2025 Finalists

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Meals on Wheels of Norman

Project: Breakfast Program

Since 1972, Meals on Wheels of Norman is committed to delivering nutritious meals to seniors and individuals with disabilities who cannot prepare food for themselves. Each year, Meals on Wheels of Norman delivers over 84,000 meals to over 520 individuals in the Norman community. 

Breakfast is frequently the most overlooked meal for seniors. For many of our clients, the midday meal provided by Meals on Wheels is their only nutritious meal of the day. 

Meals on Wheels of Norman is requesting a $100,000 grant from Impact Oklahoma to introduce a Breakfast Program for our most food-insecure clients. This will ensure they receive a balanced and healthy start to their mornings. By offering a reliable breakfast option, we can enhance the overall well-being of those in greatest need, boosting their health and energy throughout the day. Funding from Impact Oklahoma for supplies to launch this Breakfast Program will enable us to provide an additional 25,000 meals to our most vulnerable recipients. 

In addition to the Breakfast Program, Meals on Wheels is also aiming to acquire a dependable vehicle to enhance operational efficiency in meal pickups. A vehicle will help address an impending challenge related to the relocation of our meal preparation kitchen. Purchasing a vehicle will streamline our operations, ensuring that meals are delivered promptly while maintaining the quality and safety of our food. 

This expansion will help us fulfill our mission to address the increasing needs of our communities and offer crucial support to those experiencing food insecurity. 

Visit us at MealOnWheelsNorman

FAMILY

Neighborhood Hope Dealers, Inc.

Project: Improving a Safe Place

Oklahoma's alarming domestic violence rates demand urgent action. Neighborhood Hope Dealers, Inc., a vital lifeline in Logan County, seeks Impact Oklahoma's grant for "Improving A Safe Place," a critical facility upgrade. Our aging refuge, a haven for families fleeing violence, requires immediate enhancements to safety, security, and well-being. This project ensures we can continue providing stability and healing time to displaced families.
 

Oklahoma data reveals domestic violence survivor numbers are projected to increase by 2025. In 2023, Oklahoma witnessed a high record of 50 domestic violence fatalities, with 82% of victims being women. Tragically, 59 children will witness a family member's violent death each year.

Despite the valuable services and lived-experienced staff within our 50-year-old building, the facility's age only hinders our progress. This project addresses four key areas: bedroom renovations for dignified spaces, upgraded security systems, energy-efficient lighting, and HVAC replacements. These essential improvements will further enhance our supportive and healing space, empowering individuals to rebuild their lives.

This grant will transform over 296 individuals and families, providing stability and hope through a safer, more comfortable environment that empowers survivors. These are not faceless figures; they are our neighbors, friends, single parents working tirelessly, and children yearning for a brighter future. This project will allow us to continue providing warm beds and strong walls, and a life free from violence. We respectfully invite Impact Oklahoma members to choose our overdue, much-needed project and join us in making Neighborhood Hope Dealers, Inc., a place of true healing and lasting hope.

Visit us at HopeHouseGuthrie

ARTS AND CULTURE

Oklahoma City Ballet

Project: Ballet Moves

Imagine a world without art. That is the reality for many schools in central Oklahoma, where declining funding has stripped art programs from curriculums. Oklahoma City Ballet is addressing this crisis through Ballet Moves, which brings free, professional dance performances to schools and community groups, fostering a love for ballet, music, and the arts.

With Impact Oklahoma’s support, we will purchase a box truck and passenger van to take these transformative experiences on the road. The passenger van will streamline dancer transport, while the box truck will ensure sets, costumes, and props arrive seamlessly at performance sites, turning spaces into immersive artistic experiences. This investment will also save Oklahoma City Ballet over $60,000 annually in trucking fees, allowing us to reinvest in our community engagement programs.

Last year, these programs enriched over 15,000 lives, many of whom lack access to live performing arts. Ballet Moves will expand this reach, ensuring even more students, families, and older adults experience the joy, inspiration, and lasting impact of dance.

The power of this program is profound. A Native American mother, deeply moved by a Spider Brings Fire performance, shared, “I could not have imagined we would go from being hunted like animals to honored as works of art.”

With Impact Oklahoma’s support, these vehicles will sustain and grow Ballet Moves for years to come, making ballet accessible to students, and ensuring that the arts remain a vital part of our cultural landscape for generations to come.

Visit us at OKCBallet.org

EDUCATION

OKC Police Athletic League

Project: Going the Extra Mile

OKC Police Athletic League (OKC PAL) has submitted for the Impact Oklahoma grant to support the purchase of a new 15-passenger van. This van will replace our aging, unreliable vehicle and enable us to address the critical transportation barriers that limit participation in our programs. If funded, the grant will include the purchase of the van, preparation for use (e.g., ImpactOK and PAL wrapped signage, insurance, and registration), fuel, maintenance and programming expenses during the first year.

For over three decades, OKC PAL has been a trusted resource for youth in Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS), providing completely free, structured programs that promote academic success, character development, and leadership, all guided by caring volunteer mentors, including our OCPD officers. Since OKCPS currently doesn’t offer sports and athletic programming for 5th or 6th grades, OKC PAL partners with all 13 schools to provide them. Each year, we serve more than 2,600 youth, ages 11-17, through our athletic leagues, school and summer break camps, in-school mentorship, and After-school Mentoring Centers.

According to 2023 OKCPS data, students who are involved in sports and after-school programs graduate at a 97.5% rate, while those students who aren’t, graduate at a 78% rate. OKC PAL’s Youth Mentoring Programs are tailored to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged students, many of whom face significant challenges, including poverty and lack of access to safe, supportive extracurricular activities.

This award would relieve the transportation limitation opening doors for education, character development, and a brighter future for Oklahoma City’s youth.

Visit us at OKCPAL

COMMUNITY

St. Luke's Community Market

Project: Community Market

Imagine the challenges of a mother struggling to feed her children or a grandparent caring for grandkids on a limited income. This is the reality the Community Market responds to every week. One in six Oklahomans are food insecure—for kids, the number is 1 in 4. The Community Market, founded in May 2020, was in response to this need for access to healthy food in our community. With the support of the Regional Food Bank and a dedicated team of volunteers, the Community Market operates a weekly, mobile service to meet people in their neighborhoods, ensuring that help reaches those who need it most.

Today, Community Market supports approximately 250 families weekly, serving around 800 individuals. Entirely volunteer-driven and supported through donations, CM is a low-barrier program that tackles food insecurity in Oklahoma City. Over the past five years, we have been able to provide over 250,000 servings of nutritious food to our community.

CM seeks the Impact OK Grant to purchase a refrigerated truck for safe transport and storage of high-quality protein/perishable items, to repair its parking lot at our south location--1320 SW 38^th St., and to install a shade in our outdoor work area for weather protection. These improvements will enhance the program's safety, efficiency, and sustainability, so we can continue meeting the demand for food security here. CM’s efforts exemplify the strength of working together to fight hunger—helping families, one at a time, and paving the way for a healthier future in Oklahoma City.

Visit us at CommunityMarket-St.Luke's