Vertical Voices benefits Columbus Rescue Mission and Youth and Families for Christ

By JARED BARTON – Columbus Telegram, Neb. (TNS)

Christmas concerts are an age-old tradition, but for the singers in Columbus Area Vertical Voices, a Christmas performance means more than just singing. It’s one of their two fundraising events of the year and this year they raised $4,800 that was split between two area organizations making an impact in the community.

The Vertical Voices Christmas fundraiser has benefited Youth and Families for Christ (YFFC) and the Columbus Rescue Mission for a few years now, Tom Zimmerman, a long-time member said.

It started organically, Zimmerman said, as members of the group knew members of the organizations’ respective boards and things fell into place.

“These guys have always been our beneficiaries, ever since we kind of got going, every year,” Zimmerman said. “It’s separate of whatever they do. Our little contribution, whatever it is, is more than what they had before and they can do some really good stuff.”

Dave Porter, executive director of the Columbus Rescue Mission, said the $2,400 from Vertical Voices will help with operating costs. With a maximum capacity of 72, constant need, a new women’s wing and a planned family wing to keep running, there are quite a few expenses.

“Children are our main focus,” Porter said. “We have food, clothing, we have three meals a day available for people, they can come in here for up to three months. That’s how the money helps.”

Just over a mile away, YFFC also celebrated the Vertical Voices donation as a group of teens gathered in the common space on Dec. 19. Executive Director Katie Loseke said the funds will help with costs for providing a place for youths in the community.

“We’ve got programs every night of the week where kids can come, we feed them a meal, we do games, and then we do some kind of lesson,” Loseke said. “And the hope of every staff member in this place is, we just want to be able to share the love of Jesus with every kid in this community, no matter where they’re at and no matter where they’ve been.”

Participating in YFFC activities is completely free of charge for young people in the community, from alternative school to after-school programs, events at their space at 2809 13th St. and abroad. They see about 2,000 youths every year and close to 500 every week.

“We are a United Way agency,” Loseke said. “We do cooking classes three times a week with kids, teaching them those real life skills. We do exercise classes. We volunteer with the Columbus after school program, playing dodgeball with kids and shooting nerf darts. We have evening programs again where we do the club program, where we feed them a meal, we play games, and then we talk about subjects that are pertinent to the kids.”

Being a nonprofit, YFFC functions almost entirely on donations, Loseke said. The Vertical Voices’ $2,400 donation will go a long way in fulfilling their mission of 26 years.

“We run 100% on donations,” Loseke said. “This really helps. We have a couple grants we do, but for the most part it’s donations and just the community. The community has been a huge support of ours.”

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