It’s coming back! After a year’s break, the Catholic Social Services Trivia Night in Imperial will be up for another night of fun and competition this fall. This year’s event is set for Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. MT, said Bill Sullivan, manager CSS Imperial's St. Isidore’s Gift & Thrift. Sullivan and volunteers from the Imperial thrift store are planning for another fun night of trivia questions.
Trivia Night’s debut in Imperial came in 2022, and another successful event was recorded in 2023. Due to health reasons involving manager Sullivan, a 2024 Trivia Night was not scheduled.
Proceeds from the 2025 event will again go to the store and its outreach efforts to help those in need, and not just in the Imperial area. Sullivan said CSS in Imperial serves individuals and families in 11 southwest Nebraska counties.
But Sullivan noted that the Trivia Night is not just about raising funds for its mission of aiding those in need. It’s also to increase public awareness about the service CSS provides and the wide area it serves, so Trivia Night teams from the wide area are being sought.
Individuals experiencing financial hardship or an income interruption can apply for assistance through CSS. They can start by stopping into the store at 527 Broadway for an application to receive aid. Sullivan said he will put them in contact directly with Jennifer Hinze, CSS Family Support Services Specialist in McCook. Hinze doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar office location, but takes calls or emails to get the process started.
“I’m more like a call center,” she said.
Hinze said, generally, CSS will help people with utilities, rent, and other specific needs that may be unique to the applicant. Funds can be awarded after a completed application, proof of ID, and a short interview on the individual’s circumstances, she said.
There are several cases that Hinze can point to that have touched her heart. It reemphasizes, she said, how important the CSS services can be.
In one case, a woman and her children were fleeing a domestic violence situation and wanted to leave the state to be with family. However, she needed help to pay her final rent and “be gone,” Hinze said.
“She needed a safe place to go, but had some expenses to deal with first,” she said.
CSS paid that final rent bill, and they left. Hinze said the woman was so appreciative of help from CSS.
Another case found a woman in western Nebraska who didn’t drive with health issues, specifically the need to have all of her teeth pulled. She had to get to Lincoln for her appointment.
“She told us she could pay the medical bills but not the hotel” for two nights in Lincoln, Hinze noted.
“I told her we could help with that” and paid for the two nights of lodging.
Other cases have helped secure a safe haven in Lincoln for a western Nebraska woman, again due to domestic violence, and aid a family from Nigeria find a home and secure needed household items for their growing family. In the latter case, CSS helped them find a local realtor who worked to find a home they could purchase. St. Isidore’s store helped them with affordable furniture and other needed items.
Generally, assistance can be provided to individuals and families once a year.
Hinze said if CSS is unable to help directly, she refers them to other social service agencies in the area, such as the Family Resources Center in McCook or the Families First collaborative in North Platte. When food is needed, referrals to local food pantries are made. If the applicant is a veteran, other agencies can help besides CSS, she noted. Ministerial associations in communities are also a resource for help with gas or a night’s lodging for people in need passing through.
Hinze believes the services CSS provides are very important today.
“So many people are falling on hard times,” she said.
“It seems to go in cycles throughout the year,” she added. During summer’s heat and winter’s cold, utility bills rise.
She also said people in eastern Nebraska may not realize that homelessness is an issue in western Nebraska, too.
One such woman was referred to her through a local priest. She had no money or a home. CSS was able to put her up in a hotel, Hinze said.
It also helps that outlets such as St. Isidore’s Gift & Thrift sell good-quality items at low costs to help people through tough times.
Sullivan said the three months St. Isidore Gift & Thrift was closed late in 2024 through March this year due to his health concerns hit the community hard. Questions came often asking when the store would reopen, and comments were frequent about how the store was missed.
People often remark about the quality items in the store, and how attractively products are displayed, he said.
“It’s super gratifying to hear that,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he hopes people remember what CCS does for those in need and support this year’s Trivia Night.
Like the store’s temporary closing, he said, people really missed the cancellation of last year’s Trivia Night after its two previous events drew near the maximum number of teams. He believes it was so successful because it offered people something different than the normal community events each year.
Nichole Spady of Imperial, who emceed the 2023 Trivia Night with John Soukup from the CSS Development Office in Lincoln, agrees. “Trivia Night is a different experience and relatively new to the community here,” she said. “It’s a good change-up from the standing community events, and it’s held during a good time of year,” she added. Spady said she’s really excited to see Trivia Night coming back. As an emcee before, though, she said she did feel some pressure. “I looked out at the audience and saw some of those on the teams who were probably well-prepared and very smart,” she said. “It was a lot of pressure to make sure I pronounced some of those words correctly,” she smiled.
Sullivan said they will start taking team registrations in October at $150 per team. Six people are on each team, and the number of teams will be limited.
There will be several categories (10 questions in each) that could range in topics, including sports, fashion, media, history, science, and more. All team members can give input on each question as the team decides on its answer.
Beverage Barn will also be on site to provide refreshments, he said.
Sullivan said teams should start forming now, and he predicts another night of fun on Nov. 14 at the Nutrien Event Center on the Chase County Fairgrounds.
If it’s like past Trivia Nights, it gets loud “and there’s a lot of laughing going on,” he said.
