GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA (August 6, 2025) Forty members of the community got a behind-the-scenes look at the work being done by the Heartland United Way and its 20 community partners during the annual Tour of Agencies.
“It’s just a great opportunity to see what they do for yourself, see where your dollars go and learn stories you wouldn’t hear anywhere else," said Heartland United Way Communications Director Sara Kirkley.
From tours of local shelters and forensic interview rooms specifically designed for children to details on the process of becoming a mentor, participants were able to see how the nonprofits work day to day.
“I appreciate you coming here and learning about all these agencies because they do so much for this community,” said Scouting America Overland Trails Territory Director Dave Plond. “You don’t know how much this means to the agencies.”
This was the first year new HUW partner Crossroads Missions Avenue participated in the tour. They talked about their 4-phase program for guests and touted potential savings for taxpayers.
“Us as taxpayers, they say it’s about $40,000 a year to have somebody in jail for a year. I think that number is extremely low. I think it’s probably closer to $100,000 a year very easily. And so it costs us as taxpayers $100,000 a year to have somebody in jail for an entire year where Crossroads can serve one person for an entire year for a little over $2,200. We’re saving the taxpayers a ton of money. Eighty percent of our guests at one point have been incarcerated and so we’re helping them to learn skills, life skills to be resilient to not be back in those positions to end up back in jail and live that lifestyle,” said Jake Ondrak, Crossroads Mission Avenue assistant executive director.
“If we can wrap our services around these and stop those cycles, are they going to come back into the system? Probably not,” said Amanda Burton, volunteer coordinator at Heartland CASA.
The Tour of Agencies is an annual event. To register for next year, check heartlandunitedway.org in Summer 2026.
To learn more about the Heartland United Way’s 20 partners, click here.
In the News:
Grand Island tour participants see impact of United Way agencies, The Grand Island Independent
Heartland United Way hosts bus tour to show off Grand Island nonprofits, KSNB Local 4
Heartland United Way educates the community on the importance of giving back, News Channel Nebraska