Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg, NEST529 College Savings, and First National Bank of Omaha today announced six winners in the “Dear Grandchild” contest. Each will receive a total of $1,000 in scholarship money into NEST 529 college savings accounts for their grandchildren.
Dear Grandchild invited grandparents to write letters to grandchildren, sharing the grandparents’ hopes and dreams and urging the grandchildren to plan for college. More than 170 letters were entered into the drawing. Six were randomly selected as winners – three in Nebraska and three outside of Nebraska – to receive scholarships of $1,000 each, provided by First National Bank of Omaha, program manager for NEST 529 college savings plans.
The winners are as follows:
“Thank you to all the grandparents and great aunts and uncles who wrote letters to the special children in their lives. The Dear Grandchild contest provides a wonderful opportunity for family members to instill the value of education and learning in these young minds. This contest also helps grandparents and great aunts and uncles realize that they, too, can play an important role in helping these children achieve their dreams,” Treasurer Stenberg said.
“This contest proved to be a great opportunity for grandparents to share hopes and dreams for their grandchildren’s future,” said Deborah Goodkin, Managing Director of NEST at First National Bank of Omaha. “We were truly inspired by the thoughtfulness of these letters and the passion grandparents showed for their grandchildren to pursue higher education. Clearly, grandparents want success and happiness for their grandchildren.”
About First National Bank of Omaha
First National Bank of Omaha is a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska. First National of Nebraska and its affiliates have more than $23 billion in assets and 5,000 employee associates. Primary banking offices are located in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.
About NEST
NEST is a tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan and provides four plans to help make saving for college simple and affordable: NEST Direct College Savings Plan, the NEST Advisor College Savings Plan, the Bloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan, and the State Farm 529 Savings Plan. The Nebraska State Treasurer serves as Program Trustee. Union Bank & Trust Company serves as Program Manager, and all investments are approved by the Nebraska Investment Council. Families nationwide are saving for college using Nebraska’s 529 College Savings Plans, which have more than 285,000 accounts, including over 94,000 in Nebraska. Visit NEST529.com and treasurer.nebraska.gov for more information.
