Newspaper articles – L2 for Kids

Henry Potter awarded Lifetime Achievement, ServeNebraska’s most prestigious award

rpotter — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 17:09:31 +0000

Positively the Heartland: Central Nebraska man honored for charity work that helped kids get new clothes

Posted at 6:46 PM, Oct 31, 2022
WILLOW ISLAND, Neb. (KMTV) — Lifetime Achievement is ServeNebraska’s most prestigious award. This year, Willow Island’s Henry Potter was honored for his impact through L2 for Kids.
3 News Now Anchor Mary Nelson talked to Potter about his organization, and how it felt to be recognized.
“Embarrassed somewhat. You know, (I’m) very appreciative … But on the other hand, they get the bar so high, I might fall.”

Humble, Potter founded L2 for Kids in 2011, inspired by Lazarus and the idea of giving Nebraska kids a second chance — or better chance, he says.
“It’s unbelievable. I mean, it is. Especially the kids that never had anything new in their life.”
Potter, and his wife of 57 years, Patricia, didn’t start big. The first year, they helped one boy in Kimball.
“And the next year, we helped him and his brother … and the next year, we picked up some more. And we were just doing this, my wife and I, on our own,” he explained.
This year, they helped 1,045 children in 40 communities across central Nebraska. All of it volunteer-lead.
Potter would like to continue to add L2 for Kids chapters. If you are interested just visit l2forkids.org or call 308-530-0441.

Original Article from KMTV

First Interstate Bank makes $25K donation to L2 for Kids

rpotter — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 07:22:01 +0000

First Interstate Bank employees through the bank’s BancSystem Foundation donated $25,000 to L2 for Kids to help with the purchase of clothing for school-aged children.

Telegraph staff reports Aug 23, 2022

LEXINGTON — Last week, L2 for Kids received a $25,000 gift from First Interstate Bank and the First Interstate BancSystem Foundation as part of its inaugural “Believe in Local” grant campaign.

These funds will be used to provide clothes for school-aged children, according to a press release from L2 for Kids.

“We are incredibly appreciative of First Interstate’s generosity and support,” said Ann Johnson, president and chairman of the board at L2 for Kids. “This donation helps us to further our mission of providing clothing for children in need, helping with their self-confidence and sense of well-being. We’re thankful to have dedicated partners like First Interstate working with us to empower the youngest members of our community here in Lexington.”

Forty nonprofit organizations across the First Interstate Bank’s expanded 14-state footprint will receive a $25,000 gift in support of their mission.

L2 for Kids was nominated by local First Interstate employees and selected from a pool of over 400 nominees thanks to its alignment with the bank’s philanthropic goals.

“Giving back to the places we call home is central to who we are as a community bank,” said Eva Johnson, retail manager for First Interstate Bank. “Our Believe in Local grant campaign captures our core values in action and is the ideal way to celebrate the nonprofit organizations that deliver the greatest positive impact. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to further support L2 for Kids and help Lexington’s children succeed.”

In addition to campaigns like Believe in Local, First Interstate makes annual donations and grants of 2% of its pre-tax earnings to local communities.

These funds aid in the improvement of workforce development and to boost early childhood education, mitigate poverty and support nonprofit organizations like L2 for Kids.

Original article found at the link below.

https://nptelegraph.com/news/first-interstate-bank-makes-25k-donation-to-l2-for-kids/article_9123ff6e-232f-11ed-b988-33752fe75474.html

Great Western Bank donates to L2forKids

rpotter — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 07:35:47 +0000

L2forKids would like to thank Great Western Bank for this generous donation.

Support from organizations like this make it possible for us to continue to buy new school clothes for children in need.

On September 17, 2020, Great Western Bank makes a generous donation to L2forKids.

Program that originated in Perkins County has helped nearly 6,200 Nebraska kids in last 9 years

rpotter — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 18:43:43 +0000

The L2 for Kids program has provided new school clothes for nearly 6,200 Nebraska children in need over the past nine years.

And its inception grew from a Saturday shopping trip to Walmart that co-founders Henry and Pat Potter made with a young boy from Grant.

The couple purchased a shirt and tie for him along with some additional clothing, and he sported the new outfit the next morning at church.

