unleashing
national impact
igniting local
transformation
Jason Leuck, a 42-year-old from Lincoln, turns the challenges of being a paraplegic wheelchair user into opportunities to improve life for others with mobility limitations. His entrepreneurial drive has been a constant, even after a life-changing accident in 2008. That year, Leuck lost control of his car on a poorly lit gravel road and woke up in the hospital, paralyzed from the chest down. He's a T2-T4 complete paraplegic, meaning he has lost motor function below the mid-back.
At the time, Leuck was in the business of repairing heavy equipment, but his injury forced him to leave that work behind. He moved to Lincoln for rehabilitation and stayed, finding a home in an accessible apartment in the Haymarket district. Determined to stay active, Leuck ran a hot dog cart in Haymarket for two years. "I sold it because it was just too much for me," he recalls.
In June 2015, he met his future wife, Jesse Garner, a quadriplegic, on a street corner in Lincoln. "She looked lost," he remembers. She needed to pay a parking ticket but couldn't find the place.
Now, the couple are partners in life and business, marketing and selling the CushPocket, a product they developed to enhance independence for wheelchair users.
"Craig has been a great mentor to me. He keeps me motivated, always asking, 'Where are you at in this?' and, 'What do you need?' I'm very happy he's there for me and my business."
Along the way, Leuck has relied upon the advice and encouragement of the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) and Craig Boesch, Lincoln center director for America's SBDC — Nebraska.
"When Jason started with the NBDC, he had doubts and questions," Boesch says. "He had worked through all of it, yet, like any good entrepreneur, he was grappling with the risks. I think he simply needed a sounding board to affirm he was on the right track, and he is. He's an amazing person."
Boesch also introduced Leuck to the Weibling Entrepreneurship Clinic at the University of Nebraska College of Law, where he received pro bono help filing a design patent application.
Leuck has shown a true commitment to quality, Boesch says, researching overseas manufacturers and seeking ways to make improvements. "Jason is very particular about what he sources in the materials, to ensure that everything he sells has the highest quality and value," Boesch says.
Leuck developed his patented product, the CushPocket, which attaches to a wheelchair and gives the user a double-compartment fabric storage bag within easy reach. Sold through his website, cushpocket.com, and on Amazon, an impressive 83 percent of his customer reviews give the CushPocket five stars.
The CushPocket offers two compartments: an outer pocket that closes with a magnetic flap, and a larger main compartment featuring a zipper closure with an O-ring loop. The CushPocket is attached to a flexible board that slides underneath the seat cushion, and can be attached to the seat pan of most manual or power wheelchairs with Velcro strips that are included. When detached from the chair, the board is designed with a hand-sized slot to double as a carrying handle.
Leuck introduced his first CushPocket in 2019 and has since released a larger version manufactured from high-quality fabric.
Leuck is currently in the research and development phase of a new product for wheelchair users and can't reveal many details. With this new idea as with the CushPocket, he says he is grateful for the continuing support of Boesch and the NBDC.
Delivering high quality physical therapy and patient-centered care are two goals of Elevate Wellness, a McCook-based clinic founded by experienced physical therapist Emily Young to serve western Nebraska and the surrounding region.
Young is a certified physical therapist (PT), doctor of physical therapy (DPT), certified lactation consultant (CLC) and a pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist. "There is a huge gap in women's health care and physical therapy services in our region," she says. "From Kearney west is highly underserved."
That focus has since evolved to meet the community's needs, she says. "We quickly started seeing men and women across the lifespan, and sports injuries," Young says. "People want the one-on-one, patient-centered physical therapy we provide."
She has worked with the consultants at the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) office in North Platte on a variety of issues to help her meet those needs through her practice.
"Being a healthcare provider, I learned nothing in school about owning my own business. I had a vision, and they helped fill in the blanks how to get there, both short term and long term."
Young has worked with the consultants at the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) office in North Platte on a variety of issues, including an updated business plan to help prepare for expansion.
"Being a healthcare provider, I learned nothing in school about owning my own business," she says. "I had a vision, and they helped fill in the blanks how to get there, both short term and long term."
Young says Elevate Wellness has and will continue to add staff, space and services — through collaborative contracts with a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, chiropractor, speech therapist and personal trainer — to meet the diverse needs of a growing list of patients.
Young says the personalized physical therapy services her business is able to provide are intended to heal patients and help reduce the need for "hands-off" treatments like ultrasound and hot packs, as well as potentially addictive opioids and other prescription pain medications.
"We have an exercise-based philosophy to get the body moving correctly," she says. "These techniques, along with the relationships we build, are providing our patients hope they can truly overcome pain and live the lives they desire."
Gloria Patricia Avalos started Patty's Childcare Center Inc. in 2016, caring for 10 children from her home. It didn't take long for her to realize the growing demand for reliable, quality child care, and she set out on a mission to help fulfill that need.
"Gloria knew how hard-working people were facing the impact of this daycare shortage and how it was putting them at risk of losing their jobs," says Consultant Alan Martinez.
While the mother of five knew how to care for children, Avalos was unfamiliar with the requirements of beginning and running a business. Undeterred by challenges, Avalos, who is bilingual in Spanish and English and whose business serves Spanish-speaking families, worked with Martinez, one of several bilingual consultants at the NBDC.
Alejandra Lopez, operations manager for Patty's Childcare Centers, says Avalos had to overcome many challenges to open her first center. "She was a mother who was trying to save money and had limited assets," Lopez says.
"Gloria knew how hard-working people were facing the impact of this daycare shortage and how it was putting them at risk of losing their jobs...This is why she embarked on a journey to create a solution."
Avalos worked with SBDC Bilingual Consultant Alan Martinez to develop a business plan and financial projections, technical assistance, and insight into benchmarking and marketing strategies.
Martinez also pointed her to additional support. "Gloria also joined the Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) program [through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development], which is facilitated by different resource partners including the NBDC," Martinez says. "The program offers access to educational presentations and individualized technical assistance. She obtained a thorough review of her financial projections, ensuring she could pursue her expansion plans with confidence and foresight."
Avalos says she is happy with the services she has received from the NBDC, "and to be able to do it all in Spanish."
In 2018, Avalos launched Patty's Childcare Center in Papillion, a facility with a capacity for 100 children.
The success of her first childcare center motivated her to expand, and in May 2019, Avalos opened a second childcare center, also with space for 100 children, along South 13th Street in Omaha.
She will open a third childcare center, in a separate building beside the South 13th Street location, in May or June 2024. This center will be open 24 hours, seven days a week, have the space for 200 children and will create more than 60 jobs, in addition to the 40 people she currently employs.
Through a desire to expand her services, Avalos and several of her team members have received training in the Pyramid Model through the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties. The Pyramid Model is a framework of evidence-based practices for promoting young children's healthy social and emotional development. Avalos says her goals include offering parenting classes and becoming certified to work with autistic children.