A Change to Change – Rose Faherty rfaherty@achancetochange.org
COVID-19 has not slowed down the impact A Chance to Change is having our community in the slightest. We have had 47 new clients in the last month. A Chance to Change has offered Telehealth capabilities for a while so switching formats for all clients and groups was a success. In the last month, we had 750+ Telehealth appointments providing clients with support, growth, and stabilization during these tough times. Donation Portal
Allied Arts – Deborah McAuliffe Senner dsenner@alliedartsokc.com
We are trying to help our arts groups in any way possible, we are offering professional assistance in helping them to complete federal paperwork for assistance, we are trying to raise money to cover: operations, personnel , contract help, rent, utilities, additional printing costs, venue costs, rental costs, additional technology to continue delivering services. In short, we are trying to be the Red Cross of the Arts, the United Way of the arts and the Allied Arts of the arts! Website
Boys and Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County – Teena Belcik tbelcik@bgcokc.org
The Memorial Park Boys & Girls Club is open for childcare for the children of Core Services employees (first responders, medical personnel) from 6:30a until 7:30p Monday through Friday so that they can continue to treat and serve those who are sick. We are following protocol established by the Oklahoma City County Health Department to ensure the children remain healthy. For our Boys & Girls Club members, we are providing afternoon snacks and dinners (grab and go sacks) daily at each of the 6 Club sites, as well as delivering boxes of staple foods and produce to some of our most desperate families Staff has provided educational activity packets for our members both virtually and through delivery with food supplies. Staff is contacting our kids and families via telephone and email regularly and helping address specific needs. The main message for the kids is that they are loved and not alone. Website
CASA of Oklahoma County, Inc. – Jennie Hill jhill@casaofokco.org
CASA of Oklahoma County recruits, trains, and supports volunteers that serve as advocates for abused and neglected children in the foster care system in Oklahoma County. During this time, CASA volunteers continue to serve as guardian ad litems ensuring that children are safe and have their needs met while in foster care. Volunteers continue to check on children biweekly and ensure that home school educational plans are occurring, the child is safe within the home environment, and ensuring that access to services such as mental health or counseling services are being sought. CASA volunteers are conducting all visits virtually through Zoom or Facetime type video conferencing technologies. They are using these technologies to see the child’s home environment, study environment, and talk with the biological or foster parents where the child is currently placed. CASA volunteers have assisted foster families in identifying free educational technologies for children to utilize as well as advised on homeschool plans. All concerns are brought to the attention of the Juvenile Court or DHS to ensure a placement change can be made if safety concerns arise. Currently CASAofOKCO is supporting 213 volunteers that are serving 463 children in foster care in Oklahoma County. Donation Portal
Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity – Ann Felton Gilliland ann.felton@cohfh.org
Central Oklahoma Habitat is experiencing multiple challenges during this epidemic, the greatest of which is the inability of our current Habitat homeowners to make their mortgage payments after job loss. Since we hold our own loans, we are working extensively with these homeowners on an ongoing basis to provide counseling and tangible solutions that will allow them to remain in their homes. Additionally, we are working with impacted families who are currently enrolled in our program and have homes under construction, to ensure that they will still be financially able to afford the home. We have also changed our scheduling for these families, so that they will be able to complete their mandatory Homeowner’s College classes and sweat equity at a future date. As a safety precaution, our office is open by appointment only, and we are conducting interviews, mortgage meetings, home closings and other interactions over the phone, video conferencing and email to the greatest extent possible. We have halted our Critical Home Repair program, since staff cannot enter homes safely. Due to the lack of volunteers and the loss of our 10-person weekly crew from the Department of Corrections, our new home construction program has been severely limited, but is still ongoing. Our ReStores also remain open, and we are taking all appropriate precautions to protect shoppers and staff. Donation Portal
Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma – Koshia Sliver ksilver@gswestok.org
Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma has launched “Cookies for Courage,” a program that allows people to purchase and donate Girl Scout Cookies to frontline health care workers. Cookies are $5 per box or $60 for a case. This is an easy way to thank the health care heroes in our community. Website
Good Shepherd Clinic – Pamela Timmons ptimmons@gsokc.org
Good Shepherd Clinic is a nonprofit that relies solely on donations from individuals and foundation grant funding to provide FREE health care to those living in poverty. Oklahoma State SoonerCare and Medicaid only provides for seniors, children, pregnant women and those with a disability. This leaves working adults who are unable to afford health or dental insurance without any state or federal help. It is critical for our clinic to continue to meet the increasing demand for vital medical and dental care for our community’s most vulnerable neighbors. Good Shepherd Clinic provides a FREE health care home for low-income, uninsured Oklahomans. Medical services (primary and specialty referrals), full dental services, diabetic eye exams, and free prescription medications. Website
Goodwill Industries of Central OK – Jenna Morey jmorey@okgoodwill.org
During this time of crisis, Goodwill’s mission to help people overcome challenges to employment is needed now more than ever. Goodwill’s ability to carry out this mission has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Due to employee and community health concerns, we have closed 25 retail operations and 20 attended donation centers. While this has resulted in a substantial cut to our revenue and led to the furlough of over 650 employees, Goodwill continues to serve the central Oklahoma community. Goodwill employees are helping produce hand sanitizer at Qualgen in Edmond. We are creating rapid rehousing solutions for homeless veterans in our community. Through our Job Connection Center hotline, we are assisting employees and community members by connecting them with resources, helping file for unemployment insurance and finding new jobs. We need your support to continue to serve people in need and transform lives by putting our community back to work. Donation Portal
Health Alliance for the Uninsured (HAU) Jeanean Yanish jeanean.yanish@hauonline.org
The Health Alliance for the Uninsured (HAU) connects low-income, uninsured Oklahomans with life-saving healthcare services and resources that they could not access on their own. These critical connections improve the health outcomes of program participants, prevent E.R. visits, and reduce Oklahoma’s economic healthcare burden.
HAU’s Care Connection program coordinates free diagnostic and specialty care services, including surgery, for low-income, uninsured patients of safety-net clinics and community health centers. HAU also creates access to vital prescription medications for both acute and chronic illnesses through partnerships with OK County and pharmaceutical prescription assistance programs. Combined, these programs provide about $3 million in prescriptions every year. Since 2013, HAU has distributed nearly $20 million in prescriptions.
Chronic health problems do not stop when a pandemic starts, and our clients need our services now more than ever before. In fact, medically vulnerable populations are always the hardest hit during a medical crisis, and we are working hard to connect our clinic partners with the resources they need to safely continue providing care to their patients. We estimate that expenses for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our clinic network could exceed $30,000/month until a COVID vaccine is widely available. This places a huge financial burden on charitable clinics, many of which are volunteer-managed. All HAU services are provided free-of-charge, and our mission relies on support from our community.
Website
Heartline – Keri Toneman-Parks ktonemah-parks@heartlineoklahoma.org
HeartLine’s 2-1-1 Community Resource Line began serving as the first point of contact for the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s COVID-19 hotline. This partnership is through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, the Oklahoma State Department of Health and Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Through a holistic approach to the collaboration, our efforts have morphed into a three pronged approach to address the needs of those calling the hotline. It starts with 2-1-1 doing an initial assessment, and offering referrals and resources for callers. If calls are related to direct physical health issues, then callers are transferred to OSDH. If callers are experiencing emotional stress in relation to COVID-19, then callers are offered to be transferred to ODMHSAS, to a mental health professional at the end of the call.
While most organizations were laying off folks, HeartLine hired and trained an additional eight temporary staff and volunteers to assist with the COVID-19 call volume. Internally, HeartLine transitioned our most at risk staff to work from home as early as the week of March 9th. Since then, about 98% of the staff are working from home and are fully equipped with headsets, a computer and internet access.
