‘We ought to try to keep it going’: Donations flood in for The Friendship Home during Stuff the Bus

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – If you made a trip to Walmart or Sam’s Club this weekend, you may have seen a StarTran bus parked out front, filled with donations.

The Friendship Home in Lincoln has been Lancaster County’s only emergency shelter and transitional program for those escaping domestic violence for over fifty years, and one unlikely partnership with StarTran started a little over 20 years after they were founded in the 1970s.

“This was StarTran’s idea,” said development director Dani Jurgens. “They approached the friendship home about 24 years ago and really wanted to figure out a unique way to help provide items for our shelters at the time and it’s just grown and expanded over the years.”

The Friendship Home helped over 1,000 women escape domestic violence in 2022 alone, and their emergency shelters have been full since the 90s.

With so many needing help, donations from the community are crucial, and despite the high cost of living, donations have never been better.

“Our community is still so supportive when we are low on items,” Jurgens said. “They’re willing to share and step up and help out even with the costs these days.”

One man, Duane Tappe, has been donating to the home for several years, after knowing a young woman who almost lost her life to domestic abuse.

“It touches your heart just thinking about it, that you got people in desperate situations that need help,” Tappe said. “I know they’re all over the world but they’re right here and close, So my thinking is we ought to try to keep it going.”

Over $50,000 in products were donated to The Friendship Home through Stuff the Bus in 2022, and organizers are hoping to have as much help this year.

All products will go to emergency shelters and transitionary programs to help women get back on their feet.

“Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate, it’s something that impacts us all,” Jurgens said.

StarTran buses will continue being parked and accepting donations in front of every Walmart and Sam’s Club location in Lincoln until Sunday, April 16th at 4 p.m.

If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic abuse and needs help, call The Friendship Home at 402-434-6353.