2024 Finalists

FAMILY

Arise Single Moms

In Oklahoma, 35% of children are being raised by a single mom. Every day these mothers face the challenges of financial issues, overwhelming responsibilities, and concern for their children—alone. They are always on call but never have enough margin. When it comes to investing in herself, when would she have the time or resources?

That’s why Arise Single Moms created on-demand support in an online education center featuring expert advice on parenting, emotional wellness, and finances, plus an online crisis center for new single moms. We utilize counselors, trauma therapists, financial experts, and other professionals to cover relevant topics. We impact 10,000 Oklahoma single moms each year.

Our outreach is expansive but our outdated website can no longer handle the traffic that exploded by 64% last year. With over 50,000 downloads, our podcasts require their own platform. It’s vital that we expand our content and create an area for small group leaders who mentor single moms to access material that equips them to establish safe spaces. Therefore, we’re asking Impact Oklahoma to help construct an advanced online hub.

Anyone can create resources; we want to create resources that pair with relationships and foster community. We desire to initiate positive change through this expanded education portal. This project turns digital resources into tangible support for the fastest growing population in our country. You may not be a single mom, but you probably know one. Thank you for partnering with us to provide the tools to help single moms navigate life.

Visit us at www.arisesinglemoms.com.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Latino Community Development Agency

Project: LCDA 2-Kitchen Improvements Projects

What’s more compelling than the face of a hungry child or senior citizen? Their faces, and our mission of “Working to improve the quality of life in the Latino community through education, leadership, services, and advocacy” is why we provide 39,360 meals and snacks annually to low-income Latino children (ages 0-5) enrolled in our award-winning/accredited Tony Reyes Bilingual Child Development Center Program and Latino senior citizens in our La Puerta de Oro Program. We can do more.

We respectfully invite Impact Oklahoma members to choose our “Health & Wellness” project to replace aging appliances in the two kitchens that serve children and senior citizens in our circa 1909 Riverside headquarters.

New commercial appliances will make it possible to increase the number of daily program participants from 88 to 148 (15,600 new client interactions annually, for a total of 58,560 meals served).

A $100,000 Impact Oklahoma grant will fund the removal of old appliances and the purchase, delivery, and installation of 2 new range ovens, 2 exhaust hoods, 2 refrigerators, 1 freezer, 1 stainless-steel work table, two 3-compartment sinks, and 1 hot food serving unit. Impact Oklahoma’s generosity will be permanently recognized in both kitchens.

LCDA’s history is rich with the impactful contributions made by trailblazing women like founder Patricia Fennell, and our child development and senior citizens programs established by Nina Gonzalez and Anita Martinez, respectively. Today, LCDA manages 24 bilingual programs for Oklahoma County Latinos, the fastest-growing demographic sector in central Oklahoma. Annually, LCDA engages directly with 50,000 individuals.

Visit us at www.lcdaok.com.

Arts And Culture

Peppers Ranch

Project: Community Theater for the Performing Arts

Welcome to our Ranch. At Peppers Ranch Foster Care Community, we seek to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect through loving foster homes in our one-of-a-kind neighborhood. Our community consists of on-site counseling, therapeutic programming and growth-oriented activities. We believe Oklahoma’s foster care youth deserve every possible opportunity to succeed, thrive, and become productive citizens of society.

Our safe and nurturing community inspires and equips each child to break the cycle and reach their full potential. Each family at Peppers is dedicated to ensuring that siblings can stay connected whenever possible. This often means large family units and many needs to juggle all at once. We work to lighten this load in bringing programming to the ranch so that no child has to compromise on therapeutic services, academics or their engagement in the arts.

As an Impact Oklahoma member, we are seeking your help in providing our youth with the ability to grow in music therapy, dance therapy, arts and cultural programing onsite through the Impact Oklahoma Performing Arts Center. These additions to our Learning Center will not only help our youth in their healing journeys but will allow beautiful partnerships in the communities surrounding Peppers Ranch, bringing cultural exposure to the local area and a place of community for all youth members to grow.

