The Bay enters a new chapter with expanded youth programming in Omaha

While there are no plans to bring a similar program to Bay High to public schools in Omaha anytime soon, Norman said The Bay does plan to bring its Gap Year program to Omaha within the next year. He said organizers are speaking with more potential partners. 

This comes as the nonprofit acquires OGR and explores additional ways the nonprofit can make an impact for local youth in the city. 

The future of Omaha Girls Rock

OGR is an Omaha-based nonprofit with the mission of empowering youth through music education. Starting in 2011 as part of the Girls Rock Camp Alliance, the organization went on to provide after-school programming, instrument lessons and loans and a summer camp for youth ages 4 through 18. During the camp, kids would learn an instrument, form a band, co-write an original song and then perform it live. 

Sara Bertuldo was the operations manager for OGR before the nonprofit joined The Bay. She now works for The Bay as workforce education and OGR program manager. 

Bertuldo said OGR reached a point where it was growing too fast, and it became a challenge to sustain. That forced organizers to turn kids away from programs, which were at capacity. She said The Bay is now able to step in and provide the foundational support OGR needed. 

“I feel like I can really focus on making our program as strong as it can get and really provide a positive experience for campers, as well as staff and volunteers,” Bertuldo said. 

Norman said The Bay plans to relaunch the OGR summer camps in 2026. Still in the planning stages, he said they anticipate bringing OGR programming to Lincoln and integrating Bertuldo’s expertise into other programs provided by The Bay.

“OGR is just another opportunity for us to provide community, build confidence and skills, increase the happiness and decrease the loneliness of this generation,” Norman said. 

Moving into the Benson Community Center

Norman said the organization has always wanted to expand into Omaha and in 2021 started with after-school programming centered on skateboarding and beatmaking at local schools. He said The Bay eventually landed a physical space at the Benson Community Center, largely through collaboration and support from Omaha Parks and Recreation, the Lozier Foundation and the Omaha Parks Foundation. 

Norman said conversations about The Bay’s residence at the Benson Community Center began around 2023, with a vision to help repair and revitalize the space at the heart of the Benson neighborhood. Since the location opened in 2024, the nonprofit has helped facilitate renovations and has tapped into Benson’s art and entrepreneurial scene, including helping kids participate in the 2025 Youth Artist Market during Benson First Fridays. 

Norman said The Bay doesn’t see the community center as its “forever home.”

“Our job is to bring a lot of energy and activity into it, as well as help draw other partners who want to use that space,” Norman said. “Our goal with the Benson Community Center is to leave it better than we found it.”