From the editor: World-Herald readers helped fuel a huge fundraising year for Goodfellows

First, the concert review: In November, The World-Herald and the United Way of the Midlands hosted a night of music to benefit Goodfellows, the Omaha-area charity that's still going strong roughly 130 years after it was founded here at The World-Herald. 

I knew the music would be good.

Grace Lewis, a World-Herald news intern who's known on the local music scene as Madelyn Grace, was one of the performers. I'd sampled some of her music on Spotify and knew what kind of presence she'd have on stage. 

But I wasn't prepared for how good the show would be. Grace and her fellow performers Trent Brown and Drew Phillips were amazing on covers and original hits alike.

I'd taken my family to see the Jonas Brothers a month earlier at the CHI Health Center. While the crowd was a bit bigger for the JoBros and the music there was great, too, I think I had more fun at the Goodfellows show. 

The best part: I could tell just about everyone in attendance at Goodfellows Night was having a ton of fun as well. People danced, sang along and demanded an encore after the performers played their last scheduled song. 

I didn't have Drew pegged as a big Chappell Roan guy, but I guess I was wrong: He led the way on the encore with a rendition of Pink Pony Club that I can hear playing in my head more than two months later. 

I was also impressed by the performers' stamina. They played for more than three hours almost nonstop. The lone break was a quick intermission during which we raffled off some prizes, including a bag full of spices from Big Mama's Kitchen.

While the concert itself didn't raise a huge amount of money, it did a few important things: 

• It showed that our collective teams were capable of pulling off a great event. 
  
  
• It gave me a small sample of how generous people in our community can be. 
  
  
• It launched us into the holiday campaign season with some momentum that I figured had a chance to carry over in various ways. 

That brings me to the good news: With the holiday campaign behind us, Goodfellows has raised more than $580,000 this fiscal year. That's up about 6% compared to last year and also up compared to the 2023-24 season. 

The funds provide one-time emergency aid for struggling Omaha-area residents. 

Our newsroom spends a lot of time reporting on the state of the economy here in Nebraska and throughout the country, so we know that this hasn't been the easiest year for folks economically. 

Even if the economy were booming, I wouldn't necessarily assume we'd be able to raise this much money or help this many Omaha-area families. People have many different ways to spend their money, both in general and in the nonprofit donation space. 

It tells me something about the community here in Omaha — and the neighborly spirit of the region — that so many of you stepped up so emphatically to support your neighbors. 

While the holiday season is over, the window to donate to Goodfellows never really closes. If you're interested in contributing, you can do so at goodfellowsomaha.com.

We're kicking around some ideas for fundraising events this spring and summer that I think you'll enjoy.

In the meantime, I won't stop you from taking a victory lap in celebration of the holiday campaign. 

And I want you to know how thankful we are to everyone who's supported Goodfellows this year and throughout its long history. Your support means a ton to us here at The World-Herald — and to the many families in our community who've benefited from your generosity. 

Ben Doody is the Executive Editor of The World-Herald. Contact him at ben.doody@owh.com.