We gave a Yahoo! yodel here at Boys Town recently when Yahoo! employees Seth Dallaire, Marcus Gallo and Jason Johnson surprised us with a check for $25,000! We were blown away by their generosity!
What’s really neat to me is that how both Yahoo! and Boys Town are beacons that help people find their way. Yahoo! helps people find what they’re looking for on the internet and Boys Town helps kids and families find the help they need – and now Yahoo! is helping us do just that.
To know the care these funds are going to make available to struggling children and families amazes me. Many of them have lost their way in a confusing world. Maybe mom’s lost her job and has turned to alcohol, or Susie is skipping school to spend time with her older boyfriend. There are a thousand scenarios for the children and families we help. But what they all have in common is that they need guidance. They’re traveling down the wrong path and Boys Town has the map to success they need.
It is because of individuals and companies like Yahoo! that Boys Town is able to provide life-changing youth care and health care to nearly 370,000 children and families every year.
It all started with a dream by one man, Father Edward Flanagan, in 1917 to change the way America cared for children. His small house in Omaha, Neb., has grown to 12 sites across the country and is one of the top youth care models in the world. We provide not only physical healing, but emotional and spiritual healing as well. Father Flanagan understood the importance a person’s spiritual life has in getting better. It is an increase in spirituality and awareness of self that make the biggest difference in the life of a child.
A man who uses the character changes he sees to mold successful men is Boys Town High School Football Head Coach Kevin Kush. With Coach Kush, many of the youth in our care are part of a team for the first time. They are all working together to accomplish a common goal. Just as Coach Kush inspires his players every day on the field, Coach Kush inspired Yahoo! employees at a conference he spoke at in Phoenix. This was just the beginning of our organizations joining together to better the community.
We are incredibly thankful for the mission-driven folks at Yahoo! who are making so much possible for our children. We know times are tough, but this is when the need for our care is at its highest. Yahoo! is making that care possible.
God’s Blessings,
Father Steven Boes
Boys Town National Executive Director
