On the second floor of ArtBank, McCook’s contemporary art center in a former bank building, artist Maritza helped students mind their beeswax. The wax, cera de Campeche, is spread by hand to permanently protect and bind their colorful mosaics of dyed straw—an artform known as popotillo. One framed example is a vibrant portrait of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, while nearby a young artist puts the finishing touches on a bright yellow duck. The craft predates significant European contact 
in Mexico, and now it’s part of the Southwest Nebraska Art Camp’s free curriculum for youth.
The art camp is one of many experiences and programs supported by the McCook Community Foundation Fund (MCFF). Residents say their city is the hot spot of Nebraska and not just because at one point in time McCook regularly had the highest summer temperatures in the state. No, it’s because Red Willow County is where big ideas find a warm reception. In fact, MCFF brought back the slogan after it had been abandoned years before. Rightfully so, because things are warming up in McCook.
With a $5.9-million unrestricted endowment creating $268,128 in annual payout, MCFF has reached a point of massive potential. With the affiliated fund already a pillar of organizational life in McCook, advisory committee members seek the best way to bring transformational change to their community. Some may call them growing pains; others call it opportunity. Volunteers agree on one thing: everyone should feel they belong in McCook.
Former Fund Advisory Committee (FAC) Chair Mark Graff put it this way: “It’s a visionary fund and a cornerstone-building fund. It doesn’t focus on buildings. It doesn’t focus on immediate needs. It focuses more on long-term impact and working to bring the community together.”
A warm welcome awaits any visitor. Through McCook Connects, new residents are paired with volunteer ambassadors, current residents who want to help welcome their new neighbors to the organizations, businesses, and amenities that best match their interests. The program began to help medical students become part of the larger community, but it soon evolved to include any new residents who may be interested. The group now meets monthly at the local bakery and coffee shop.
For MCFF member Amanda Engell, McCook Connects offers value to existing residents as well.
“It creates bonds for people already here in the community,” she said. “McCook Connects opens our eyes to things we may take for granted and gives us a unique perspective we aren’t getting every day.”
Some of McCook’s finest ambassadors have yet to graduate high school. This year, a group of students known as Youth Change Reaction (YCR), hosted its first ever Youth Connection Summit. Supported by their local fund, NCF, and advisors Shelly Sehnert, Pam Wolford, and Mark Graff, YCR was included in planning a two-day learning experience for peers from across Nebraska. Read more about the summit here.
As MCFF advances and further refines its purpose in southwest Nebraska, the ultimate vision is to create the conditions to grow a community as vibrant and multi-faceted as the popotillo crafted upstairs at ArtBank.
“I want McCook to be the place where you find your place,” said current FAC Chair Matt Sehnert. “No matter who you are, you fit in here.”
