Grant Stories 2024
Archangels Catholic High School
The grant will help us facilitate and support our students in multiple endeavors that help us to more fully live, experience, and share our Catholic faith. A few ways that this grant helps us are as follows: it helps us provide transportation to off-site retreats and service projects, as well as pay for any booking costs; the money allows us to put on events, not only for our school but also our community, that require extra supplies and/or fees; it will also hopefully supplement costs for students to go on mission trips, national events, and local retreats.
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Archbishop Bergan
The grant funding is instrumental each year in enhancing peer ministry programs, which play a pivotal role in fostering a sense of community and spiritual growth among students. These programs provided a platform for students to connect with one another on a deeper level, sharing their faith journeys and supporting each other through life’s challenges. The funding helps us to train peer ministers, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to lead small group discussions, organize faith-based events, and offer one-on-one mentorship. This training ensured that peer ministers could effectively guide their peers in exploring their faith and building meaningful relationships with God and each other.
Overall, the grant funding significantly enhanced the peer ministry programs, enabling students to build strong, supportive relationships with each other and deepen their connection with God. The impact of these programs extended beyond the immediate community, as students carried the lessons and experiences they gained into their broader lives, fostering a culture of faith and support that reached far and wide.
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Assumption BVM - Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish
This Grant was used as scholarship money to help a few high schoolers financially to attend the 2024 Mid-America Steubenville Youth Conference. Thank you again for this generous opportunity.
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Humphrey St. Francis Elementary
I want to start by saying thank you for the $2,000 grant given to Humphrey St. Francis for the purpose of purchasing Studio 3:16 for use by our teachers. Our second through 6th grade teachers are able to use the resource to match activities to our religion curriculum. The teachers have expressed how much more they see students engaging in the topics because of these activities. Mrs. Kessler, our second-grade teacher shared, “After watching the videos and doing the reflections, questions are much deeper than regular religion lessons. They really do a great job of applying it to their lives. I have loved using it.”
Mrs. McPhillips, sixth-grade teacher and Miss Schrage, fifth-grade teacher, reflected on the similarities to Lectio Divina. Studio 3:16 follows a four-step process, Pray, Watch, Reflect, Apply. They both agreed that this supplementary tool has greatly enhanced their religion lessons.
After visiting with the teachers about the positive things Studio 3:16 has brought to their classroom, I was able to catch Father Stan with the third graders, and their teacher Mrs. Baumgart in a discussion about our faith.
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Mount Michael Benedictine School
The Catholic Future Foundation grant significantly aided Mount Michael Benedictine School’s retreat program by providing essential funding that allowed the school to expand and enrich the retreats. This financial support helped us cover operational costs for four class retreats, provide resources and supplies for the students, and enhance the overall experience for participants. By improving the program’s structure and activities, the grant helped deepen the spiritual, personal, and communal growth that these retreats are designed to foster, ensuring that students engaged in meaningful reflection and connection aligned with the school’s Benedictine values.
Collaboration with Mount Marty University played a pivotal role in facilitating some of these retreats, bringing a new dimension to the program. Mount Marty’s experienced Mission Scholars offered their expertise and support, providing guidance on curriculum development and leading sessions that aided the students’ spiritual journey. This partnership enhanced the retreat content creating a more impactful experience. The combined efforts of Mount Michael Benedictine High School, supported by the Catholic Future Foundation grant, and Mount Marty University resulted in a robust program that strengthened the faith and community spirit of the students.
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Skutt Catholic High School
For the fifth year in a row we will have students participate in our unique differentiated retreats that allow us to meet students where they are and walk them one step closer to Jesus. Read THIS blogpost for information on our first year.
We used the funds in order to help pay for the busing for 3 of our 8 differentiated retreats that needed buses to get offsite. This year we had trouble getting yellow school buses and even though we had parents provide transportation for 4 retreats and we had one retreat stay at our school, we needed fund to get ensure our students could get to their retreat. We have many more pictures that we can share if you are interested in them.
