When I became a member of the McCook Community Foundation Fund, an unexpected shift happened in my thinking.
Through the affiliation with the Nebraska Community Foundation, I began to see the potential of “what can be” instead of the common mindset about our lack of resources, lack of creative leadership, or just plain apathy that can become troublesome to our local community organizations.
Along with our other Fund Advisory Committee members, there have been many conversations about McCook and the surrounding communities' future growth and the ability to attract new families and businesses. These discussions tend toward a listing of improving existing programs or facilities and the resulting obligatory debate about how to fund such undertakings.
Numerous times, it comes down to a perceived lack of funding, along with other sparse resources, that can make such impactful generational change difficult to attain.
Time after time, this very type of thinking holds organizations hostage from the actualization of their goals and dreams. This scarcity mindset accepts the belief that there will never be enough, resulting in feelings of fear, stress, and uneasiness, along with a resulting fatalistic attitude.
On the other hand, an abundance mindset flows out of a more profound inner sense of personal worth and security. It is grounded in the belief that there is more than enough for everyone. Abundancy thinking leads to utilizing the resources around us to facilitate the change we are seeking.
Abundancy-thinking recently guided local leaders to significantly increase our community's availability to childcare. A group of like-minded individuals, led by Andy Long, executive director of our McCook Economic Development Corporation, decided to investigate what was possible.
In the early stages, my thinking led me to believe that we needed a childcare facility, which would require a capital campaign for adequate building funds, start-up costs, and staffing needs. As we first perceived it, this project would have been a considerable endeavor and had a high potential for failure.
Through a survey of affected community members, results demonstrated that parents preferred their local in-home childcare options instead of a single large day care facility. The local data also showed that currently, McCook did not offer an adequate number of daycare spots, and new daycare spots for infants were scarce or nonexistent. The survey results were counterintuitive to my prior thinking, but this is what the data said, loud and clear! Our resulting goal has become: Make our county the best place in Nebraska to be with young children.
Our newly formed McCook/Red Willow County Community 4 Kids committee got to work, and within two years, we have made a significant impact. We created a JumpStart program that has realized three local individuals completing a 3-credit hour course at McCook Community College. This class required creating a business plan, creating a parent handbook, and then going on to start or expand an existing childcare center. Also, each successful candidate received a $3,000 start-up grant.
There was also a financial incentive to add infant spots by offering a $250/monthly stipend to cover additional costs associated with appropriate infant care. This program realized 15 other infant spots that were otherwise difficult for parents to find for our youngest citizens.
And the final part of our plan offers two Early Childhood Full-Ride Scholarships, in partnership with McCook Community College and the McCook Community College Foundation. We currently have awarded one scholarship to a local student studying Early Childhood and planning to work in this field in our local area.
The above demonstrates abundant thinking at a local level. When we began this endeavor, we were a bit overwhelmed about how to start.
But everyone was brought to the table, including the Early Childhood network, state level partnerships, local early childhood advocates, the McCook Economic Development Corporation, and the McCook Community Foundation Fund.
Also significantly, we could tap into local resources to fund this project without asking additional taxes or community fundraising. We were able to tap into fiscal resources that we were unaware of when we began this process two years ago.
We started talking about what it would take to make the program happen—demonstrating one example of how thinking with abundance, not scarcity, can lead to unimaginable change.
Think of a time in your life when you've been told, "You can not do that; you should focus instead on a safer or more predictable path." But rather than selling ourselves short, we can utilize our untapped potential if we adopt an abundance mindset.
Cindy Huff is chairperson of the McCook Community Foundation Fund. The former superintendent has a passion for youth, families and our community. She took over to give Ronda Graff a week off to celebrate 25 years of marriage to her first husband.
Jeremy Shaw named April 2025 McCook Volunteer of the Month
While the Bison Alumni Newsletter will still be available digitally, a new printed service is available.
During a recent performance at the Fox Theater by the Lied's Arts Across Nebraska, there was one group who was not thanked: those who showed up for the event, which is a big deal.
Mark Friehe named March McCook Volunteer of the Month.
Although the Bodensteiners no longer live in Southwest Nebraska, they are still connected and wanted to see if prosper and thrive.
