Celebrating Omaha Gives With Kids!

Eleanora (age 8) and Leo Marinkovich (age 7) are two Omaha Gives donors that are learning about philanthropy through the giving day. Their parents, Andy and Adrianne, have been helping Eleanora and Leo to give since they were little ones. Even from Tanzania, where the family lived for almost three years. “Tanzania was more of a cash-based society so we tried to teach them about money by putting cash in jars,” Andy says. “This is money to spend, this is for saving, and this is for donations.” Three jars.

When the family came back to the U.S. two years ago, they were happy to be able to celebrate Omaha Gives with the community. “We participated from Africa, too, as a way to stay connected,” Andy says. But now they could do it from here and they wanted to involve their kids. Last year, they gave Eleanora and Leo each $100 to donate during Omaha Gives, to whichever nonprofits they wanted to support.

“We wanted to teach them that the things you value personally can be reflected in your giving—because those are things you want to see in your community,” Andy says.

“We wanted to teach them that the things you value personally can be reflected in your giving—because those are things you want to see in your community,” Andy says.

Leo loves soccer and riding bikes, so he gave to Football for the World and The Bike Union. He also gave to Black Firefighters, Girls Inc, and Africa Culture Connection. He hopes that The Bike Union can make more bikes for people who don’t have them. He also remembers that Football for the World came to Tanzania when they lived there and he got to help give out soccer equipment and jerseys to kids. “I feel like I was being kind, generous, and helpful,” says Leo.

“I feel like I was being kind, generous, and helpful,” says Leo.

Eleanora is all about music and she loves dogs—though baby sister has to grow up a bit before she’s allowed to get one of her own. Naturally, she gave to Omaha Girls Rock and the Humane Society. “I went to camp at Omaha Girls Rock and it was so magical for me. I hope my donation helped other girls to have a magical experience like me,” Eleanora says.

“I went to camp at Omaha Girls Rock and it was so magical for me. I hope my donation helped other girls to have a magical experience like me,” Eleanora said.

She picks up speed as the excitement grows in her voice. “You can play different instruments and on Friday there was a big concert where you can choose which instrument you wanted to play. I played drums.” She hopes Omaha Girls Rock can get more instruments with her donation. “Elenora has gotten so into music and she has an a-ha moment going to Omaha Girls Rock. There was a glow about her at the end of the week and adrenaline around it,” Andy adds.

“As a parent, seeing them get involved in giving it makes it feel like we’re doing a handoff. As a community member, you want to see emulated those things you hold dear. Just because they’re doing it now doesn’t mean they’ll do it in the future. But we feel that it’s important to lead by example. We hope that we can reflect on to them the values that are important to us and that it sets the community up for being better off long term.” 

“As a parent, seeing them get involved in this it makes it feel like we’re doing a handoff.”

Neither Adrianne nor Andy were surprised by their kids’ giving choices. “We tried to help them reflect on what was important to them because they’re not at the point where they can navigate the giving process completely themselves.” The kids agreed, “Mom helped us decide where to give.” She helped with the credit card donation, too. 

Andy adds, “They’re giving to things we’ve been a part of—things they’ve seen and experienced themselves. That is a more concrete connection for them and it’s where their brains are in development. Our hope is that more exposure helps to engrain that mentality for them. It’s not only a monetary thing, but you can do work with your time and hands. There are more ways than one to give.”

“Thankfully, we still have our jobs and can work from home, which is a privilege and honor. So we might be giving the kids a little bit more this year. If our values are reflected in the community during this time, then it feels like there is a better chance those things we hold dear will stick around.”

In talking about their plans for Omaha Gives this year, they are thinking of ways to step up their involvement this year, especially given the COVID-19 crisis. “In this time of need, we’ve looked at other opportunities to give,” Andy says. “Thankfully, we still have our jobs and can work from home, which is a privilege and honor. So we might be giving the kids a little bit more this year. If our values are reflected in the community during this time, then it feels like there is a better chance those things we hold dear will stick around.”