One More Great Event in the Books

Last night we hosted a great event for the Anti-Defamation League at the theatre.  They screened a documentary called When We Stop Counting, which focuses on immigration and the school system in Crete, Nebraska.  They did this to a sold out crowd.  They had a very engaging panel to answer questions following the film including the Co-Director, the Crete Superintendent, a Crete Bilingual Guidance Counselor, and a student featured in the film.  They also had someone here ready to help people register to vote, if they haven't done so already.

One of the pictures I posted from the event sparked a few comments about how we do things at Aksarben Cinema, and I kind of took it to heart.  Someone mentioned we are getting too political with our events.  Sure we may swing one way more than the other in that sense, but I don’t feel like we do anything but serve a true, genuine, good purpose.  My family, our staff, and I take a lot of pride in the community outreach we have done in the short time we have been open. 

We don’t discriminate against anyone who comes to us with an idea for an event, and we do the best we can to help them make their event a success.  We have done some great fundraising events for local churches and schools raising money for new computers, food groups raising money to help local farmers, biking groups raising awareness about biking in our community, and the list goes on.  We absolutely love doing events like these because they are fun, always create an exciting atmosphere, and those attending always have a great time.

We have received so many appreciative comments from our customers about everything we have started doing in the theatre, which we invite them to participate in.  One customer this weekend told me they like how easy we make it for them to donate or contribute, and that was our ultimate goal.

If you would like to learn more about the ADL check out their new Facebook page: ADL -Anti-Defamation League (Plains States) and their website: http://regions.adl.org/plains-states/

Donations at the Box Office

Before we opened, we knew we wanted to be able to leverage the amount of customers we were going to have and have something good come out of that.  We decided we were going to collect $1 donations at the box office for a local non-profit and allow our customers to contribute easily, quickly, and locally.  

We had heard about a local organization called Angels Among Us.  They provide financial assistance to families who have a child diagnosed with cancer.  After meeting some of the families being helped and learning more about what they are able to provide, we knew we found an organization we wanted to help as much as we could.  Since we opened we have raised over $9,000 for them and the families they assist.

After being open a couple of months, I was being approached by so many local, worthy organizations.  We decided to open up the program and collect for Angels Among Us every other month and spread the love through the community.  We are still able to provide a lot of financial assistance to them, as well as many organizations I was just learning about.  

We have worked with The Red Cross, American Heart Association, Nebraska Humane Society, Women's Center for Advancement, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and Together, Inc since we have opened and raised over $7,500.  In the next year we will be working with Cystic Fibrosis, Youth Emergency Services, Hope Center, Anti-Defamation League, Nebraska Kidney Association, and Hearts United for Animals, and of course Angels Among Us.

For the month of March, we are collecting for Open Door Mission.  My mom and I are starting to get more involved with the Mission, and what they are doing down there is incredible.  We attended a baby shower down there a couple weeks ago collecting new baby items for mothers staying at the Lydia House shelter, which I thought was a fabulous idea.  We were also able to attend their President's Luncheon and learn about what they have happening this year.  They will be completing their newest building soon including a larger kitchen to provide meals, emergency shelter for women, and the men's shelter.  It is fantastic to see how much they have been able to accomplish and see how much the people in the community are standing behind them.  

If you are interested in doing a tour there, definitely give them a call.  They also collect gently used items for clients to shop through in their Timberlake Outreach Center. Next time you are in, please consider donating $1 to Open Door Mission.  

For more information visit their website:  http://www.opendoormission.org/

If you are involved with a local non-profit, and would like to discuss our program, please give me a call at 402-502-1914.  I would be happy to discuss it with you!