As the first day of school approaches, parents and kids alike are gearing up for a new year with all the excitement of new teachers, new classmates, and new school supplies. This year, teammates at the Community Correctional Center – Omaha (CCC-O) pitched in to help out Omaha youth start the school year off on the right foot through the Completely KIDS School Supply Drive.

“Personally, being able to give back to the community and impact the lives of our youth means a lot to me,” said Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Unit Case Manager Jasmine Cook.

Cook reached out to Completely KIDS about the backpack drive and organized the collection. She distributed pamphlets of the drive to all staff members at CCC-O to enlist their help. The response was outstanding.​ CCC-O teammates donated a total of 29 backpacks filled with rulers, colored pencils, pencil cases, folders, markers, #2 pencils and bottled glue. The backpacks will benefit Omaha children in need four to 15-years-old.

“I am able to relate to children that are in need of school supplies because that was me at one time,” said Cook. “Every child should be properly equipped with supplies and tools needed to excel in their education.”

Teammates at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution (TSCI) also kicked off a Stuff the Backpack drive this month.

Earlier this year, Secretary Lisa Schmidt learned about a classroom in Wahoo with several students in need of basic school supplies. She immediately purchased four backpacks and filled them with supplies.

“It made me think about kids closer to us in need,” said Schmidt. As president of TSCI’s Employee Activity committee, she reached out to several places in town to assess needs and what they could do. “I really wanted to do something as an EAC committee to give back to the community.”

Schmidt, EAC member Sara Flynn and others worked with the Johnson County Central Public Schools to compile a list of school supplies needed for students in Kindergarten up through fifth grade. The team worked to get the word out to their teammates. They posted fliers and shared information around the facility.

The drive wraps up August 20th. So far they have collected a wide assortment of supplies including backpacks, notebooks, pencil boxes, glue, colored pencils, tissues and hand sanitizer.

The EAC committee plans to thank the team members for their donations with popcorn and M&Ms at the end of the drive.

Thanks to everyone at CCC-O and TSCI for helping out Nebraska’s youth!