Message from Dr. Newman: 2025-2026 School Year
Hello!
RESPECT starts off the 2025-2026 school year with many celebrations!
RESPECT is 25 years old!
October 23rd is our annual fundraiser and since it is a Jubilee year for us, we decided to have some fun and enjoy some games of Bingo! with delectable (but filling!) appetizers from Westside Catering. Every one of our board members has been working hard to collect a large variety of silent auction items and bingo prizes! Participants will be entered into a raffle for a free RESPECT program AND be able to sample scenes from some of our newest plays! And a special live auction will be included at the event!
RESPECT has TWO new Actor Educators: Adam Clayton & AnnaLeesa Sawyer! They join Belle Rangel, also an Actor Educator, whose RESPECT Fellowship is being sponsored by the Heider Family Foundation!
RESPECT is honored to have our first sponsored fellowship by the Heider Family Foundation! We appreciate their support and leadership – and welcome other sponsors! Actor Educator Belle Rangel’s position was selected for this first sponsorship.
RESPECT has TWO NEW PLAYS!!!!!
1 – WATCH MY WHISKERS Written by our own Artistic Director, Michele Philips, this is a play for primary age students about kindness to, and respect for animals. Whiskers was developed with the professional support and guidance of Dr. Amber Strohbehn (long-time RESPECT supporter and DVM with Valley View and Strohbehn veterinary clinics). Also providing input was staff at the Nebraska Humane Society who included us to present at their 150th birthday celebration earlier this month!
2 – Blake and Andy Conquer the World (of Internet Safety) – was developed especially for our 1st and 2nd graders whose teachers asked for something specific to their developmental needs related to online safety – another creation from Michele Philips, many thanks as well to our Education and Training Director, Kathie McGee, for her many hours of research, networking, and consultation!
IN ADDITION, Artistic Director, Charisa Ramsey, has been rehearsing and preparing the cast for our school year productions and workshops – scripts, props, handouts, show kits – nothing has been too small or too large for her to manage – all the while traveling throughout Omaha, Lincoln, Council Bluffs, and Mills County to provide RESPECT programs to a variety of sites!
SOON, Cara Neufeld, our Program and Development Manager, will be unveiling our 2024 – 2025 program evaluation results! No one does a better job collecting and presenting our data – and we thank her husband Dr. Jonathan Santo for his support and consultation with this huge endeavor as well!
Paige Brenneman, our Associate Executive Director, has been wearing multiple hats – all unique and extremely productive – she has written more grants (and reports!) than ever before – with the result of new funding sources and connections that we appreciate! She is at work on (among many other things) our Year End Report – keep an eye out in September for the release!!!!!
This is only the very tip of the RESPECT iceberg! Learn & help more:
- Follow us on Facebook
- Check out our website
- Share our newsletter!
- Look for our wish list on SHARE Omaha
- Register for our fundraiser! Come alone, with a friend OR be a Jubilee sponsor!
- Sponsor an Actor Educator Fellowship!
- Book a program
- Invite us for a Lunch & Learn!
- Attend our Community Advisory Committee
Remember – students of all ages benefit from learning the information and skills they need to have safe, healthy and happy relationships with others. Relationships are key developmental building blocks that can contribute to health and success in many other areas of their lives – and in their future.
RESPECT plays and workshops contribute to this important learning!
Schedule a program now!
RESPECTFULLY,
Patricia
