Treasurer Don Stenberg and First National Bank of Omaha presented $529 NEST college savings scholarships today to five youth, ages 7 to 10, from the 2nd Congressional District in the NEST Read to Win $529 Drawing, sponsored by NEST (Nebraska Educational Savings Trust), First National Bank of Omaha, and the Nebraska Library Commission.
More than 20,000 children and teens were entered in the drawing after completing summer reading programs at their local libraries across the state. Five winners were selected in a random drawing from each of Nebraska’s three U.S. Congressional districts. Each was awarded $529 in a NEST 529 College Savings account, and their respective library branches received $250 each. First National Bank of Omaha, program manager for NEST, provided the scholarship contributions.
Winners from the 2nd Congressional District were recognized today at the Millard Branch of the Omaha Public Library. The 10 winners from the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts will be recognized Oct. 30 in a 1 p.m. ceremony in the State Capitol Rotunda in Lincoln.
Winners from the 2nd Congressional District are
“The Read to Win $529 Drawing was incorporated into the popular summer reading programs in public libraries across Nebraska,” Treasurer Stenberg said. “This was our first year partnering with the Nebraska Library Commission and local libraries to encourage leisure-time reading for children during the summer and to help children, and their parents and grandparents learn more about our state-sponsored 529 college savings program.”
“Reading is such a wonderful part of lifelong learning and, for children and teens, preparation for higher education,” said Deborah Goodkin, Managing Director of NEST at First National Bank of Omaha, the NEST Program Manager. “With this scholarship, we hope children will continue to read and dream for their own futures. And, we hope that families make it a priority to save for those dreams.”
State-sponsored 529 college savings programs, like NEST, take their name from Section 529 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The Nebraska Educational Savings Trust has more than $3.6 billion in assets with more than 220,000 accounts nationwide, including 63,000 accounts in Nebraska.
“For us, this has turned out to be a perfect partnership. We truly hope all these eager summer readers and their parents will start thinking about saving for college and, if they haven’t already, will begin exploring the plans available through the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust called NEST,” Stenberg said.
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.
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 Nebraska Library Commission
As Nebraska's state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services-"bringing together people and information." Visit http://booksarejustthebeginning.com/ for more examples of how Books Are Just the Beginning at Nebraska libraries.