dana college  ALUMNI and Friends ASSOCIATION

CAMPUS UPDATE!
(The following information was provided by Ed Shada at Lutheran Family Services)

This has been a great quarter and 6 months!

1. One of our youth is moving up and out with Woodhouse. He came to us with his sister and has built a beautiful world for both he and his sister. Thank you, Woodhouse.

2. We have over 20 elderly now on campus along with 14 youth in the program and 7 living on campus who have graduated. The behavioral health counselor we brought to campus is almost full.

3. We were blessed to receive a major donation of $2.5 million to match the State funds of $2.0 million, plus an additional $570,000 to bring us to just over $5.0 million to renovate the gym.

4. At the last monthly dinner provided by St. Thomas Lutheran Church, the youth asked for a bible study class on campus.

5. Multiple organizations provided cleanup of the campus
a. With Special thanks to the Mormon Church and Boyd Jones

Upcoming:

1. HUD Summit on campus – attracting national attention

2. Vintner Dinner Fundraiser – August 15th
a. Last year raised $295,000

Success Stories:
One young woman found two jobs one in fast food and one in retail in Blair within her first week of living at Dana Village. She moved to Dana from Lincoln and was hopeful of finding similar jobs to what she had when she lived in Lincoln. She didn’t expect to find them so quickly and she was thrilled to not have a gap in her income. She is very motivated and excited to be a part of the Dana and Blair community.

One new young adult resident works nights. She got keys to her new place in the afternoon and went right to her evening shift, when she got off work at 4:00 am she went to her new apartment and slept on the floor with only a blanket. She said she didn’t care at all, that she didn’t have her furniture yet - it was just so exciting to have her own place, and she slept great knowing she was finally safe. She has now gotten the furniture she needs and loves decorating her own place.   

An older resident received a scooter through the local veteran services office. He has slowly learned to navigate the scooter through all doors and now can be seen smiling as he takes his scooter outside for morning and evening drives.  

Another young resident received a mattress as a donation and said it was so exciting not to be sleeping on an air mattress anymore. He said he had slept on an air mattress for the past year, and he just loved having an actual bed now. He said he even made the bed every morning now because he just so appreciated having an actual mattress and bed frame.

One young Dana resident has the important job of BINGO coordinator for the monthly BINGO game. She takes pride in setting things up early and reading the numbers clearly and she hopes many different people win prizes. She said the role is something she is proud of and she looks forward to the game each month.

During one community meal a young adult resident asked one of the church volunteers why they bring food from their church to the Dana Village – and the parishioner explained that she attended Dana as a college student and lived in the residence hall many years ago and she loves returning to visit the space. The young adult living at Dana said they have something in common then, because she too loves living at Dana Village now.

At Dana many individuals are transported with the Dana Van each day. One parent and child ride together to a daycare where the adult works and the child has time to play with other kids and learn important development skills. This parent is so thankful they found this job and that they can receive transportation right now. They hope to purchase a car as soon as they can, but for now they are thankful for the opportunity to work at the same place that their child attends daycare and preschool. 

There is an entrepreneurial spirit at Dana Village. There is an individual who, for a small fee, does incredible manicures and another person who is willing to help with simple car repairs. There are many ways people work together to trade skill sets and help each other in creative ways.

In the past month the community gathering space at Dana Village hosted a baby shower, birthday celebrations, games with grandkids, community meals, educational classes, and so many important conversations and connections.

Young adults learned skills such as managing a bank account, applying for jobs, how to professionally interact at work with others when frustrated - and so much more. Young adults stop in the case management office all day to ask questions and get help with completing forms and responding appropriately to others. They trust the case manager to help them navigate all the daily challenges.