completed online by scanning the QR code. You can also print them and get them back to our office by dropping off or mailing to 3214 25th Street.

Welcome, Loree!

Hello, my name is Loree Rivas. I am a new Community Prevention Coach with Columbus Area United Way. I have been working for non-profits since 2016. I began my Human services work with the Center for Survivors, then moved on to work for East Central Health Dept. I gained my associates degree as a Human Services Generalist at CCC and also obtained my Drug and Alcohol Counseling license.

I feel most rewarded when I am out working with the public and providing resources to the community and families. I’m a busy mother to four kids, ages 17, 15, 11, and 7 that I enjoy spending my free time with at their activities. I'm originally from San Diego, California but I made Nebraska my home 19 years ago when I feel in love with the Midwest. Family and education are very important to me, and I hope I can instill positive outcomes to many families that I serve. 

NAMI Nebraska is starting their Family to Family Class on Tuesdays starting February 3rd, 2026 from 5:30 - 8:00 PM to be held online.

These classes are for anyone who has a loved one dealing with a mental health or substance use disorder. They provide education and support to help families cope in a healthy manner and help you find a community of others who are facing the same challenges.

Food Access Resources

One word that we like to use to describe ourselves is "connectors." We connect people to resources, to help, to others that can help. With the rising food insecurity needs, a food matrix was created that has resources, as well as information regarding 2-1-1 and Find Help to connect participants to the resources they need. Please find these items below.

Ready to be a changemaker for families? Join the Bring Up Nebraska Network! 

Bring Up Nebraska is a call to action to help families thrive and is supported by Nebraska Children and Families Foundation. Bring Up Nebraska is focused on prevention and strengthening families BEFORE crisis to empower them within their communities. It is about uniting those with shared agendas, implementing systems and providing evidence-based training to support meaningful opportunities and creating partnerships. 

Helping families thrive and focusing on preventive efforts is a priority area of Community and Family Partnership and more voices are needed. The more people involved in the shared mission of improving the quality of life for young people and families, the more impact we can have. Let’s do this together. See more information in the flyer below or visit BringUpNebraska.org.

Have you visited the Schuyler Community Book Garden??

Check it out!

LB304 is a bill that makes permanent the current income eligibility requirements for child care assistance. Without this bill, eligibility for child care assistance will be reduced in 2026, which will significantly impact thousands of families in Nebraska.

What can YOU do?

1) Learn more about the bill and stay informed

2) Share information about this bill - the more people who know about it, the better!

3) Reach out to your state senators and other government officials

Like what you see? Want to share the news?

Download your own copies of these flyers by clicking on the picture!