With every life that is changed at Peppers Ranch, a significant and measurable impact is felt in our community. Within just two generations, well over 100 Oklahoma lives will be positively impacted by breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect for foster care in our state.

Together let’s help Oklahoma’s foster youth heal from their past hurts and dream big, bold dreams that will forever IMPACT their lives.

Visit us at www.peppersranch.com.

COMMUNITY

RestoreOKC

Project: Impact Oklahoma Outdoor Amphitheater & Education Space

RestoreOKC is an asset-based community development organization focused on the restoration of health, environment, reconciliation, and equity with neighbors in Northeast OKC.

Our Impact Oklahoma Amphitheater & Outdoor Education Space project is a community-led effort to restore public greenspaces and gathering areas that allows us to touch every one of our mission impact areas. Therefore, we are beyond excited to continue to partner with the community to see this space restored to a place of welcome, community, refuge and justice.

Our goals & objectives for this project include:

• To enhance our public parks & greenspace to allow for shared space for educational initiatives, community gatherings;
• Increase access to physical health infrastructure such as trails, walking paths, biking lanes, etc;
• The enhancement of public parks — to include equipment that allows for shade and relief from heat and allow these public spaces to serve as areas of refuge.

To us, one of the most compelling aspects of this project is that it is youth-led. We worked with two youth employed with our internship program who also live directly across the street from the community park. They shared their vision for transforming it for their younger siblings and future generations to enjoy, even going door to door to understand from neighborhood youth and caretakers what prevented them from utilizing the public green space. The full scope of our project developed from their dream, and we hope it makes a case for reinvesting in public spaces throughout communities like ours.

Visit us at: www.restoreokc.org.

In Oklahoma, kids who do not initially excel at traditional ball sports start to self-identify as being non-athletic. RIVERSPORT is redefining “athlete” by offering non-traditional water sports to youth from underserved communities. Additionally, giving youth from Title I schools the opportunity to be a part of a Boathouse community and introducing them to the networking and possible collegiate opportunities opens a brighter educational and economic future. The potential is significant – RIVERSPORT junior rowers have earned over $13M in college scholarships – and these opportunities are resonating. Seven new schools have signed up to start rowing teams, and Oklahoma City Public School District has committed to providing transportation from school to the Boathouse District. Investing in new boats ensures we can keep the momentum going as we provide access and opportunity for this next generation of student rowers.

Visit us at: www.riversportokc.org.

EDUCATION

Savannah Station Therapeutic Riding Program

Project: Impact Oklahoma Training and Multipurpose Room

Since 2013 Savannah Station has been helping children and adults defy their disabilities through the amazing power of the horse, all at no charge to their families. 

At Savannah Station students make surprising breakthroughs while riding that were never supposed to happen. Uniqueness is embraced. Hard-fought victories are celebrated. We can testify to bodies gaining strength, students walking, surgeries going unneeded, and first words spoken. Those often left out or misunderstood find acceptance in the kind eye of a horse. Families find sanctuary and support each other through the joys and challenges of raising a child with special needs.

A new Administration Center with training, gathering and office space will enable program expansion, moving families from our growing waiting list. Services will increase from 85 to over 100 families by 2025.

The Impact Oklahoma Training Room will be the hub of the center where our 200+ volunteers will receive orientation and on-going training to equip them for this higher calling of service. Instructors will be trained to help our students reach their highest levels of independence. Savannah Station will be an industry leader in Oklahoma, training those in our field for much needed expansion of equine-assisted services. Research continues to mount confirming the positive effects of therapeutic riding for those with disabilities. Our future plans include a program for veterans overcoming PTSD.

Impact Oklahoma will have the honor of taking our Administration Center expansion to completion. Perfectly named, this training room will truly make a huge Impact in Oklahoma!

Visit us at www.savannahstation.org.

In a strong community ALL residents have access to resources to meet their basic needs. Help Skyline expand the Mobile Pantry program to ensure our neighbors have access to the groceries they need to live a healthy life.

Visit us at www.okcskyline.org.