For perspective, the COVID-19 call volume has increased calls to 2-1-1 almost 280%. In the month of March 2019, HeartLine received 4,500 calls to 2-1-1. For the month of March 2020, the 2-1-1 call volume including COVID-19 calls reached more than 17,000 calls. From March 1st to April 13th, HearLine has received nearly 12,000 calls for COVID 19 resources just in the 40 counties HeartLine serves as well as the entire state after 8 p.m. and on weekends. Website Donate
Hope House OKC – Brandy Romine brandy@hopehouseokc.com
HopeHouse OKC provides transitional housing and support for homeless families. The families we serve have very limited incomes. They are working incredibly hard to get back on their feet. Although we are grateful utilities are not being cut-off and evictions are not allowed during this time, there is still the reality that families who are already living paycheck to paycheck are now going to be further behind. For our graduates, they have already done the hard work necessary to get back on their feet, but for many of them, they remain only one crisis away from entering the vicious cycle of homelessness again. HopeHouse OKC operates on an already tight budget and as you can imagine, extra financial assistance, utility, and basic needs supplies were not in our 2020 budget. We have already stepped in to meet these needs with our families/graduates as they arise and will continue to do so. We are currently providing meals, groceries, supplies, and financial assistance to HopeHouse OKC families and graduates. Website
Infant Crisis Center – Miki Farris mikifarris@infantcrisis.org
Infant Crisis Services is an emergency pantry providing formula and diapers to babies and toddlers under the age of 4 years old. Website
Junior Achievement of Oklahoma – Jo Wise jwise@jaok.org
Junior Achievement (JA) provides K-12th curriculum on financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship at no charge to public schools, and every program contains lessons that meet Oklahoma Educational Standards. Prior to COVID-19 approximately 16,000 OKC area students had received our curriculum with the help of 749 trained volunteers who went into the classrooms and taught the programs. To help our teachers with distance learning, we have converted our most popular programs to virtual learning formats which can be easily administered by teachers or even parents. Attached is a document we have sent to educators to help them navigate through the options available. Feedback from teachers has been very positive. They know JA and appreciate how easy we have made if for them to access and implement quality educational materials. One thing to note on the attached document is we are looking for local professionals to create a video sharing their job and professional experiences. This will be used mainly for middle and high school work readiness programs. Website
Positive Tomorrows – Susan Agel sagel@positivetomorrows.org
We are continuing our school program online with private Facebook groups, online curriculum and very creative teachers, but that has required us to obtain internet connectivity and Chromebooks for many of our families. We’re providing some with hotspots and helping set others up with cable access. We are delivering groceries, cleaning supplies, and hygiene items to 45 families on a weekly basis. Our case managers continue to work with families to make sure they don’t lose housing and to meet other needs. Several of our working families have lost jobs and we have been assisting with rent and utility payments. Website
Putnam City Schools Foundation – Jennifer Seal jseal@putnamcityschools.org
The PC Foundation is raising funds to provide supply packets for roughly 3,000 kids in our district with no access to technology and/or a device. Because of COVID, school buildings are closed for the remainder of the year, but distance learning plans started on Monday of this week. Our district asked us to provide supply packets (paper, crayons, ruler etc) for families to use should they need it. Website
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma – engage@regionalfoodbank.org
School closures across the country are leaving children without a reliable source of food. Plus, parents who are feeling even more strained during this crisis are facing an extra burden of child care. Those already in need will be hit the hardest by this pandemic.
