Helping Kids

We Support People Who Are Changing Lives

Helping young people is the inspiration that moves us—but where does it lead? Experience has guided us toward three pathways where we can foster the greatest change: Basic Needs, Well-Being, and Education. In each, we have met so many exceptional, caring people who are impacting young lives every day. Our role is to provide the funding that empowers the work they do.

We Elevate the Voices of Young People

Young people play a critical role in shaping the future of our culture, our communities, and our world. They are uniquely positioned as change makers, and they are able to bring about change and represent their interests and desires.

Elevating the voices of young people is important to us because it allows young people to be heard and to contribute to the decision-making processes that affect them.

This year, we provided supportive funding for a Teen Opportunity Survey to amplify youth voice and to measure perceptions of their community, future education and career plans, and living in the local area in the future.

Over 3,800 middle school through high school students attending twenty-two school districts in the Nebraska Panhandle participated in a survey during the fall semester of the 2023-24 school year.

Interested in viewing the survey results?

Nebraska Panhandle Youth Environmental Scan

Snow-Redfern Foundation in collaboration with the Panhandle Partnership, initiated an environmental scan to collect the most recent available data and host conversations with youth serving organizations in the Nebraska panhandle. SRF engaged Blue Agate Collaborative to co-create project design and facilitate workshops, and GIS and Human Dimensions to perform the data collection and environmental scan reporting.

Grantmaking Impact Areas

When you support the Snow-Redfern Foundation, you will know that you’re helping the most effective nonprofit partners who are helping kids in need.

Basic Needs

It starts with the simplest things—safety, security, a place to live and enough to eat. What many of us take for granted can be the difference between surviving and truly living.

Well-Being

Physical, mental, and emotional well-being are the keys that unlock human potential. Once a child’s basic needs are met, we focus on creating an environment where they feel safe to trust, learn, and grow.

Education

In today’s world, there is little opportunity for achievement and fulfillment without education. This is the third and final key to unlocking potential, limited only by what young people decide they want to do.

 

Give Today to support the Snow-Redfern Foundation and our family of nonprofit partners.

Want to know more About us? Learn how we work Through Nonprofits, see how we’re Making Impact, or Contact us directly. To see what we’ve been up to lately, check our News page.

Individual Support Through Scholarships

Each year Snow-Redfern Foundation awards scholarships to high school seniors that are pursuing post-secondary education. In collaboration with donors that have established a memorial scholarship fund to honor a loved one, the scholarships are awarded based on criteria set forth by the donor and which align with the values and mission of the Snow-Redfern Foundation.

We encourage those interested in creating a memorial scholarship program to reach out to us at [email protected] to learn more.

Current Scholarship Programs

The following scholarships are open from February 1 through March 31 each year.

K.M. Dahlstedt Memorial Scholarship

The Dahlstedt family established an annual memorial scholarship fund to provide support to high school students who are pursuing a degree in vocational training education. To be eligible, students must be enrolled as a high school student who will graduate in the current year, is a citizen of the United States, is a resident of Box Butte County, and has been accepted to an accredited technical college as a full-time degree seeking student.

Edward M. and Eda S. Hempel Family Memorial Scholarship

Through the generosity of the Edward M. and Eda S. Hempel and family, a scholarship fund was created that integrates the vision and beliefs once taught to young people at the Nebraska Boys Ranch. Mr. and Ms. Hempel were integral in sustaining the Boys Ranch over the years and were generous contributors. Mr. Hempel was a long-time board member and he and his family gave generously of themselves through service and contributions so that the lives of kids might be better.

To be eligible, students must be citizens and permanent resident of Nebraska, be motivated to successfully complete a college degree, plan to attend a Nebraska college within the next year, be enrolled at a high school within Box Butte or Morrill County and be nominated by a school designee (such as school counselor).