Mabee Red Shield loves teens

Josh Walker has his hands full. He’s the new athletic director at Mabee Red Shield Boys and Girls Club and is also managing a new teen program this summer. Club director Jerome Smith said it’s the first formal program for teens that Red Shield has had in a long time. Josh leads eleven 13 and 14-year olds in programs called Goals for Graduation, Career Launch and Healthy Habits. I got to spend time with Josh and the teens recently at LaFortune Park where they walk or run the three-mile perimeter once a week as part of the Healthy Habits program. 

Josh said the kids didn’t want to tell their parents about Healthy Habits because their parents would be so happy. “It’s the same story with all the parents. They say all the kids want to do now is be on their phones. It’s hard to get them to do anything else,” Josh said. But he knows how to keep them motivated, although with a nudge, not a push. And that’s good, because Josh used to be a defensive lineman for the University of Tulsa. He learned to play football at Mabee Red Shield as a "Bulldog."


I asked the kids to invent a creative pose for their photograph, and they came up with the pose above. (Click to enlarge.)  From the top of the slide are: K’onte Thompson; second row; Katara Kniep, Monique Ware, Willis Humphrey, Rachel Jefferson, Kerey Carson; third row: Octavia Terrell, Kharon Driver; bottom row: India Noriah, J’day McIntosh. Photo at right is of Josh and Willis.

N.Mabee kids tour Langston

All I have ever gotten out of Ramone Malone is a big grin and “Yes ma’am,” and “No ma’am.” That’s certainly not all bad. This is a young man with great manners who is a little on the shy side.  So when one of Ramone’s mentors e-mailed me a quote from him recently I was amazed. 

“College ain’t no joke. You have to do your own laundry, figure out where to get food, study, try to have a social life, but if you do have a social life you’re probably doing something wrong,” Ramone said.

Ramone spoke prior to a college tour for the kids in the Felix Jones II, "Running Back to Make a Difference" Foundation ACT Prep program taught at North Mabee Boys and Girls Club. Carol Ainsworth, below right, an ACT tutor and program aide, invited kids from the program to meet at North Mabee and hear what two college sophomores had to say about college life. After the discussion, the kids toured Langston University. Later on this summer, they’ll tour Tulsa Community College and University of Tulsa. Ramone is a sophomore at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. An athlete himself, he is majoring in sports management. He also told the kids that they will miss their family and that the first year in college can be lonely.

Cooling Center is Open

As Oklahoma's summer temperatures continue to climb I wanted to remind readers about something important. Did you know that The Salvation Army Center of Hope is one of the handful of cooling centers for the City of Tulsa? Our facility at 102 N. Denver is open 24/7 for anyone in need of a cool place to stay.  All the meteorologist are expecting temperatures increase over the weekend and into next week and we will be there Doing the Most Good! 

Don't forget to check on anyone you know who may not have air conditioning and remember that children, pets and the elderly can be at high risk when the temperatures go up!

~Lindsay



P.S. Did you know you can get utility assistance at the Center of Hope also thanks to the Light a Life and Share the Warmth and Lend a Hand programs offered by PSO, ONG and OG&E?

Boys & Girls Clubs rock Philbrook

Hello, I’m Niva Grayson, a Summer Day Camp staff counselor at Maybe Red Shield Boys and Girls Club. In 2011, I was the Mabee Red Shield candidate for the Youth of the Year. I am now a sophomore at Langston University -- but enough about me! I want to give you a chance to hear about our amazing experience at the Philbrook Museum of Art Tuesday.
The Boys and Girls Clubs have been attending “Rock Philbrook” for three summers. Ms. LaDonna, Mabee Red Shield’s “Young Rembrandts” art teacher, made it so exciting for me and the children from the Boys and Girls Clubs to see Philbrook for the first time in 2009. I can remember our first visit well. We were all excited and nervous because we all were being introduced to something new. Ms. LaDonna did an amazing job giving us the chance to be creative and understanding that art plays an important part in our history.