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St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church
This grant was used to bring in a speaker to celebrate Black Catholic History month. The event took place on November 24th at Deacon Spicer Hall. Dynamic resilience expert & renowned mountaineer speaker Tia Banks was invited to come and speak to the Youth Group, The theme “Mind Over Mountains”, with approximately 30 persons in total attendance. Tia provided an uplifting and motivational testament on resilience. Speaking on the power of overcoming performance anxiety and the pressure to perform. She was someone the Youth could relate to in today’s current environment.
Tia Banks is a powerful speaker who we suggest being brought in for the Archdiocese of Omaha. She touched on all four tools of engaging, empowering, equipping and evangelizing in regard to the Clear Path of Discipleship.
In celebrating Black Catholic History Month, the opportunity was provided to bring in a speaker that looks and can relate the current community in the north Omaha parish. In line with the goal of becoming a missional community, Tia provided the testimony to the truth of God’s love and acceptance.
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St. Gerald Catholic Church
The grant was used for our Youth Alpha Retreat for both our Faith Formation and School 7th graders. It covered the cost for the Carol Joy Holling facility, their high ropes course fees and the bus to and from Carol Joy Holling. This is the second year we’ve been able to have a combined FF and School retreat. It has helped build a sense of community among the children our parish serves as well as provide space for a genuine encounter with our Lord. The highlight is always the ropes course. It is a team building event that helps bridge and build communication amongst the youth. Having a bus transport to and from helps our families who struggle financially from having to make the drive and also helps with the sense of community with the children. We have also been fortunate to have good weather to be able to enjoy being in nature and experiencing the Lord in that way. The grant is a great blessing for all of us at St. Gerald!
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St. Ignatius Mission
This grant was used for funds needed to run our bi-annual women’s retreat. Our mission is to offer a “mini retreat” to the women in Northeast Nebraska. We provided good coffee, good conversation, shared prayer (lectio divina), confession, adoration, a delicious catered meal to nourish their bodies, and a make-and-take flower bouquet station. We had amazing feedback. The women continue to tell us how grateful they are for the opportunity to go to confession and have “wholesome” community with other Catholics. We find that if we just show up, the Lord does all the heavy lifting. We plan to continue to provide this opportunity for women twice a year.
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St. Leonard School
We purchased Bibles for our Wednesday night religious education and for our school!
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St. Patrick - Fremont
One Heart One Fire Retreat was for confirmation candidates from St. Patrick, St. Lawrence, and St. Charles. With the help of the One Heart One Fire volunteers as well as adult volunteers from our parish and St. Charles as well as high school volunteers, our candidates grew closer to Christ through skits, praise and worship, adoration, and confessions. This year, we had nearly all of our candidates volunteer to go to confessions! We also had many youth volunteers give a testimony at the end of the retreat. God is good.
Totus Tuus had more youth attend this year than last year in all three programs which include the Tots, School Ag,e and the middle school/high school group. The youth were highly engaged all week and were not ready to have the weekend.
LIFT is growing in numbers. We have many more youth coming from public schools as well as Bergan. The grant helped to provide materials for our “Truth” nights as well as helped for the “Fun” and “Service” nights.
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Grant Stories 2023
Dual Language Academy
Through this generous grant our school has been able to enhance our Monthly Adoration program. We have purchased beautiful rosaries for each student which we handed out in October to be used at adoration and at our annual lighted rosary. We said over 414 rosaries in total that day to add to the Archbishop’s Rosary Campaign!
We have also purchased art supplies to create Monstrance art and hangars for our rosaries. Using art and music truly enhances the students’ encounter with Jesus through adoration. They very much enjoy this time with Jesus together and then take the experience home to their families.
Music in Catholic Schools – Honor Band
The MCS Honor Band, which consists of the best musicians in MCS, is auditioned each Fall. This group meets weekly to rehearse and performs 2 formal concerts in addition to the 2 tours and informal performances at assisted living centers. This CFF Grant greatly reduces the cost of transportation for these tours. Read full report below!
