By Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy CEO Joe Dorman
As we approach Christmas and the other holidays celebrated during this time of year, many will have joyous moments, while others will endure sadness.
I want to extend heartfelt appreciation to the nonprofit Camp Fire Heart of Oklahoma as their board made the difficult decision to close down. This program offered many camping adventures to thousands of young people through the years.
Our OK-LEAD program, which took older foster youth their ropes program, was an experience which our campers enjoyed thoroughly. Unfortunately, the inability to recover financially following the pandemic led to this decision. They have indicated news about their campgrounds are forthcoming.
Many areas of the nonprofit sector have endured financial stress in recent years, partially from federal tax policy that eliminated some incentives for giving, along with personal giving having faced a slowdown due to economic hardships.
The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) has been no different in that we had to leave some positions vacant longer than we wanted this year to ensure we could complete our mission and be ready for 2025.
I have heard stories shared from counterparts regarding the need for financial support and more volunteer hours to support work. I can attest as just a few short weeks ago, we had members of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity at Oklahoma State University, the house in which I was a member, come to Oklahoma City to help with distributing SoonerCare information which was mailed to schools and daycares in twenty rural counties. These brochures provide information to families about how to qualify and a number to call for assistance. We appreciate their help as we would have missed our deadline if not for them.
Not all of the news this year is negative though as we just wrapped up our annual effort to help support foster youth across the state through OK Foster Wishes. Oklahoma Human Services (OHS) approached us for support to collect gift cards for foster families to be able to purchase gifts for the youth under their care.
OHS set a goal of 200 cards of $150 each this year and OICA originally committed to raise funds for 50 of them. Thanks to generous donors, we were able to surpass that and provide 82 cards for them. If you were a donor to this or another of the OHS Holiday Hope programs, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity.
We will still collect for Holiday Hope for another week as children enter foster care each and every day, including on Christmas Day and these workers are committed to their mission, even on holidays.
It is not too late to support your favorite nonprofit organization or mission. Your donation could make the difference in sustaining the work coming from nonprofits. End of year giving often raises 10 percent of the funds that these organizations use to operate. Please do not leave them off your list this year as the struggle is very real.
And, if you are so moved, we at OICA would be very grateful to be included among your end of year giving plans to support our operations. You can go to make a donation at https://tinyurl.com/OICADonate or to discuss planned giving, you can contact our development director, Dr. Myron Pope, at mpope@oica.org with questions.
Thank you in advance for your generosity to OICA and all the nonprofits that do critical work in Oklahoma. Your support is what keeps all of the state’s nonprofits able to continue improving the quality of life for Oklahomans.
