Southeast Nebraska communities stepping up after fire tears through Whispering Acres Tails and Treasures

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A place of hope and healing was tragically destroyed in a fire early Monday morning.

Flames tore through the farmhouse, attached garage and pond building that held several farm animals at Whispering Acres Tails and Treasures.

“Whispering Acres has camps and stuff for children, riding camps, outdoor camps, everything. They’ve made a pretty good impact on young kids,” said Dee Schuerman, a family friend of the Kuzelka family.

Whispering Acres is a staple in its community, working with veterans, children, and many others to build confidence, resilience, and emotional well-being through animal-assisted activities.

With how much the farm has helped, Kaylie Snyder and Dee Schuerman quickly stepped up, offering a food drive, cornhole tournament and silent auction.

“Jill and Jamie are a fantastic example of Nebraska Nice,” Snyder said.

And for Schuerman, she said the Kuzelka family has helped her when she needed it most, which made it an easy decision to give some of that help back.

“It doesn’t matter what the outcome or whatever is; everybody is willing to help,” she said. “They are one of the families around here that helps everybody. When my husband passed away last year, they had three different benefits for us, and Jamie, Jill, and the children were right there with them.”

And with the overwhelming support they have received, Snyder said they look forward to the future.

“It’s very touching to see the impact that Jill and Jamie have ultimately had across multiple counties, multiple towns; these people are reaching out from all over for that,” she said. “It was absolutely heartwarming and just amazing to see how far they touch, how far they reach and how far these people want to help them.”

The benefit events will be held on December 21 at the DeWitt Community Center.