2006 Finalists
Health and Wellness
FOOD 4 KIDS: A Program of the Regional Food Bank
Oklahoma City
The Food 4 Kids Program of the Regional Food Bank provides for the needs of hungry children in 16 counties. 3,500 elementary school children in 116 schools participate in this program.ÊFood 4 Kids provides chronically hungry children with a backpack of child-friendly food over weekends and holidays.ÊThese backpacks allow chronically hungry children to feed themselves during the critical period between Friday afternoon and Monday morning when many of them would otherwise have nothing to eat.
This program is growing faster than the Regional Food Bank can keep up.Ê Your selectionÊof this program for the Impact Oklahoma grant would allow the Food 4 Kids program to buy a truck to both expand the program and make it more efficient.ÊThe rest of the money would go directly to feed these needy children.
Food 4 Kids strives to reach more kids, more often, and when they are the most vulnerable. The primary goal of the program is to prevent the long term effects of chronic hunger in children.Ê$115 provides one child with a backpack of food for each week for an entire school year.
Visit Regional Foodbank's website
Culture
Harn Homestead Museum
Oklahoma City
The mission of the Harn Homestead Museum is to preserve the historic homestead of Mr. William Fremont Harn and to educate the public about the territorial years of Oklahoma. Our Museum encompasses 9.4 acres of original land run property and is home to several turn of the century historic buildings. The house belonging to Mr. William Fremont Harn, Claims Adjuster for the Land Run, was constructed in 1904. The home was purchased from the National Builder's Supplement, a Sears and Roebuck Company. After the museum was incorporated, a one-room school house, the first two-story home built in Oklahoma, a dairy barn, and a log cabin were relocated to the property.
Our museum serves as a hands-on educational facility for elementary school children when they study Oklahoma history in their classroom. Our staff dress in historic period clothing and conduct lesson plans that reflect Victorian and pioneer living from 1889 - 1910. The museum also serves as an educational facility for tourists who have an interest in old historic house museums. During the spring, summer and fall months, the museum is available to rent for weddings, corporate events, family reunions, etc. Annually 25,000 elementary school children from across the state attend our educational programs and another 10,000 guests visit the property for tours and events.
We are in the process of completing a brand new entrance and parking lot off Lincoln Boulevard to increase our visibility and offer visitors easier access to the Museum. The second phase of this project will be to construct a visitors' center at the new entrance to welcome guests as they enter the museum grounds. Currently the museum has two dilapidated trailers that serve as our gift shop and admissions office. Not only do these structures distract from the historic beauty of the museum, they are also located a tremendous distance from the new entrance which will lead to safety and security issues. Funds from IMPACT Oklahoma will serve as the major sponsorship of our new visitors' center and the center will be named after IMPACT Oklahoma. Schoolchildren, tourists, and guests will receive a proper greeting and orientation to the museum and will be able to visit our gift shop. At the end of their visit, they will exit the museum through the same building. This will allow us to answer any questions they may have and better monitor the facility. This project will have a major impact on our organization and will allow us to have better interaction with all of our visitors. We anticipate that once the new parking lot and entrance to the museum is complete, our attendance will double and allow us to serve over 70,000 Ð 100,000 school children, tourists and guests.
Visit Harn Homestead's website
Education
Payne Education Center, Inc.
Oklahoma City
The mission of Payne Education Center, Inc. is to train teachers to prevent reading difficulties in children and to remediate dyslexia, while serving as a resource and referral center. Payne Education Center would like to partner with IMPACT OK to address one of the greatest needs in the State---literacy. Payne Education Center proposes to positively impact the literacy skill development of all students in an Oklahoma City Elementary Public School whose population is high with English as Second Language learners. Using Alphabetic Phonics-based curricula, Payne Education Center will provide school-wide training to all teachers on how to teach reading, writing and spelling to all students, including those with learning differences. Once the teachers are trained, Payne Education Center will provide on-going mentoring to the teachers as they implement the curricula. Finally, by using accepted standardized reading evaluation methods, Payne Education Center will oversee the progress of the studentsÕ literacy development. Together we will IMPACT the students of this school for a lifetime!
Visit Payne Education Center's website
Environment
OKC Beautiful
Oklahoma City
OKC Beautiful's mission is community improvement through advocacy, education, and beautification. OKC Beautiful is committed to creating a clean, beautiful community through programs that promote community pride, public beautification, youth education and economic development. All programs add to the quality of life that is so important to our community. Well maintained parks and public spaces are the heart and soul of a city.
Revitalization of historic Memorial Park is a major goal of OKC Beautiful. This nearly 100-year-old, 15 acre park sits in the very heart of Oklahoma City and has been a vital part of our community for nearly a century. Approximately 45,000 people, including 14,000 children reside within a two-mile radius of Memorial Park in this ethnically and economically diverse section of the city. Many activities take place in the park: The Boys and Girls Club of Oklahoma operates both summer and after school programs, several soccer teams use the fields, Harding High School tennis team utilizes the courts, and many elementary schools use the park for picnics and activities throughout the school year. Vacation Bible Schools and numerous child care centers make trips to the park. Recently, the Muslim community has used the park to host their Sunday afternoon soccer league. The park offers children, adults and the elderly a place to relax, stroll, or exercise in the heart of the city.
The Master Plan for Memorial park includes preservation, conservation, construction and landscaping that would preserve and improve what has been in existence for nearly 100 years. The Plan offers all park users a safe, clean environment in which to relax or participate in activities that encourage and support a healthy lifestyle. The centerpiece of the Master Plan is the construction of a large open-sided gazebo, which would be the first phase of the project. Impact OklahomaÕs grant for the construction of the gazebo would serve not only as the catalyst for the implementation of the Master Plan, but also provide the focal point for this historic parkÕs revitalization. The gazebo would provide a shaded resting-place for park visitors and become a gathering place for up to 100 people to meet in this inner city park. Building a large gazebo on public land would be a lasting gift to all citizens of Oklahoma City, but specifically to the 45,000 residents in nearby neighborhoods.
Family
Mary Abbott Children's House
Norman
The Mary Abbott Children's House is a child-centered facility that serves as the child abuse response center for Cleveland, Garvin and McClain Counties. The existence of the Mary Abbott Children's House is essential for reducing trauma in children who are the victims of sexual abuse, severe physical abuse and neglect, or who are witnesses to death or abuse. The Abbott House is located in a beautiful 100 year-old Victorian house and provides a child-friendly environment for a video-recorded interview of the child after an allegation of abuse or neglect. The video may be reviewed by other professionals and decreases the number of times a child must tell their very personal story. Abbott House is in close proximity to our community partners, which allows us to provide comprehensive services to more children in our community. As a Child Advocacy Center, we coordinate a team comprised of law enforcement, child welfare/child protection, medical professionals, mental health service providers, and the district attorney. This team works collaboratively with the goal of evaluation and treatment for the child victims and families experiencing abuse or neglect and holding offenders accountable.
The organization's growing staff, number of community partners who are located on-site, and an increased need for services have resulted in a real demand for additional space. This spurred the organization's board of directors to initiate a capital campaign in order to expand. With the help of Impact Oklahoma, we will be able to secure the purchase of the building adjacent to Abbott House and continue our project of connecting and renovating the two buildings. The new 3,000 square foot property will eventually house the response team, so that the original house may be used exclusively for providing services to children and families.
Abbott House has made a huge impact in our community. Children need a safe place to tell their story and a group of professionals to make sure they get the best care possible. We are the friendly faces they see when they come in the door and we are the arms that wrap around each family as they begin the long process of healing. With the help of Impact Oklahoma, we could extend those arms and serve more children and families in our community.