About Us

Dec 17th, 1941:
A unit of National Guard from Iowa were going through North Platte, Nebraska by train. They were met by Rae Wilson and her friends.
Rae gave some cookies to a soldier.

September of 2006:
176 young National Guard left from O'Neill, Nebraska --- destination Iraq.
In December, 2006, Jill Fox offered to send some cookies to Iraq if someone would pay the postage. The rest is history.

Nebraska Troop Support is a group of businesses, individuals, and organizations that have joined together to donate time, items, and money to send Care Packages and moral support to our Military.

O'Neill, Nebraska is a small town on the wind-swept plains. Stifling heat in the summer, brutal cold in the winter. Cattle and agriculture are the mainstays of their economy. The residents are good, honest and hard-working. One, however, stands out…

Beth Tielke has become a role-model and mentor to me, refining my meaning of the word success. This 74* year-old mother of 7, and grandmother of 34 (last count), has accomplished so much in her life. Beth worked hard for many years on her family's dairy farm, battling cold and heat alongside her husband, Bill. She raised her 7 children then, aware there was not enough money to send her children to college, she plunged into the business world – owning a store, several restaurants, and a sandwich business – learning as she went. Most of the businesses are still running, only now her children operate them.

At 74 Beth has earned the right to sit back and enjoy life. Has she? Well, she enjoys life immensely, but she certainly hasn't sat back. This dynamo of a woman has traded in her brick-and-mortar businesses for 3 different home-based businesses. Her phone rings continuously and her home is full of friends, clients and family – that is when she is not roaming all over Nebraska spreading love to as many people as she can! All of these things are wonderful but they are not what make Beth Tielke such an amazing person to me. To understand that, you have to know about Share Our Dream.

Beth is only happy when she is giving – when she is making a difference in someone's life. She understands that in order for a gift to make a difference it doesn't have to be large – it just has to be given from the heart, to the right person, in the right way. Share Our Dream is about spreading a little bit of sunshine to as many people as she can. It's about allowing other people to give small gifts – as they are able – so they can know the joy of giving. It's about an elderly woman who just lost her husband crying with joy when she received a Share Our Dream card with a certificate for a piece of pie from a local restaurant.

It's about a little boy who realized someone cared when he got a certificate for a free ice cream cone from the local ice cream parlor. It's about local businesses giving coupons for a cookie a week for Beth to give away to someone who needs a little drop of sunshine. It's about a local florist donating one arrangement a month to bring joy to someone's life. It's about a local resident with very little money who has committed to providing a coupon for one ice cream cone a week – making a difference with what little she has. It's about helping a 14 year-old pianist pay to have his first CD cut, then using a portion of the proceeds to give more gifts. It's about the Share Our Dream web site (sorry, no longer available)where local people have the joy of reading the stories of their lives, and of their friends and neighbors.

The stories go on and on…. Since Beth started Share Our Dream (paying for most of the costs from her own pocket), over 1600 people have benefitted in some way. It's about neighbors and friends feeling special and helping others feel special. It's about teaching all of us how to live – how to be truly successful. It's about realizing success is not just about what we have, it's more about what we can give. It's about realizing that while we may not be able to "out give the Universe," it certainly is fun to try!

One of my goals in life is to be like Beth Tielke when I am her age – trying as hard as I can to emulate her right now. I mentioned at the beginning that Beth has 7 children. Well, actually she has 8, because she has "adopted" me as her daughter since I met her 2 years ago. I am very proud to call this amazing woman my "Mom"! All of us have the ability to make a difference – no matter how much money we do, or do NOT, have. Giving comes from the heart. It takes creativity and sensitivity to those around you.

There are so many opportunities to let people know we care---all we need to do is look around us.

Help comes in so many ways---

Care packages are possible when we all work together----

Beth

The Star Spangled Banner, as you've never heard it before!

This has to make you proud of our country and Forefathers...God Bless America

Do yourself a favor and take the time to listen to this. It is why and what the UNITED States of America is, from that night when the rockets red glare and the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there...to tonight and tomorrow when our soldiers are in Iraq and Afghanistan and in all of the hot spots of this world. You simply must feel what pride and honor and allegiance these Americans must have. To all who criticize, go to where you came from. To the rest of us that really believe in what this country stands for, don't let the flag fall. Stand up and tell the critics how you feel when you hear their ridicule and how you feel about America.

After listening to it....call your spouse, kids, friends and acquaintances over to listen to it again with you.

Star Spangled Banner, Part 1

Star Spangled Banner, Part 2