Kari J. Dawkins is a staff member at the University of Oklahoma who always puts others before herself.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Bixby Community Outreach Center (BCOC)
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| Bixby Community Outreach Center in Downtown Bixby PHOTO: Ashley Burns |
THE IMPACT: Many people in the south Tulsa area depend on BCOC for food, clothing and other goods. "Some of our previous donors are now customers. We have customers come in that own $800,000 homes to get food for their families because they have lost their jobs and have simply just fallen through the cracks" said Crall. "This organization has had such an impact on my life personally because I am able to lay down at night knowing I have done something good for someone else," said Crall. BCOC is asking for others who want to make a difference to please come and volunteer their time, repetitious giving, help keeping a constant money flow and joining the board to make their voices heard.
THE CONTEXT: In the middle of a bitter winter in 2004 a woman could not afford heat and would spend part of an evening in a nearby laundry mat until they closed. Bixby Bulletin newspaper editor, Joe Jennings found her and decided to write a story on this situation. When a group of concerned citizens heard of these harsh conditions and became aware that there was more than just one person who was suffering, Bixby decided to establish Bixby Community Outreach Center. Many of the volunteers go to the local food bank and pick up anywhere from 2-5 thousand pounds of food.
HUMAN DIMENSION: BCOC strives to bring aide to those in need. A customer who prefers to remain anonymous states, "BCOC has changed my life completely. They hide food in my back yard or somewhere on the way home from school so I could have something to eat because I knew that my parents didn't have food at the house to eat. BCOC became my new provider and I can only hope that one day I can give back to them like they have given to me because I may not be alive if it were not for them." Another customer that would like to remain anonymous said, "My dad would not go out and buy me clothes and if he found out that someone let me borrow clothes or had bought clothes for me he would make me return them and tell me that I did not deserve them. This is when I found BCOC. I needed clothing that the actual organization did not have my size in and because they are so committed, they took me to Walmart and let me pick out what I wanted. I am so grateful for BCOC and do not know where I would be without them."
WHAT'S NEXT: There is an upcoming event that will benefit those in need with food, clothes and toiletry items. In august they are having a back to school drive which is in need of school supplies. "We create a carnival in a family type setting for kids to enjoy. We have free physicals, vaccines, hearing tests, eye exams and help and safety courses," Crall states. Crall mentions," radical changes are being put into place for the future to set up a room with computers to help customers look for jobs, help with resumes and provide family counseling sessions." If you would like to get involved with BCOC you can contact them at (918) 366-9226 or you can locate them on the web at bixbyoc.org. They are located in downtown Bixby at 4 East Dawes Bixby, Oklahoma 74008.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Meals on Wheels of Norman Changing Lives One Day at a TIme
Have you ever made a statement like, "I am starving" and someone replies back with, "hi starving, I'm so and so" well most of the time it never crosses our minds, but are we really starving? Do we really know what it is like to starve? Luckily most of us will never have to face this scary and hopeless feeling of starvation. For those of us that can afford three meals a day should count our blessings because in 2010 alone 925 million people of the world's 7.5 billion starved each day. Are you willing to skip a meal to serve those in your community who are lucky to get just one meal a day?
Lynn Haynes, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels of Norman said, "As a whole Meals on Wheels has a simple mission and vision and that is to provide national leadership to end senior hunger and to eradicate senior hunger by 2020." Meals on Wheels of Norman has been serving the community since January 21, 1972. They are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose focus is on the elderly, ill or disabled that can not afford food or need some kind of assistance. "This organization is unique because we have volunteers that care so much about each and every person. We also have the help of high school students and different organizations of the University of Oklahoma. We also are unique because we are not federally or state funded therefore we can serve anyone."
Meals on Wheels of Norman provides many services to the ill, disabled and senior residents within the Norman City Limits. "We strive to improve the mental health by providing visitation and outside communication between volunteers and the needy", said Haynes. Originally the University of Oklahoma's Food Services Department provided the meals daily. The duty now belongs to the Norman Regional Hospital because through the hospital they are able to provide the knowledge of licensed dietitians to dictate clients dietary needs. To be eligible to receive meals you have to live within the Norman City Limits, you have to be ill, elderly or disabled. There is a small price per meal and it is based on the customers income. They range from FREE to $5.75. Clients ages range from 25 years to 100 years of age, but those under 60 must receive special permission from their physician.
Special projects are in effect in Norman such as, pet food delivery, breakfast programs and emergency food pantries. After a shocking story in 2004 when Haynes found out about many clients sharing their only meal with their furry companions, they decided that pet food delivery was necessary too. During the recent storms meals were not able to deliver and some clients were stuck for days without a meal from their trustworthy friends. "We need volunteers more than ever in times like these when we are struggling to get volunteers to drive and risk their lives to save someone else's. We strive to hook up with fraternities and sororities in cases like this because we know most of the guys have 4-wheel-drive vehicles and are willing to get out of the house, so why not come and help out. Most of the time before putting lives in danger we do what is called a call tree, it is a list of numbers for our clients. We call and make sure that they are doing okay and have plenty of food and if they don't we try our hardest to get to them somehow", said Haynes.
Many of the stories Hayes mentioned were very heart warming and life changing. "An old lady had fallen and could not get up. She laid there for 8 hours, but did not panic because she knew that we would be there between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.. When we arrived we could hear her yelling for us to help and by her voice I could tell that she was in a lot of pain. I broke in through the window and I had to step over her to call 911. The women later told us that she knew that she would be fine because we always came everyday and never missed a lunch. Something that touched each of us here at Meals on Wheels was when she told us that her family never really checked on her and that she considered us as her family because we cared and supported her. We were the new found family and never will abandon anyone."
Meals on Wheels needs our help as a community. They are opened 5 days a week and make delivery's Monday -Friday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.. You can learn more about Meals on Wheels by looking them up on the web at www.mealsonwheelsnorman.com, by liking their page on Facebook, Meals On Wheels of Norman, Inc. or by calling (405) 321-7272. "We need volunteers that are loving, compassionate and love brightening someone's day. Please help us change people's lives, you won't regret it, maybe it will change yours."
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
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