Goodbye to good leaders

Friday is a turning point for The Salvation Army Tulsa Area Command. We knew Majors Roy and Kathy Williams were far too talented to stay in the same position for long, and sadly they are leaving Friday for a promotion in Jackson, Mississippi. Major Roy will report to the Divisional Commander as General Secretary and Major Kathy will be in charge of Women's Ministries for the ALM division, which includes Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. The Salvation Army moves its officers around every four to seven years. I was really hoping for more time with the Williams. I want to tell you what their leadership has meant to me and, I suspect, my coworkers.

Major Roy ushered in so many positive changes, it’s hard to know where to start. We are in our brand new beautiful offices and will save tens of thousands of dollars every year because we don’t have to rent a Christmas warehouse. Major Roy took the initiative to get that done. When I started here three years ago, every time I worked on the website that the National Salvation Army required us to use my computer would crash. I thought it was just my lack of programming skills – but then Major Roy hired Lindsay as e-marketing director. She decided that the website was so dicey that we’d use a blog until a new website could be built from scratch. It’s under construction now, but the blog has been so popular, we'll continue to use it for stories.

When Major hired Lindsay, there wasn’t a single e-marketing director at another Area Command in the Southern Territory. Now, in addition to our blog, we are fully into all social media and mobile media too. These are all concrete milestones that occurred under Major Roy’s leadership, but an invisible aspect of his leadership is equally important to me. Whenever I’ve made mistakes, Major Roy has corrected me without ever making me feel stupid or guilty or unmotivated, an area where I've found many leaders lacking. I'm sure I’m not the only staff person who has experienced it. I don’t know how he does it, but he makes me want to do better, not retreat and take fewer risks. I think that's the point where leadership becomes an art rather than a skill.

Major Kathy is equally talented. I watched her turn our Christmas Assistance Program from chaos to order in a year. During Christmas 2009, recipients of Christmas assistance had to wait in line for up to four hours, sometimes in bad weather, to register for food and gifts. Now recipients make appointments for registration as early as August and are in and out of the Christmas Center in an hour or less. Distribution of gifts from the Angel Tree Program ran like a well-oiled machine last year. 

Custodian reaches goals one day at a time

I met Steve for the first time when was I was showing a PR intern around the Center of Hope. Steve was living in the Project Able dorm at the time, and volunteered to give us a complete tour. After that, it seemed like no matter what time I was at the Center of Hope, Steve was there with his mop. He impressed me with his quiet demeanor and gentlemanly manners. So when a teacher at the high school in Holland Hall asked if one of our homeless guests at the Center of Hope could meet with the kids in his humanities class, I recruited Steve.

I have to admit I was a little nervous about the presentation, which in my mind I had subtitled  “Two Worlds Collide.” I got us there really early. When we pulled up to Holland Hall we had almost an hour to wait before class. To pass the time, we talked. Steve told me his story. 

Here it is in a nutshell: Born in Mississippi in 1961, got a GED, joined the Air Force, became an alcoholic. Took an honorable discharge to care for a younger brother.  Worked, had his own place, drank a lot, became homeless. Same pattern for two and a half decades. In 2008, when he went to the ER with a headache, it turned out that he had a massive brain infection. It took two surgeries to remove the infection and he was put into a medically-induced coma for two weeks. They didn’t expect him to live. When he left the hospital he didn’t have a place to stay and spent the nights at the Center of Hope. After three years in AA and two years in Project Able and working as a custodian, he moved into his own apartment in August of 2011. He still attends AA meetings five days a week.

Where would he be without The Salvation Army? “I would have given up,” Steve said. He said he struggles with his drinking every day. “It was hard to seek help because I thought it was a sign of weakness. But you have to get over that to survive. You can’t do everything yourself.”

After telling his story to the Holland Hall humanities students, one young man came up to Steve, shook his hand, congratulated him for his success and wished him the best in the days ahead. He was choking back tears.The two worlds didn't collide, but came together, mainly because of Steve.
-Sallie

Circus comes to club kids

Step right up! See the Greatest Show on Earth! Two hundred kids from our six Boys & Girls Clubs and lots of staff members got a little taste of the circus Wednesday when Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Ringmaster Johnathan Iverson presented 200 tickets for the Saturday morning circus performance at Tulsa’s BOK Center.