Duchesne
Thank you to the Catholic Future for assisting my staff to experience a pilgrimage to Mound City, Kansas, home of the Pottawatomi reservation served by St. Rose Philippine Duchesne in 1842 and by her Sacred Heart sisters into the 1870s. I’ve attached photos of our day spent with the tribe’s arrival and Mass celebrated at the park as well as our visit to the shrine maintained in Mound City.
East & West Catholic Elementary School
The past couple of years, we have striven to begin a Saint Family program in our school to help develop relationships between our students so that discussion of our faith and praying together become a routine part of who we are. We are so happy to say that we are beginning to see the fruits of our program. The relationships within our Saint Families are developing nicely, so much that we can see the ease at which they talk and work together. It is through these relationships that their relationships with Jesus will be fostered and deepened.
Bergan Catholic
Thank you so much for allowing us to continue to offer our class retreats with the peer ministry team leading our students in retreat. As the place where faith and Middle School/High School life meets, Peer Ministry is a space where students draw together in small-groups to deepen relationships with each other, God, and the Church. Peer Ministry engages students within the retreats in transformative experiences of prayer, reflection, and authentic Christian community. This student-to-student ministry is grounded in the formation of small-group faith communities that present students with: Opportunities to form and deepen a dynamic relationship with God and other students; A space to share questions, conversations, experiences, and resources, and tools to embrace and embody a Catholic identity as individuals and communities.
Gross Catholic High School
We used funds from the Catholic Future Fund to support students who economically could not afford to attend the SEEK and Steubenville Conferences, to assist with the cost of chaperones’ fees, and to reduce the cost of transportation for all pilgrims.
The return on your investment has been overflowing graces! The number of students who have committed to attending this summer has exploded so much that we have had to cut-off sign-ups!
Catholic Parishes in Partnership
Catholic Parishes in Partnership is the Family of Parishes that comprises St. Bonaventure in Raeville, St. Boniface in Elgin, St. John the Baptist in Deloit, St. John the Baptist in Petersburg, St. Peter de Alcantara in Ewing, and St. Theresa of Avila in Clearwater. All programs that received grants were offered to all of our parishioners at all six of our parishes. Read the full report to see how each parish used their grant funds.
St. John Paul II Newman Center
We are so grateful for the generosity of the donors to these funds for the opportunity to send our team and some students to the Global Leadership Summit August 3-4, 2023. The entire program was enlightening, and we wanted to share a few key thoughts from the attendees and how GLS will help us in furthering our mission.
Howells Community Catholic School
Howells Community Catholic School used the grant award to take a field trip to Trinity Heights in Sioux City, Iowa on September 22nd. There the students were able to learn about the Last Supper, Sacred Heart of Jesus, and our devotion to Mary. They also had the opportunity to attend and participate in the Mass. This trip was designed for our students to bring them closer to God and help them on their path towards heaven. It also provided the students an opportunity to reflect in prayer and listen to God.
St. Isidore Youth Bible Study
We are grateful for the grant that assisted in the expense of providing this Youth Bible Study presented by youth (8th grade and above) with younger children attending. Having young women and men (age 14) leading a Bible Study is very inspiring and gives a lot of hope for our future church! We had over 60 attend part time and have about 50% of that attend regularly. It is offered in the fall, spring, and summer. We are now completing the Bible Study of the Acts of the Apostles which is the last Gospel. Fall of ’22 was the Gospel of Matthew, Spring of ’23 was the Gospel of Mark, Summer of ’23 was the Gospel of Luke, Fall of ’23 was the Gospel of John, and the Spring of ’24 was the Acts of the Apostles. This is a Catholic Bible Study because it in includes trivia with questions on the differences between Bibles and it includes the 7 Sacraments. It is simple and relatable with games that teach and personal prayer responses on every chapter! The guide is from the book: “Super 7, A Simple Bible Study.” The book still costs the author over $30.
I have seen students be excited about the “Bible” often, had students express interest in priesthood and religious life, and I have been asked when is it going to be offered again. I have been thanked by parents for having this available for their children.
Columbus Youth Ministry
Grants awarded to Columbus Youth Ministry were used to award students partial scholarships to attend Steubenville Catholic Youth Conference in the summer of 2024 and to provide a leadership workshop for teens in a Campus Ministry role at the Catholic High School in Columbus. Read the full grant report below!
