Preparing students for life after school

Pam Wolford McCook Community Foundation Fund

Andy and Geri Andersen had a passion for young people. So they turned that passion into a reality by creating an endowment with a focus on young people, with payouts to be distributed annually by a group of young people.

Their financial gift to the McCook Community Foundation Fund is intended to support causes and dreams that will benefit youth, which gives youth the opportunity to disperse annual grant funds and which encourages young people to come home to raise their own families. The Anderson’s financial support is how MCFF’s youth organization, Youth Change Reaction (YCR), came to be and which has led to the support of other youth programs in the community.

While I joined the MCFF Advisory Committee in 2018, I actually became involved in 2009 through my co-sponsorship of YCR, just one program for youth I am proud to be involved in and support.

As an educator for 35 years, my passion has always been the preparation of students for life after high school. My McCook High School students completed projects and job shadowing to expose them to the variety of careers and opportunities in Southwest Nebraska.

The latest effort to expose students to the potential in our community is a project called “Bison Days.” I am proud to serve on the Bison Days committee as well.

MCFF has financially supported “Bison Days” for the past two years and has set aside funds for this coming spring if the current pandemic allows us to proceed. This two-day program is for the entire McCook High School student body, teachers, and community members.

Through this program, students have the opportunity to take part in up to four courses that are not typically offered at McCook High School. This project is similar to college interim programs except in length and scope. The two days of classes allow students to find potential hobbies, explore career interests, and develop skills which don’t always have a place or a time in the regular classroom.

The goal of the project is to help students explore opportunities in the community and also to nurture relationships between students, community volunteers, and the McCook High School staff who are teaching the classes.

The program consists of partnering with 20-30 community members and businesses to help provide the instruction for the 90+ classes that are offered. The committee feels it is important to utilize local businesses and resources to provide students with more opportunities for real world connections within the community of McCook as well as showing students the future employment opportunities available here.

Some examples of classes run by community members and teachers are sewing, cooking, self-defense, home repair, donut making, archery, jelly making, quilting, Fantasy Sports, architectural drafting, and auto detailing. Last year’s popular classes included cooking classes, boater’s safety, ice fishing, prom hair styles, facial care and make up, jousting, and floral arranging.

The idea for Bison Days came from a similar project held at Cozad High School called “Maker Days.” The committee from Cozad joined us last year and toured our sites and offerings. As their tour guide, I enjoyed their positive comments about our community and the overall event. Videos documenting the past two years of Bison Days can be viewed on the McCook High School website.

Developing a sense of community has been a strong goal of McCook High School over the last few years and MCFF is proud to continue the legacy of Andy and Geri Anderson through financial support for these tremendous youth programs.