“He was sitting in the front pew by himself and he was beaming,” said Henry, who is the president of the program’s seven-member board of directors. “It was like, ‘Look at me, baby!’ He was just so proud of those clothes. Then it hit me, like I was struck with an arrow. I knew that we were doing the right thing.

“I remember going through the checkout (with the boy) and the total came to about $97,” Henry said. “It turned out to be the best $97 that I’ve ever spent in my life. It has made for a lot of work over the years, but it has been worth it.”

The program is faith-based: L2 is a reference to Lazarus being given a second chance. The Potters began L2 for Kids in Perkins County with an initial investment of $14,000 and it has continued with donations from businesses and others. About 80 volunteers have helped with L2 for Kids since its inception.

In 2020, L2 for Kids helped 964 students from 40 communities in the state.

“We were hoping to make (a difference),” Henry said, “but who could have dreamt this? I never could have imagined it. This (program) has become our lives, but without all the volunteers and the donors, we wouldn’t be able to do it.

“It is a character-building vehicle (for the students),” Henry said. “That is all L2 is. It’s helping them build self esteem. It’s the old theory that if you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you do good.”

In North Platte, the program helped seven students in 2013. That grew to 123 children the next year and then to 233 in 2015. The program reached a peak in the city in 2018 with 306 students. The number dropped to around 200 in each of the past two years.

The Potters received a COVID-19 Community CARES grant this year and said there is enough left in the fund to assist an additional 30 students in North Platte this year.

The only requirements for inclusion in the program are that the student must be enrolled in school and the family does not have means to purchase new school clothes. The Potters, who live in Willow Island, said many references come from local churches, but there are ones from police departments and other social service agencies.

The Potters arrange a time to meet a family at a Walmart, and each child is given a budget to shop for the clothes of their choice. It starts at $75 for elementary students and increases to $100 and $125 for those in middle school and high school.

“I just tell (the students) that the clothes have to be acceptable to wear to school,” Henry said. “If they aren’t, I’ll throw them out myself.”

Each student is allowed one shopping trip every year unless the family has an emergency event, like a fire, that causes a clothing shortage.

Pat said she just enjoys watching the students’ reactions on the shopping trips.

“Some of them are so tickled and so happy,” she said. “I talk to the mothers a lot and they will tell me about how this time they didn’t have to tell their kids ‘no’ about new clothes. It’s just amazing to watch.”

The Potters end the shopping trips by sitting down with the students and a pastor at a mission table, and a message of faith is delivered.

Henry said once he asked a young elementary school student if she knew Jesus loved her. The girl started crying and Henry apologized and asked if he had upset her.

“With tears running from her eyes and down her face, she said, ‘I didn’t know that anybody loved me.’ That’s just something that burns you to hear,” he said.

“We are Christians, and while we are not pastors, this is what we are doing to pay back,” Henry said of his and Pat’s involvement in the program. “We have made some money and we want to give some back to all of the communities. Who could have imagined that it would get this big?”

L2 for Kids buys clothes for 829 schoolchildren – The North Platte Telegraph

rpotter — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 17:08:09 +0000

Telegraph staff reports – Aug 23, 2019

WILLOW ISLAND — This August, 829 grade-school children in over 30 towns picked out new school clothes to be purchased by L2 for Kids, totaling $57,611.89.

The shopping trips spanned eight days at five Walmart stores, according to a press release from the organization.

Since 2012, L2 for Kids has given over 5,300 underprivileged children an opportunity to shop for their own new school clothing.

“As Lazarus in the Bible was given a second chance at living, these children have a second chance to feel loved, feel good about themselves, be accepted by their peers, have a better way of life,” said the press release from Patricia Potter, co-founder and treasurer of the group.

L2 for Kids Inc., a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation in Willow Island, has local councils in Grant; North Platte; Gothenburg; Cozad; Lexington; Callaway; Alma; Holdrege; Elwood, Eustis and Farnam; Arapahoe; Cambridge; and Hitchcock-Red Willow counties, with over 150 local volunteers. For more information, visit the website, l2forkids.org, or the group’s Facebook page.

All donations are tax deductible and are used to purchase new school clothing for underprivileged children.

https://www.nptelegraph.com/news/local_news/l-for-kids-buys-clothes-for-schoolchildren/article_516ed6d2-c559-11e9-a318-83917d5d9bca.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share