Kids from all six Boys & Girls Clubs packed the gym of the North Mabee Boys & Girls Club and raptly listened to Johnathan’s inspirational story. He is the first African American Ringmaster in Barnum & Baileys long history. Johnathan stands six feet, five 

inches tall and his Ringmaster’s stovepipe hat gives him about a foot more. “How’d you get so tall?” one boy asked. “I ate my vegetables and did what my mom told me,” Johnathan said. Good answer! I got the impression he is asked that a lot.  

Johnathan brought along his friend Billy, the Ambassador of Laughter from Clown Alley, who led the kids in stretching and strengthening exercises. He also taught them to balance a peacock feather on their chins and juggle scarves. Billy said they will put on three shows on Saturday and by late Saturday night he will have walked nine miles. You have to be fit to be in the big ring!

The only kid with a beard in the audience was Captain Jay Spalding, who donned a clown nose and participated in all the exercises. He wasn’t the only adult having fun. I wrangled a couple of tickets out of Johnathan and took my son Robby to the circus Saturday morning. He’s 25, but we’re both kids at heart.

-Sallie

Post #300

This is our 300th blog post! Lindsay started the blog at salarmytulsa.blogspot.com with a post on Jan. 28, 2010 about the bitter cold weather. In the first two months of 2010, 64 people visited the blog. In the last two months, 1,101 people visited the blog. I think that's a respectable increase, but my favorite statistic is that visitors stay on the blog an average of almost six minutes. That means it's likely that they're actually reading about all the wonderful things The Salvation Army is doing in Tulsa. 

In two and a half years of writing and taking photographs for the blog it’s hard for me to pick a favorite post, so I asked Major and Mrs. Williams about their favorites. Major Williams said he likes the posts that show how Salvation Army employees have changed people’s lives. One of his favorites was about John Oak, the former meth addict who stayed at the Center of Hope in the Project Able program. John now works down the street and owns his own home. Another of Major’s favorites was about the Boys and Girls Clubs Youth of the Year. For two years, Alex Walker from the Broken Arrow Boys and Girls Club has been Tulsa’s Youth of the Year. This weekend he will go to the regional competition in Dallas and we’re all hoping he makes it to national.

Mrs. Williams likes posts that show how we are helping children. Her favorite post was about the Sand Springs "Totally Fit Tuesdays" program. “There’s no PE in the schools anymore. Now so many kids are obese and can’t move that it’s become the norm. The Sand Springs program is helping children grow into healthier adults,” she said. In the post about the Sand Springs program I wrote about a boy who thought chocolate pudding was a vegetable. I always  enjoy finding the humor in stories, but  my favorite part of working on the blog is going out and getting the stories. I could never have imagined the variety of interesting people I would meet.  

Yesterday, I interviewed Billy, a clown from Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus. We had a lot in common. We both juggle every day, although my juggling is figurative. We're the same height. We have big smiles. I have to admit though, I’m a little envious of Billy's job title, "The Ambassador of Laughter." But if he knew about all the fascinating people I meet, from a couple of former presidents to the kids at our clubs, he might be a little envious of my job. And I don’t have to do triple back flips!  

-Sallie

Urban clubs start camp

The Salvation Army urban Boys & Girls Clubs all started their Summer Day Camps Monday. The West Mabee Boys & Girls Club named their camp the  “Rowdy Days of Summer.”  Club Director Jamar Giddings said one of the unique events they have planned is a kids’ Olympics. In addition to track events, West Mabee Olympians will compete in ping pong, Foosball and pool. Jamar said they have trips planned to the Oklahoma City Zoo and Gilcrease Museum. All three urban clubs will participate in Rock Philbrook Day June 19. Now here’s an event I definitely want to see…and taste. Pizza Hut has invited the West Mabee kids to “Pizza Day” where they will get to make their own pizzas with Pizza Hut supplies. Rowdy Days of Summer Camp costs $40 a week plus a $35 annual club membership and $10 registration fee.

North Mabee Boys & Girls Club is calling their Summer Day Camp “Fun! Fun! Fun!” Given that the club has a nice big pool, a photography darkroom and ballet and photography classes, there will be fun for everyone. Something the North Mabee Club kids enjoy every year that was news to me is attending the Juneteenth Rodeo. I knew about Juneteenth because two of our club leaders were given awards during it last year.

