Made New Makerspace

10/09/2026

It's been such a busy week that I haven't had time to share this until just now!

Earlier this week, we had the privilege of going to Lincoln to receive an award! Made New Makerspace was voted the small business recipient of the year for Nebraska VR - Vocational Rehabilitation for the work we do supporting local youth by providing them with valuable work-based learning experiences. It's so cool to be the best in the state, and it's such an honor to be recognized for the work we're doing! Thank you to Nebraska VR, the state of Nebraska, and our youth workers and trainers who made this possible!

10/06/2026

This is what happens when creativity meets serious equipment. 👀🔥

From 3D printers, laser engravers, to welding and Woodworking. .! we’ve got it all..!

And this is just a glimpse of what’s happening behind the scenes. 🚀

What would you create with access to all this equipment? Comment below

Innovation Entrepreneurship SmallBusiness Technology CreativeMinds DIY BehindTheScenes Engineering Manufacturing Reels Omaha Nebraska

09/14/2026

"This was the only reason I came to school today."

We recently partnered with Omaha Street School to teach welding to a group of youth. These are good kids with a rough past. It can take a lot to get them to engage.

In this welding program, though, they're excited. They're showing up. They're getting involved. Today, the students were challenged to cut their own steel, clean it up, and then had to try their first-ever overhead welds.

They did an amazing job. Just before we dismissed them back to the school, they admitted that this class is a huge motivating factor for them. One student even said "this was the only reason I came to school today."

This is what we're doing for youth in our community. We're giving these kids a chance to explore what could potentially be a life-changing career path, and we're doing it in a way that motivates them and keeps them excited to learn more.

If you want to help us keep offering programs like this, you can become a supporter today at mnmo.org/donate

09/04/2026

Progress is such a cool thing!

Last week, we started a welding fundamentals course for students at Omaha Street School. This program is designed to give high school kids a taste of welding and hopefully excite them for the potential opportunities in the workforce. So far, the kids have loved the opportunity, but more importantly, they're actively improving their skills. The youth in the picture here had never welded before joining this class. His first-ever welds are the two lines on the top piece of steel. After a week, his stringers that he made on that bottom piece of steel have already vastly improved! There's still room for growth, but when he saw his progress right in front of his face, he couldn't help but smile. You never know, we may have a future welder on our hands!

08/23/2026

Yesterday was so much fun! We partnered with the Dundee Creative District to set up our button-making station as part of Dundee Day! In all, we saw over 500 visitors to our booth, and everyone had a great time. A great big THANK YOU to all our awesome volunteers who came out to help us put on the event.

08/14/2026

Hey scouts, makers, and everyone who has ever wanted to participate in a derby car race! On September 8, We're hosting the Fir Lumber Rally, a derby car race for all ages. Everyone is invited to come and put their home made derby car to the test, racing down our track and racking up cash prizes.

Oh, right, there are CASH PRIZES! We're giving away over $150 in prizes to the winners of this event.

To register for the event, visit

The Fir Lumber Rally is back! Do you like building things? Do you have a need for speed? Do you wish there was a derby car racing event that YOU could sign up for? If you answered yes to any of tho…

08/11/2026

In the past, this shelf has been stocked with over 350 laptops to give out to youth from low-income families. Today, there are five, and all five are already spoken for.

This is the very real problem that we're up against right now. You might not know this, but for the past several years, Made New has been the laptop provider for Omaha's NDHHS office, CASA, and several other foster care agencies and nonprofits. The truth is, if a government office or nonprofit program in the metro was giving out free refurbished laptops, in nearly every case we were their source.

And now, with schools starting this week and the need greater than ever, we have no working laptops to give out.

To be fair, a few more are on the way. We brought several boxes of broken laptops to Ken's PC Repair Omaha last week, and Ken and his team are working on bringing as many of those back to life as they can. Since our first request for help earlier this month, we are so incredibly thankful to have received a few more laptops which have been donated and are waiting to be refurbished.

Still, this is the tip of the iceberg compared to the need in Omaha. Just today I've had to tell another family that we're going to need to put them onto a waiting list.

If you have a laptop computer that's capable of running Windows 11, or a Mac that was made in the last 10 years or so, and you're not putting it to use, we can get it into the hands of a young person from a low-income family. And if you oversee the IT department of a company that purchases Laptops and recycle them at the end of their life cycle, we really want to talk to you. Your laptop could mean success for a struggling young person.

If you'd like to help, or have more questions, send an email to [email protected]. Thank you!

08/06/2026

This week, Made New Makerspace reached a significant milestone: our 8,000th youth supported since our founding in 2018! We're so proud of the way we've been making a difference in the Omaha metro area. Thank you to all the volunteers, supporters, and donors who have made the last eight and a half years possible. Milestones like this couldn't exist without your support!

08/04/2026

Help! For the first time since we started Laptops for Learners in 2019, we now have a waiting list! We currently have no more computers to give out, and with the school year starting, we desperately need your help!

If you have a functional laptop computer you're not using, we need it for our program, Laptops for Learners. In this program, we clean up used laptops and turn around to give them at no cost to youth from low income homes who need but cannot afford a computer.

Due to rising costs of computer hardware, many of our regular donors have reduced their giving or stopped altogether, but the need in our community is still there. In fact, with the school year starting, the need is greater than ever.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: If you have a laptop computer that meets the specs below, you can bring it to Ken's PC Repair Omaha or drop it off at our makerspace. (If you drop it off at Ken's, be sure to tell them it's for Made New Makerspace.) We'll make sure your laptop gets into the hands of a deserving young person, right here in Omaha.

If you work in the IT department of a business that recycles laptops in large batches, we REALLY want to talk to you! Those laptops could have a new life with our youth.

Computer specs:

We primarily need PC laptops that can run either Windows 11, or Mac laptops that are from at least 2018 or later. If your computer still runs but doesn't quite meet these specs (for example, if they run Windows 10 but couldn't upgrade to WIn11), we *might* be able to use them. You can bring them to Ken's and if we can get Linux to run on them, we will do that.

Please help us spread the word! Share this post and help us get the word out. Just last night, I spoke on the phone with a young man preparing to age out of the foster care system who is desperate for a laptop so he can get his GED and have some hope for his future. I want to get this young man a laptop, but I can't do it without you.

And if you don't have a laptop but still want to support the cause, make a donation at https://madenewomaha.com/donate to help us cover the cost of processing these laptops to get them ready for their new owners.

Thank you for your support!

Jim Clements
Executive Director
Made New Makerspace