Powerful Life

A quiet tradition in Nebraska City

Every year as Christmas nears, Traci Hug gets questions from her coworkers at OPPD’s Nebraska City Station (NCS).

Has the annual Christmas drive for families started? Where do I sign up? What should I get?

Helping those in need has become a holiday tradition at NCS. With little fanfare and very few of their neighbors knowing it was them, workers at NCS have quietly given thousands of dollars over the last two decades and bought toys and other necessities for needy families in Nebraska City.

They are one of many groups of OPPD employees from across the district that provide food, gifts and other assistance to those in need during the holiday season.

“The generosity of our employees never ceases to amaze me,” said Hug, an administrative assistant at NCS and one of the lead organizers. “I have guys walking into my office, handing me $100 bills.”

Eye-opening wishes

The drive starts with wishes. Families that can’t afford Christmas gifts share a list with a community group that has partnered with OPPD.

Over the years, OPPD has worked with a local chamber of commerce, a middle school nurse and, most recently, the Southeast Nebraska Community Action Network (SENCA), a nonprofit that seeks to reduce poverty and help low-income people become self-sufficient.

Initially, NCS workers helped just one or two families each year. More recently, they’ve spread the generosity to more families, including 41 last year and 91 this season.

The drive’s lead organizers – Hug, Toni Carpenter, Shawna Bennett and Jessica Richardson – assign a tag to every recipient family and hang them all on a Christmas tree in the plant’s cafeteria. Participants grab a tag and buy whatever their chosen family requested. Other employees donate money, and organizers handle the shopping.

Some wishes are heartbreaking. Workers in NCS’s electrical maintenance shop chose to sponsor a family this year, said Bennett, a supervisor over outage scheduling and planning. The workers looked over the family’s list and were surprised by one child’s wish.

“When we were reading it, the room got quiet,” one worker told her. “The child just wanted a blanket.”

A group effort

One year, workers collected $5,000 for a family and bought beds and paid off oil changes and car repairs. One family that lost their home in a fire received new dressers and house supplies.

This year’s children range in age from 1 month to 17 years old. One hasn’t been born yet. Each participating family filled out a form with their child’s age, gender, clothing size and gift ideas.

Carpenter, an outage scheduler, said this year’s drive has collected dozens of gifts and nearly $1,000 in cash donations, which they used to fulfill remaining wishes on the tree.

Most participants spend $50 to $100 on each tag, Bennett said, which by her estimates is close to $10,000 in donated gifts and clothing.

Hug said she was surprised at how the operations crew members challenged each other. One crew collectively donated between $400 and $500 through a friendly competition to see who could raise the most.

“That made my heart smile,” Hug said. “I hadn’t seen that before.”

‘Something most people take for granted’

Richardson, a maintenance program specialist, pulled a wish from a girl who wanted personal hygiene products, which surprised her.

“It’s something most people take for granted,” said Bennett, a supervisor over outage scheduling and planning. “It really opens your eyes to what’s happening out there.”

Some workers bring their children and grandchildren when they shop, turning the drive into a family event.

“For me, it’s just a humbling experience,” Bennett said. “I think we’re all fortunate to work at OPPD, and I think a program like this completely exemplifies one of our core values, taking care of each other.”

The cafeteria space quickly filled up with bags of gifts.

“I had to climb over a lot of stuff to get the rest of the tags,” Carpenter said.

Hug, who plans to retire in 2025 after 35 years, said she considers the program a part of her legacy at OPPD and is happy to see it continue.

“It just warms your heart,” she said.