Summer Day Camp starts!

If you are impatiently waiting for the Summer Olympics to start, go to Sapulpa. The Sapulpa Boys and Girls Club kicked off their second week of Summer Day Camp, called “2012 Summer Games” today.  Administrative assistant Keli Johnson said they have some special field trips planned. One of them is to go to the Jasmine Moran Museum in Seminole, along with the Sand Springs Boys and Girls Club. I had not heard of the museum but after reading about it I can’t wait until my grandson Derek is old enough to enjoy it. It has an imaginary town where children can role play a variety of careers, including being a surgeon! (I hope the scalpels are made of rubber.) 
Another special field trip will be cruising on the Cherokee Queen on Grand Lake. The club kids will also attend a basketball clinic taught by the Tulsa Shock. The camp costs $75 a week, plus the $35 annual membership and a $10 registration fee. Kids should be from first grade to eighth grade to register. Call the club at 918-224-4415.

The Sand Springs Boys and Girls Club starts Summer Day Camp Mon., May 29. Sand Springs Club Director Greg Parker is in Boys and Girls Club training for four days, so administrative assistant Mary Bechtold gave me the scoop. “The Sand Springs centennial is this year, so we are calling our Day Camp Centennial,” she said. Every week will have a different theme, such as Western Week and Patriotic Week. To enroll in Summer Day Camp, kids need to have completed kindergarten and can be up to age 14. The cost is $90 a week, plus a $35 annual membership and a $15 registration fee. Call the club at 918-245-2237.

Summer Day Camp  will start Thursday (May 24) at the Broken Arrow Boys and Girls Club. So many kids attend the BA Day Camp that they are split in two groups; ages kindergarten through 5th grade and ages sixth through eighth grade. The cost is $100 a week, plus the $35 annual club membership fee, plus a $10 registration fee.

National Doughnut Day

Every year National Doughnut Day is celebrated across the country but what many people don’t know is that The Salvation Army is the reason for the holiday and for making doughnuts an American breakfast staple.  This year, The Salvation Army and Merritt’s Bakery are teaming up again to celebrate National Doughnut Day on Friday, June 1st!

It all started back in 1917 when a Salvation Army lassie, Helen Purviance and a fellow officer Ensign Margaret Sheldon used a small frying pan, simple dough and a wine bottle as a rolling pin to make crullers to feed to the homesick boys on the front lines in France during WWI.  The fresh aroma drew a long line of soldiers to their tent and soon they were serving 9,000 doughnuts a day, along with the other “lassies” in the trenches.  The Salvation Army lassies quickly became known as “doughnut girls” and the simple doughnut became a symbol of all that the Salvation Army was doing to ease the hardships of the frontline fighting man.  The soldiers returned from war with a new favorite snack, the doughnut and breakfast was forever changed!

Diavolo teaches club kids

I’ve heard the name Choregus because they often give our Boys & Girls Club kids tickets to their performances at Tulsa’s Performing Arts Center (PAC). But I never knew what they were all about until talking to Valarie Keown this morning. Valarie coordinates the Choregus productions and their presentations to groups of kids. Some of their performances defy description, so click here to see a video. This video is of the LA group Diavolo Dance Theater, which will be at the West Mabee Boys and Girls Club at 4:30 p.m. TODAY. Monday they worked with kids at the North Mabee Boys and Girls Club. Club Director Jo Bright said the dancers were very “hands on."

“The dancers were in complete control. They taught the kids exercises where each child had to depend on their partner to do a certain task. It was all about trust and working together. The kids loved it,” Jo said. Choregus is giving tickets to the clubs for performances this weekend. Thank you Choregus. I love it when organizations work to broaden our kids’ dreams!

-Sallie

Reason number 1

to play in the Women Helping Women Golf Tournament June 4:
 1. You'll be "Doing the Most Good!"

2. You'll be helping women like Christina Tyler and her two kids.

3. It's beautiful outside - especially early in the morning.
4. There's no such thing as too much pink.
5. Breakfast and lunch are provided.

