Lincoln woman packing ‘mom van’ with donations for firefighters in western Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — As wildfires burn across western Nebraska, firefighters from across the state are working around the clock to contain the flames.

But one Lincoln woman is making sure crews know they aren’t alone.

“Even though it’s 4-5 hours away, it doesn’t matter,” said Kristi Cadenbach. “I still have that small town mentality of it’s Nebraskans, it’s my neighbors, even though they’re hours away, we’re still going to connect with people and see what the need is.”

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Cadenbach is taking in donations for firefighters as part of a project called “Stuff the Mom Van.”

She posted to social media, asking for a little community support to get the job done.

The owner of Sower Books, Tory Hall, stepped in and offered to be a drop-off location for donations.

“This feels like doing the bare minimum,” said Hall. “This feels like what you do to take care of the people around you. The more that we showcase that, the more it continues building and growing. It’s a positive feedback cycle, and it is astounding the community we have.”

Cadenbach plans to make the trip to Grand Island, where she will meet a friend who will take the items out west.

She said even a little bit can go a long way, and prove that Nebraska always stands together.

“Even though it’s gas, it’s time, it’s energy, I have more connections,” she said. “If anything else happens on that end of Nebraska, then I’ll have those I can reach out to. So it’s building the connections, and even if we’re helping out a couple of communities, it’s worth it.”

Cadenbach has put together an Amazon wish list for the most needed items.

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