Moved by tragedy, Lincoln couple use their business to help others

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Lincoln woman is using her personal experience and her business to help others through tough times.

In 2017, Kristi Unick and her husband took a big risk.  They sold their home and started a bounce house business.

But during the pandemic, the business pivoted.

Instead of bounce houses, U-neek Events now rents out tents, tables, chairs and more.

And while this new business was thriving, Unick and her husband had another passion.

“My husband and I have also walked the journey of having a child with a congenital heart defect,” she said.

Their son, Keyan, died the same day he was born during open heart surgery.

Unick began working with the nonprofit Heart Heroes.

During the pandemic, she wanted to help families that were dealing with strict rules for visiting their sick loved ones.

That’s how another business, Virtually U-neek Boxes, was born.

The business sends themed gift boxes to families in the hospital.

“Just to let them know that other people were thinking of them and give them something to cheer them up while they’re in the hospital,” Unick said. “Because those walls seem pretty white sometimes.”

Unick and her husband wanted to send hope to families because they had once been in their place.

“All we want to do is connect with someone,” she said. “There’s just a whole other connection when you have someone who knows exactly what it feels like.”

Lately, Unick has thrown her attention into the event business.

It has grown from small bounce houses to events with more than 90 tents.

U-neek Events has a contract with Kansas University and provided tailgating supplies for the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament.

Unick said the growth is because they took risks.

“You never know when you’re an entrepreneur what one yes will do for your company,” she said.

Unick hopes to eventually use her companies to start her own nonprofit and help many more people.