Mission: Grandpas Pocket offers help to single moms and dads, soldiers and seniors in the Omaha Metro Area.

Foundation: The story of Grandpas Pocket is a simple one. I grew up in a house with a single mom, three siblings and a grandma & grandpa. My mom was the hardest working mom on the planet. She put herself through school and became a teacher, while raising four children. As you can imagine, raising four kids on a teacher's salary is not an easy thing to do. My mom did the best she could on her own and when she needed help she got it, anywhere she could. Our family was on welfare, food stamps and other government operated support, but sometimes that wasn’t enough. When we needed extra help, for anything from school field trips to our first van, we had something nobody else had, grandpa. Our grandpa, Edward Eugene Jensen, lived with us and was one of the greatest men I have ever known. He helped out in every way possible, including financially. My mom owned her own house and had her own car but with four kids playing sports and doing every activity under the sun, they both took a beating. One year our house needed siding and gutters badly and since there wasn’t any place my mother could get help for those kinds of problems, she went to Grandpas Pocket.

I have started this nonprofit corporation for two reasons, one is to honor my Grandpa and two, to help single parents out there who are in need of that kind of help, just like my mom. This is a corporation where people can come and get help in areas where they can’t get help anywhere else. Parents will be able to get help with anything from a broken hot water heater, to a broken down car, to help with school, daycare, and more. This is not a national warehouse where you fill out an application and then wait for an answer. This is a local organization that is hands-on in helping parents in our community. To further honor my grandpa, who was in the military and a senior, we are extending our services to soldiers and seniors. Grandpas Pocket is in the process of forming partnerships with local businesses to give us the ability and resources to get problems solved in a very short time.

As a resource for these groups who have nowhere else to turn, Grandpas Pocket is not only giving families hope for a brighter today, but for a brighter tomorrow.