ELLEN MORTENSEN

Central Nebraska TeamMates chapters received a huge boost this week during a special presentation and announcement by The Home Agency. On Monday, Aug. 8, Jim Baldonado - owner and CEO of the Home Agency - presented Team-Mates co-founder Dr. Tom Osborne with a check for $300,000 to help support 128 rural chapters in Nebraska.

Members, leaders and supporters of area TeamMates chapters, as well as media representatives, were invited to join the Baldonado family as they welcomed Coach Osborne and TeamMates CEO Demoine Adams for the presentation. A large crowd was on hand at the location south of Lexington.

“Since 1991, TeamMates co-founders Tom and Nancy Osborne have been positively impacting the world by inspiring students to reach their full potential through mentoring. And in that time we have served over 43,000 students,” Adams said in his opening remarks. “But there is so much more we can do in the communities we serve.”

TeamMates has more than 190 chapters in Nebraska, with 128 of those being outside of the Omaha and Lincoln metro area. The chapter coordinators in Callaway are Abe Hinman and Karen Weverka.

Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg was also on hand for the announcement. Williams shared that he was on the original governing board when Team-Mates was begun in Gothenburg more than 25 years ago. He also has served on the statewide board.

“When we have thriving kids we can have thriving families, and when we have thriving families we can have thriving communities,” said Williams. “We need to pay attention to those young people who need a little special attention - attention they can get through mentoring.”

Williams also shared a story that dates way back to when he was just 18-yearsold. “I began my college education at the University of Nebraska and I was on the track team. And just down the row of lockers from me was this other guy that lockered in that same area, a young guy about 30-years-old with red hair who was beginning a coaching career at Nebraska. He became a special friend and mentor to me, long before he became a Hall-of-Fame coach, long before he became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. That made a special impression on me forever. Those mentors make a huge difference in life.”

Coach Osborne also addressed the crowd, and in true Coach fashion had everyone laughing with his tremendous sense of humor as he shared a story about former player Rod Reynolds who was in the crowd. Then he turned serious, as he began talking about the changes he has seen since beginning his career in 1962.

“Back then when we went out to recruit a player almost universally they were living under the same roof with both biological parents. As time went on that began to change, and we began to see some of the breakdown of American families,” Osborne shared. “Some of the messages kids receive today - through movies, music lyrics and social media - just would not have been allowed in the public domain 30 years ago. It has become more and more difficult for kids to weave their way through adolescence and emerge on the other side in good shape.”

Coach Osborne shared that providing help for those young kids was the premise behind the founding of TeamMates. “This gift from the Baldonado family will really help small school districts with background checks, with training and recruiting mentors for these chapters. This will really help increase the number of mentees in this area,” said Coach.

Jim Baldonado was the final speaker to address those in attendance, as he shared on behalf of his wife, Sherri, and their family. “We have been involved in other mentoring programs, such as CASA here in Lexington which we have done for a number of years. And we have seen the impact that has had on those kids and families. So being part of TeamMates is something we really wanted to do,” said Jim.

“We learned through visiting with Demoine, that not only do you mentors give of your time every week with your mentees, but also all of the cake raffles and everything else you have to do to generate money to pay your fees and pay for the background checks. You also raise money for the different things you want to do as an organization,” Jim continued. “We are going to pay for the fees and background checks, banners and table runners and regional meetings. The Spring football game, which includes tickets, meals, transportation and t-shirts, will be taken care of, and an additional $75,000 in rural scholarships will be granted.”

The donation from the Baldonado family will benefit 128 rural community TeamMates chapters and 5,400 mentor/mentee matches statewide. “We are hoping our donation will allow your chapters to stay active and continue to grow, helping the TeamMates to thrive.”