The staff at Upward Transitions ended 2013 on a high note and welcomed the New Year with hope and optimism.
Adopt a Family 2013December wrapped up with more than 25 needy families being adopted by some of the best volunteers and donors in Oklahoma. Our board room looked like the North Pole as it was piled with beautifully wrapped gifts, all for families who would have had nothing for the holidays without the generosity of some wonderful people. On behalf of all the families who were given a Christmas, thank you!
Our building received a nice addition in January with the installation of new doors on our client interview rooms. This welcomed addition to the building will give our clients added privacy as they meet with our case managers.
Though work on our annual American Tourist event began in earnest last fall, the first official full meeting of all the committees will be held at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 28. This year’s event, “A Night on the Orient Express,” is scheduled for June 7 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. If you would like to take part and serve on a committee, please contact Dustin Pyeatt, director of development and communications, at 232-5507, or dpyeatt@upwardtransitions.org.
Our friend, Skip Cannon, executive director for the Joshua Foundation, stopped by for a tour of our new building. We never turn down an opportunity to network and share resources and information with our fellow non-profits!
Don’t forget, our Annual Campaign is still going, and we’re a long way from our goal of $25,000. It’s through donations from people like you that a family facing eviction can keep a roof over their heads, a victim of domestic violence has a safe place to go, a child has food to eat and a stranded traveler has a bus token. People just like you allow Upward Transitions to bring people home. You can help, just click on this link and make a donation today.
Every day people walk through the doors at Upward Transitions looking for help. One of those people was Kevin. Kevin was stranded in Oklahoma City and needed to get back home to Ohio. He was on the corner of 10th and Classen and asked a man named Ken for help. Ken listened to Kevin’s story and had a “gut feeling” that Kevin was telling the truth and genuinely needed help. Ken asked Kevin to meet him at Upward Transitions. Kevin came in to our offices, and we checked out his story. He indeed qualified as a stranded traveler. We found out how much it would cost for bus fare back to Ohio and Ken generously paid for the fare, reimbursing Upward Transitions for the cost of the ticket. Ken also brought Kevin some Bar-B-Q and a book of inspirational writing with his contact information, should Kevin ever find himself stranded in Oklahoma City again. While Kevin ate, we put together a food package for his trip and sent him on his way…home.
Remember, the work done by Upward Transitions is too critical to ignore. And it doesn’t happen without you!