6. It's a great mental getaway for a day.

7. See long-time friends.
8. Make new friends.
9. Dress as cute as you want!
10. Win or lose, you'll be a star!

Reason number 2

to play in the Women Helping Women Golf Tournament June 4:

2. You'll be helping women like Christina Tyler and her two kids.
3. It's beautiful outside - especially early in the morning.
4. There's no such thing as too much pink.
5. Breakfast and lunch are provided.
6. It's a great mental getaway for a day.
7. See long-time friends.
8. Make new friends.
9. Dress as cute as you want!
10. Win or lose, you'll be a star!

Reason Number 3

to play in our 5th Annual Women Helping Women Golf Tournament June 4:
3. It's beautiful outside - especially early in the morning.
4. There's no such thing as too much pink.
5. Breakfast and lunch are provided.
6. It's a great mental getaway for a day.
7. See long-time friends.
8. Make new friends.
9. Dress as cute as you want!
10. Win or lose, you'll be a star!

No cooking tonight!

Hang up the apron, get some food, help some kids!
We already have your meal planned for TONIGHT. How does a pesto chicken parmesan or a chocolate covered strawberries and cream crepe sound to you? Would a s’mores gelato tempt your taste buds? These are just a few of the menu items at Mod’s Coffee & Crepes.

Today Mod's Coffee and Crepes is donating 25% of its sales from 4 to 10pm to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Tulsa. The Boys and Girls Clubs will get even busier once school is out for summer, so these funds are greatly needed. Mod's Coffee and Crepes is located at 507 S. Boston in the heart of downtown Tulsa. The restaurant specializes in both sweet and savory crepes.
They also serve soups, salads, pastries, locally roasted coffee and espresso drinks, as well as house-made Italian ice cream.  You can view their entire menu, get directions, and see specials at www.ModsCrepes.com.
I'll be enjoying dinner at Mod's tonight. Hope to see you there!
-Carrie

Reason Number 4

to play in our 5th Annual Women Helping Women Golf Tournament June 4:
4. There's no such thing as too much pink.
5. Breakfast and lunch are provided.
6. It's a great mental getaway for a day.
7. See long-time friends.
8. Make new friends.

9. Dress as cute as you want!
10. Win or lose, you'll be a star!

Porn n Pancakes

Lots of churches have pancake breakfasts. Some churches hold discussions about the harmful effects of pornography. But we are the only church I know of that combines the two on Mother’s Day weekend! Saturday, May 12, 9 - 10:30 a.m., Captain Jay Spalding, minister of the Citadel Corps (church), will flip pancakes with his men’s group and lead a discussion about the damaging effects of porn on young people, marriages, and on the hearts of men, including Christians.

It’s free and open to any men who want to attend. It’s at the Tulsa Area Command, 924 S. Hudson. "What better gift to give the women in your life this Mother's Day weekend than making a pledge as a Christian man to not view pornography?" Capt. Spalding said. He said there would be no pressure to commit to a pledge, it's just an option.

Captain Jay Spalding

The event is for MEN ONLY, ages 15 and older. Boys 12 and older may attend with a father. In talking to Capt. Spalding, the thing that interested me the most was that he is going to buy magazines that every kid with a little cash can buy and talk about how some of the images, photographs and ads, are pornographic. He’ll also bring a Victoria's Secret catalogue. One of the first questions my son ever asked me about sex was if I thought it was "bad" that he kept "dad’s Victoria magazine" under his bed. 'As long as you tell dad you took it, and you know that real women don’t look like that, I think it’s ok,' I said. Although my son has turned out really well, that could have been the wrong answer. I just wish Captain Spalding had been around to ask then!  Call him to make reservations at 918-851-0263.

 -Sallie

Reason number 5

to play in our 5th Annual Women Helping Women Golf Tournament June 4:
5. Breakfast and lunch are provided .
6. It's a great mental getaway for a day.
7. See long-time friends.
8. Make new friends.
9. Dress as cute as you want!
10. Win or lose, you'll be a star!

Reason Number 6

to play in our 5th Annual Women Helping Women Golf Tournament June 4:

6. It's a great mental getaway for a day.
7. See long-time friends.
8. Make new friends.
9. Dress as cute as you want!
10. Win or lose, you'll be a star!