Making An Impact

Generous community-minded citizens are having a tremendous impact through partnerships with the Hastings Community Foundation. Donors come from all walks of life, but have one thing in common – their work and generosity are changing lives.

Annually, the Hastings Community Foundation awards nearly $125,000 in community grants to local nonprofits. These grants are made possible by contributions from the Hastings Community Endowment Fund.

What a few of this year’s grantees had to say:

TEEN REACH ADVENTURE CAMP
A summer camp for at-risk teens in our community

Your donation allowed us to provide campers with a variety of camping supplies. One camper said, “The sleeping bag and pillow are really mine? I’ve never had a pillow before.” Another camper was extremely grateful as grandma cares for three kids in the family, one with extreme physical needs. He requested camp be more than three days.

HASTINGS LITERACY COUNCIL

We have always prided ourselves on the success of our GED® Diploma graduates every June, but this year we seem to be completely overwhelmed with graduates! This last school year, we have been able to help 20 students achieve their GED® Diplomas. With the grant we were awarded from the Hastings Community Foundation, we were able to pay for all of the GED® tests for our students – saving them over $120 each! That’s one more barrier we eliminate in their quest to obtain their GED®. It does indeed take a village to help someone succeed!

MELON ROASTER CAR CLUB

We were so glad to find out about the Community Foundation--when we did, it was a life saver for us to get our Historical Sign project completed way ahead of schedule. We would have had to raise money for a couple more years. It’s so nice to have a community where things like this are possible. Thanks again for helping us keep and preserve the history of “brick making” in Hastings and create a great addition to beautiful Brickyard Park. I hope we will be able to do more projects with help from the Foundation. THANKS AGAIN!

A recent HCF grant was given to the Ballet Folklorico this dance group is made up of local children whom you see here are performing at the Nebraska State Fair. The group was organized to provide an opportunity for the children to “develop their self-esteem and confidence in their many abilities and talents.” Another goal was to “educate the young dancers about their cultural roots and to expose the general public to the Mexican culture.”

The Foundation was able to help by purchasing a projector, screen and speaker to be used during classes and also providing costumes for the growing group!

“Thank you Hastings Community Foundation for the grant for the Special Needs Fall Festival. Thanks to your generosity we hosted about 650 special needs individuals with a day of fun and laughter! I can't begin to tell you what this day means to the families. They can come enjoy the day and not have to worry things like inability to participate, being judged or laughed at. Thank you Hastings Community Foundation for providing this opportunity to everyone who has felt the struggle of disabilities. “