St. Joseph – Youth Group and Religious Education
Youth Group met nearly every week, growing in faith and together under the leadership of not only staff but several young adult volunteers who helped the 7th to 12th graders grow in their faith. They would experience devotions and time to learn more about their faith. The older students often served as mentors to our younger students, encouraging them to stand up in their faith. We saw relationships develop between the students of the various schools that are sometimes challenging with the competitive nature of the schools. Students graciously participated in service projects throughout the year together, attended and helped to lead rosaries, and participated more fully in the life of the parishes.
The Religious Education program at St. Joseph’s is well-established, and we are grateful for the financial support to continue to work with the students as they grow their faith with their families during these monthly gatherings. They also actively participated in service projects, led and participated in mass and their parish, and grew in their faith.
Mount Michael Catholic School
The Catholic Future Foundation (CFF) grant was utilized to help defray the cost for facilities rental for the freshman, sophomore, and junior class retreats. These retreats play a pivotal role in maintaining part of our mission:
Mount Michael Benedictine School is a Catholic college preparatory residential/day high school rooted in Benedictine values for young men committed to excellence. Students develop spiritually, intellectually, and socially through the comprehensive curriculum and communal experience to become future leaders.
St. Mary – O’Neill – Annual Retreats
Each class from 7th to 12th grade participates in a retreat throughout the school year. These retreats are faith-building and relationship-building for our students. Experiences also sometimes included “day trips” to visit places of faith such as Boys Town, Cloisters on the Platte, etc. They experienced meaningful worship & devotion times, were challenged with stories of faith and growth, and they grew together as they prayed, played, and served.
Pope John XXIII | St. Boniface Catholic Schools
Thank you for awarding Pope John XXIII Central & St. Boniface Schools of Elgin a grant for us to purchase An Introduction to Theology of the Body for our faculty to increase awareness of the basics of Theology of the Body and God’s plan for what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God. This bible study will be used during our 2023-24 school year and was chosen for our small group faith sessions.
St. Patrick – Fremont
Thank you so much for allowing us to continue to offer our enhanced youth ministries with Totus Tuus, LIFT, and our One Heart One Fire retreat. The students gain an amazing spiritual sense of love for the Holy Spirit and we are so blessed to offer this to our parish community.
Specifically the grant helped to fund One Heart One Fire last year and students were able to draw together and deepen relationships with each other, God, and the Church.
Our Totus Tuus group is such a fun way to allow the youth of our parish to have fun while growing closer to Jesus.
LIFT is our High School Youth group and with this funding, LIFT can build friendships and grow closer to the Lord while doing so. During this weekly meeting, the youth can use tools to overcome obstacles in their life.
We are so blessed by this funding. Thank you so much.
Scotus Catholic
Attached are pictures from our senior retreat held early this school year. The grant we received makes this retreat possible, and we are so grateful. This retreat is something our students look forward to every year and is one of the longstanding traditions we have here at Scotus Central Catholic. It’s one of those things that makes going to a Catholic school special, as we can offer opportunities that focus on not just the student or athlete, but the whole person. Our seniors love the opportunity to start off their senior year with a fun, adventurous day where they get to grow closer in friendship as a class, and also experience their faith in a new environment. Every year this retreat makes an impact and is something students hold as a fond memory after graduation. Our sincerest thanks goes to you and all who make this grant possible!
St. Anthony
St. Anthony Vacation Bible School has been a long-standing tradition for over 20 years. Stellar – Shine Jesus’ Light was the theme this year and was held the first week in June 5-9th. Over 100 students participated this year, which included 25 preschooler and 80 students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade. Helpers in 6-11th grade and 26 adult helpers ran an activity station or helped in other areas during the week.
St. Francis Borgia
We want to extend a thank you once again for the grant that we received. This grant helped us to fund our Totus Tuus program. We had 4 missionaries and almost 40 students. They had a wonderful time, we heard from parents that students would come home singing the songs, and at the end of the week our pastor joined our water fight! Parents reported that the following Sunday after Mass, the kids were demanding a rematch with Father!