From long-term projects to weekly events, you cannot say "there is nothing to do" or "nothing is happening."
With the goal of reaching 200 subscriptions, the Bison Alumni Newsletter is launching a subscription service.
Long-time volunteer Don Harpst was recognized as the first McCook Volunteer of the Month in March 2025.
McCook's youth survey shows that young people now value safety in their community, something McCook provides.
Building Connections in McCook Matters June in McCook will be abuzz with fun events including a Youth Summit, hosted by McCook Community Foundation Fund. Our young people in Youth Change Reaction will host the first Nebraska Community Foundation gathering for youth, which will bring youth from across Nebraska to McCook. While still in the planning stages, our students identified that McCook is great because of connections . Our young people easily recognize how critical this factor is to people attraction, to people retention, and to improve their futures. What I miss most about my high school classroom is connections with students and colleagues. In education, I taught first, second, and sometimes third generations in families. My husband, Greg, and I are not McCook natives, but I eventually knew who was related to whom and usually where the parent(s) were employed. Going to the grocery store meant greetings from students and sometimes their family members. I officially retired from my high school classroom nine years ago in May. When you retire, the most-asked question becomes “What do you do with your time?” I try to maintain those connections and make new ones by belonging. For the past seven years, Sharon Bohling and I have volunteered to help plan and organize Bison Days for our high school students, which took place February 10 and 11. It would not happen without the financial support of McCook Community Foundation Fund, plus the McCook High School, local businesses, and the talented people of Southwest Nebraska who say “yes” when one of us reaches out to ask for the donation of time and talent. I would venture that they allow us to be on the Bison Days’ committee because we both have connections within our community—it’s certainly not our computer savvy. Connections can also solve a problem. Recently, I signed up to help a local family in crisis. My morning plan revolved around delivering my donation at a designated drop-off place. That didn’t work out. Fortunately, I still work with youth in various capacities, so I know that Keri Wilkinson works for Camy Bradley. Keri was an organizer for the family fundraiser, so I walked in Camy’s office hoping to find Keri. She was not there, so Camy and I visited briefly. She knew someone (who I did not know) who could possibly give me further direction. Only in a town with connections are you able to interrupt someone’s business, have her reach out for you using her connections , and offer to keep the donations for me until Keri’s return. Another great example of connecting can be found over coffee. Dee Friehe and I are longtime teacher friends. During a chance meeting at the grocery store a few weeks ago, she shared how she was there following a funeral service and was gathering supplies to deliver supper to the grieving family that night. She also updated me on her group of adults who meet for coffee on Thursdays at Ember’s, which varies from 8-28 depending on the day. She recognized the need for adults moving to McCook or folks just wanting to get out to make connections . Dee’s husband, Mark, also hosts his own group of men who are new(er) to McCook. She regaled me with stories of their Christmas party and other special gatherings. Wanting to call McCook your home is solidified by building connections . Ronda Graff has written about McCook Connects which matches a McCook person with someone new to the community of similar interests. I earned my McCook Connects’ T-shirt welcoming a young family with children. We have since spent many hot summer days sitting on bleachers together cheering on our 4-H horse kids while they show their horses. Warning: I connected them with a “free” new-to-them horse. Be careful connecting with me or you’ll probably own a horse. You do not have to be retired to connect in this community. Volunteering is a surefire way to meet people. McCook has many civic groups looking for new faces. Attend a church here; we have many welcoming congregations. Go to ball games or school concerts, attend concerts in the park, learn a new skill through the college, show up at a Third Thursday event or invite the neighbors for a BBQ. Take your youngsters to story hour or Move and Groove at the library. Go watch an event at the Kiplinger Arena. You can even take it a step further: Make a friend or call a friend and invite him/her to go with you. It is human connection that keeps us healthy and happy. If McCook Community Foundation Fund can help you connect in some meaningful way, please reach out for advice or support. *** While Pam Wolford may be retired, she is just as busy serving on the McCook Community Foundation Fund committee and started a new Learn and Return Scholarship with MCFF, while stepping up to grandparent whenever the call comes in.
