If memory serves me correctly, I had the pleasure of working with Teens of Tomorrow back in 2005 through shortly before graduating high school in 2009. At the time, it was just a part time job to keep some money in my pocket, so I didn’t have to keep asking my mom for things. What I didn’t realize is how incredibly rewarding the experience would end up being for me. During my time with Teens of Tomorrow, I learned so much about myself such as my ability to be restorative, disciplined, consistent, and deliberative. Because of that experience and everything I learned about myself, I’ve had a very successful career at Mutual of Omaha over the past 10 years, most recently as a Business systems consultant support group in our insurance systems. I am so thankful to have had an opportunity to be a part of an organization that continues to make a difference in my community.
Teens of Tomorrow was the biggest part of my life when I was a teen. They helped me with saving and getting out of hard times in my life. They showed me a better way of life. When I left, I didn’t want to but I was getting older and needed to. I want my kids to work with this group. I want people to understand its not about the money, it’s all about family. This place is family and i love spending time with them. I am not working with this group anymore but i still see and talk to them. I miss the old man that use to drive us around. sometimes i just call to check up on him. I’m so happy I got a chance to be a part of their life and they were a big part of mine. thank you for taking the time out of your day to read or watch these videos of all of these people we worked with and how if changed their lives.
It was 2010, maybe 11 when I first started working with Teens of Tomorrow. I was fifteen and a freshman in high school. I was broke and most of the time I was homeless. I didn’t really have a lot of people in my life that cared about me or wanted to see me do good in life. I was basically on my own. One day a good friend of mine came up to me after school and told me about Teens of Tomorrow and how I can make money after school while staying busy and doing something productive other than being out running the streets. I didn’t think too much of it but I gave the guy a call and that’s when I met stretch. I started a few weeks after. On my first day, I sold eight which was not too good. I remember thinking this might not be the right job for me but on my second day I sold 15. I was so happy I went home with $60 in my pocket, and it was the first time I ever felt accomplished. I felt like I was doing something beneficial with my life. I went on to work with TOT for 8 years straight. I consider myself to be one of the top sellers!
I learned great life lessons like money management, entrepreneurship, and how to not take no for an answer and how to keep calm. One thing I love about going door to door I you get to meet new people every day. I got to hear new stories about how people got to where they are in life and how hard they had to work to get there. The big houses, the nice clean-cut grass, all that would inspire me to one day have my own house and my own family and be a hard-working man myself, just like the same men I use to sell candy to. My favorite thing to do was to compete against my peers and see who can sell the most at the end of the day. It would always push me to go harder and make me focus even more.
I can honestly say Teens of Tomorrow had a big impact on the man I am today. I am 29 years old and I’ve been working at greater Omaha for over 6 years now and I’m making over 75k a year. I have 5 kids who I am full time father to and most of all I have stability. A lot of strong traits that I have today came from working with TOT. the waking up early on a Saturday, the managing my money, I also consider myself a team leader at my job so I have to use the people skills I learned as well. The thing I miss the most is driving to Lincoln every Saturday and on the way back, stopping at the Nike outlet, the one thing I’ll always remember is to keep a positive mindset. You’ll meet negative people, and you will meet positive people but you have to stay positive on top of all the negativity. If you think positive, you’ll attract positive. If you think negative, you’ll attract negative.
I was 17 when I was first introduced to making money other than a 9-5 job. Stretch welcomed me into the entrepreneurial world by allowing me to participate with Teens of Tomorrow. I worked there for 3 years and have been able to acquire valuable skillset, sales, and communication. While working with TOT, I enjoyed every city because each one brought great opportunity and connection that set me up for my future.