PENDER – There are more than 1,000 community action agencies across the United States working toward a common goal of eliminating the causes and conditions of poverty.
May is Community Action Month across the country, and people are invited to learn more about their area community action agency known as the Northeast Nebraska Community Action Partnership, formerly known as Goldenrod Hills Community Action.
Starting out in 1966, NENCAP was a relatively small agency based out of Macy. Today, with a corporate office in Pender, the agency administers a broad spectrum of social services serving infants through the elderly in five satellite offices and four Head Start Centers across 14 counties in northeast Nebraska.
NENCAP is a private, nonprofit social service agency leveraging programmatic financial support from federal, state and local funding sources and is governed by a 15-member board of directors with representatives from the public, private and low-income sectors of its 14-county service area.
What makes community action work? Community action agencies are unique in that specific funding gives them the flexibility to design programs that address needs specific to individuals and local communities.
NENCAP administers Head Start; Women, Infants and Children; a weatherization program; an immunization program, a commodity supplemental food program, family services, emergency rent/utility services, food pantries, a free income tax program, supportive services for veteran families and a healthy families program.
In addition to its 120 employees, NENCAP also relies on many volunteers to help carry out its mission of “People helping people improving lives in northeast Nebraska.”
The mission is carried out throughout NENCAP’s service, which covers the following counties: Antelope, Burt, Cedar, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Dodge, Knox, Madison, Pierce, Saunders (WIC only), Stanton, Thurston, Washington and Wayne.
To learn more, people may go online to www.nencap.org. For specific program information, they may contact NENCAP’s central office at 402-385-6300.
