2024 Big Give Reaches Record Numbers

2024 Southwest Nebraska Big Give Passes $300,000

By RONDA GRAFF

MCFF

McCOOK, Neb. — Individuals and businesses stepped up in their support for the 2024 Southwest

Nebraska Big Give, which took place from midnight to midnight Thursday, Nov. 7. With the largest

number of organizations participating in its nine-year history, the Big Give also reached record numbers in donations.

As of Friday morning, the total is at $335,000 when individual donations and sponsorship dollars are

combined. The final for the 2023 Big Give was $278,000, a then-record.

Even more importantly, the number of individual donations increased from 938 in 2023 to 954 so far this year.

All of those numbers will likely increase over the next week as mail-in donations arrive in the mail and are added to the total.

Lisa Felker, co-chair of Community Chest which oversees and organizes the Southwest Nebraska Big

Give, said she was impressed with the support from Southwest Nebraska residents plus all the donors

across Nebraska, Kansas and the United States.

“They really stepped up this year and made the 2024 Big Give a tremendous success,” Felker said.

She added that the Big Give was made possible because of the volunteer committee, which gathers

sponsorship dollars, coordinates the website and organizes the promotion of the one-day of giving.

“A special shout-out to our social media team of Baleigh Abbott, Tricia Wagner and Stacee Smock, who

kept everyone up to date before and throughout the day with information,” Felker said.

Other members of the Community Chest committee are co-chair Melissa Stritt, who spends the entire

day with Felker inputing and updating the donation tally on the website; Gene Weedin, JoHanna Scott,

Mark Searcy, Pam Wolford, Ronda Graff and Linda Koetter.

The Big Give also saw the most non-profit organizations taking part in the event with 45 charitable

groups joining the effort, covering communities across Southwest Nebraska from Curtis to Cambridge to Haigler.

A complete list of the organizations and their totals raised during the Big Give can be found on the Big

Give website, swnebiggive.org.

The Southwest Nebraska Big Give continues to grow each year because of many people, businesses

and organizations coming together to make it happen. These include the sponsors, which provide the

matching funds to make individual donations even more impactful. Those sponsorship dollars are used to provide the matching funds during the power hours throughout the day. Organizations also receive

matching funds at the end based on the total dollars raised throughout the day, up to an amount based on the sponsor dollars raised throughout the year.

The 2024 platinum sponsors include the Graff Charitable Foundation and MNB Bank.

Gold sponsors are Community Hospital and First Interstate Bank.

Silver and bronze sponsors include First Central Bank, First State Bank & Insurance Cambridge,

Herrmann-Jones Funeral Chapel & Lockenhour-Jones Mortuary, MNB Insurance, Pinnacle Bank,

Waypoint Bank Cambridge, and State Farm Insurance - Linda Maiden.

Friendship sponsors included High Plains Radio, Hometown Agency, Hometown Family Radio, McCook

Gazette, W Design Associates, Wagner Auto Group, Hoppens & Meier Orthodontics and Samway Floor

Covering & Furniture.

The Big Give would not be possible without the publicity from local media including the McCook Gazette, High Plains Radio and Hometown Family Radio.

While the Community Chest organizers are wrapping-up the 2024 Big Give, plans are already underway for the 2025 Big Give.

The McCook Community Chest is a sub-account of the McCook Community Foundation Fund, an affiliate of the Nebraska Community Foundation.

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Jan. 2026 Volunteer of the Month Devoted to Church and Community

By Ronda Graff • January 22, 2026

To kick off the new year, Jo Beebe has been selected as the January 2026 McCook Volunteer of the month. While many people might know Jo for her years at the Sports Shoppe, she can be found giving hours of her time to the community, especially at St. Patrick Church. Whether during the weekly Mass or for a funeral or wedding, Jo shares her beautiful voice from the choir loft, as well as leading the choir members. Jo, along with her husband Harold, also has served as the St. Pat’s GALA host couple in the past and continues to help with set-up and cleanup of the annual event. Jo is also active with the Fall Festival, the Rosary Rally and the Wild Game Feed in Curtis every year. She attends every the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults class and helps students prepare for confirmation. And since retiring from the Sports Shoppe, she is active in the Altar Society, and volunteers at the Bargain Bazaar thrift store. According to her nomination, “The way Jo gives of her time and talents to our parish and community is a reflection of her faith,” and the community and the church are better because of her generosity. The McCook Philanthropy Council selects the monthly recipient for the McCook Volunteer of the Month award as part of the McCook Community Foundation Fund’s McCook Volunteer program. If there is a volunteer in the community who should be recognized, please contact the McCook Chamber of Commerce at 308.340.3200 or visit McCook Volunteers on the MCFF website, mccookfoundation.org to complete a nomination form. The only requirement is that the nominee must be a resident of McCook or Red Willow County. Please have information about the nominee along with where and how they volunteer in the community.