Every $1 you give will be doubled in impact by the $1 million matching gift to help provide 8 meals. Please give what you can today. Website
Santa Fe Family Life Center – James Timberlake james.timberlake@sfflc.com
We have all seen the news about the shortage of personal protective equipment for medical professionals. The SFFLC saw this need and acted to address it! The SFFLC turned a couple of its basketball courts into a factory for face shields and masks (pictures attached). The space that would normally be occupied by wheelchair and adaptive sports, after school programs, senior citizen activities, and youth basketball provides plenty of room to make the protective equipment. This project has provided valuable protective equipment to our doctors and nurses who put themselves at risk to keep us safe! The SFFLC has a long standing partnership with SSM Health – St. Anthony’s, and the majority of the PPE is being supplied to the hospital. Face masks are also being distributed to community members who cannot afford to purchase them. The cost for the SFFLC to produce each face shield / mask is $3.51 per unit. Currently the SFFLC is producing almost 3,000 face shields / masks per week! Unfortunately, the need for PPE has greatly increased since the SFFLC began this project three weeks ago. Initially, the SFFLC budgeted to produce 5,000 units. The increased demand has blown past this initial budget, and we need help to keep producing the face shields and masks. The combination of the facility being closed to the public but still trying to maintain payroll for employees, has led to funding for this project to begin running out. The SFFLC is asking local foundations and donors for help with this project. Website
SSM Health St. Anthony Foundation – Sherry Rhodes sherry.rhodes@ssmhealth.com
Superheroes don’t wear capes – they wear scrubs. Donate to Saints Urgent Response Fund – directed to where most needed for COVID-19 response. Donate Urgently Needed Medical Supplies- masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc. Donate Caregiver Support – Meals, Snacks, Thank You Notes Website
Foundation for Okla. City Public Schools – Mary Melon mary@okckids.com
We have been very engaged in relief efforts for OKCPS students. We are funding printing of more than 2 million pages per week for distance learning instructional packets and are ordering school supplies for students in need. Supply kits for elementary students cost $15.00 and $20.00 for each secondary student. Website
The Homeless Alliance, Inc. – Dan Straughan danstraughan@homelessalliance.org
In order to continue providing services while limiting the spread of the virus, we are delivering food and supplies to the door steps of our most vulnerable housed clients; veterans, families with children, people who are HIV+, and transition-age youth. We have created an emergency fund for vendors in our Curbside Chronicle program who are out of work in order to help them pay for rent, medical and other critical expenses. We are continuing to provide meals to people who visit our day shelter, but have shifted to to-go meals as it is no longer safe to have 350+ people in the day shelter building. And perhaps most importantly, we have ramped up street outreach efforts and are coordinating teams from multiple government, faith-based, and nonprofit agencies to provide food, supplies and educational materials about the pandemic to people who are unsheltered. This has become critical since the already few public spaces and businesses welcoming to people experiencing homelessness have shut their doors. Finally, the Homeless Alliance is coordinating with the community’s seven overnight shelters, public health agencies (County and State), local hospitals and others to stand up two new, specialty shelters for the duration of the pandemic; one for people who are symptomatic and another for homeless people who are particularly vulnerable, i.e. over 60 with underlying chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart, or lung disease. Website
United Way of Central OK – Debbie Hampton dhampton@unitedwayokc.org
United Way of Central Oklahoma has established the COVID-19 Response Fund dedicated to increasing resilience among our most vulnerable individuals and families. This fund will support Partner Agencies of United Way of Central Oklahoma, United Way of Logan County and United Way of Canadian County. It will be used to address the needs of those individuals who are experiencing COVID-19 related hardship primarily due to temporary unemployment, lost income or unexpected expenses related and due to COVID-19. Website
Upward Transitions – Periann Pulliam ppulliam@upwardtransitions.org
Through the generosity of the United Way of Central Oklahoma’s COVID-19 Response Fund, we are providing rent and utility assistance to families and individuals if they are unable to pay their bills due to a loss of income in connection with COVID-19. This funding will have a significant impact on the lives of 100’s of our neighbors. To facilitate the anticipated influx of requests for assistance, we have added an Assistance Request form link to our website to make it easier for clients to inquire about assistance with rent and utilities. Website
Variety Care – Lou Carmichael lcarmichael@varietycare.org
Variety Care is on the front line of Oklahoma City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Agency staff are a critical part of the health care safety net triaging and testing individuals for the virus, as well as providing urgent and ongoing primary care for all persons without regard to insurance, legal status, or income.
In another instance, a middle-aged man who had just lost his job was having symptoms and called the COVID-19 hotline who referred him to us. He had tried to fill prescriptions for a heart condition, but the medicine cost hundreds of dollars and was too expensive without insurance so he was going without. Now he worried the coronavirus would further damage his heart. We were able to refill a three-month supply of his heart medicine for $12. His coronavirus test came back positive, and we continue to manage his care via telehealth.
In both of these cases, donations toward care for the uninsured helped save lives. We need your support now more than ever as the numbers of uninsured turning to Variety Care continues to increase. Website