Totus Tuus is a wonderful program that exposes our youth to young people in love with Jesus and provides an excellent alternative for the typical Vacation Bible Schools put on by churches during the summer.
St. Patrick – O’Neill
The Evangelical Catholic program is our clear path to discipleship plan. We have had two-12 week training sessions, with 16 people each. The goal of the training is that they start their own apostolate after they train. We have had 8 groups start from this. Each group has anywhere from 2 to 10 people involved in each group. There have been 3 mission nights in conjunction with this, and we have ongoing formation for the leadership and mission nights for the parish. Once this has been well-established, we will be extending this program out to the other parishes in our family. Eventually, the goal is to reach every person in our parishes.
St. Leonard
Thank you for the grant. With the money, we purchased 30 Catholic Children’s Bibles. We use the Bibles for religious education classes and these Bibles will go to home to the children at their confirmations. Again, thank you. We pray these impact these children for their lifetimes. God’s word never returns void!
St. Ludger – Vacation Bible School
Thank you for the grant money! Once again, St. Ludger’s Catholic Church used it for Totus Tuus. This is such a life-giving week for our youth and parish at large. The witness by the seminarians and young adults is so good! This year for the first time, grades 3-4 went to the nursing home and performed. And as usual, the week ended with a water fight. It is a tradition that the fire department provides a truck and the watering hole is massive!
St. Ludger – Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
The OAEF grant helped make it possible for us to host a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level I part 1 training right here at St. Ludger’s in Creighton. Since having this training in July, which added 3 more catechesists to St. Ludger’s, the program has already grown! We were able to do a presentation of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) with our Confirmation students and teachers. Wow what an experience for those Confirmation students! Also, with this grant and being able to train three more catechists our fully trained level 1 catechist was able to attend level 2 training and now we are working on a level 2 atrium as well.
This is truly a gift that will keep on giving as well as planting little mustard seeds. We can’t wait to see what this school year will bring with 4 level 1 catechesists and how many more children we can bring to the Good Shepherd! Thank you again for the grant!
Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (VEYM)
We used the funds to send about 14 youth and youth leaders to the regional gathering in Carthage, MO for the 13-18 age group. Participants were broken up into teams to join in on team building exercises, listen to guest speakers and encounter Christ through adoration and daily mass.
We are blessed to have the support of the Archdiocese and the Catholic Future Foundation and hope we can continue to have your support in the future!
St. Francis Cabrini
We utilized our grant to supplement the registration fees for the 2023 Global Leadership Summit held on August 8-9. We had a total of 11 participants, over half being under the age of 35. This was our 5th year hosting this event at St. Frances Cabrini, and we have found that it provides a golden opportunity to engage young professionals. This has led them to both connect and lead in our community here.
St. Wenceslaus – Dodge
We want to thank you very much for the grant we received. We used the grant to bring in a speaker to talk to our school families as well as parish members. Our speaker was Keith Jiron from the Evangelium Institute. He gave a speech on Eucharistic Miracles. We also had the High School Youth Group and Confirmation students present a Thanksgiving Message to our school and PRE Youth as well as doing a Thanksgiving Activity. Afterwards we held a fellowship with adults and student by serving cookies and juice. It was a wonderful evening with people from the school and Parish getting together to learn about Christ in the Eucharist and spending time together learning and visiting. Thank You again for your grant. We greatly appreciate it. Beth Wisnieski, Head Facilitator, St. Wenceslaus Catholic School. Dodge, NE
This is truly a gift that will keep on giving as well as planting little mustard seeds. We can’t wait to see what this school year will bring with 4 level 1 catechesists and how many more children we can bring to the Good Shepherd! Thank you again for the grant!
St. Wenceslaus – Omaha
Great things are happening at our parish thanks to generous support from the Catholic Future Foundation of Northeast Nebraska! We have been blessed with many new initiatives here at St. Wenceslaus. Following is a brief report and impact of our grant funds over the past few years.
