September 2014

Caring and Commitment in Action
Assistance League
of Tulsa
®
Tulsa
MISSION : Assistance League of Tulsa is dedicated to clothing disadvantaged students and
meeting essential needs of the most vulnerable in our community.
September 2014
Volume 40, Issue 2
Operation School Bell® Kicks Off 2014-2015
with help from Volt the Fox
By Loretta Raschen
Summer has been spent getting ready
for August 21, opening day of Operation School Bell®! Our members prepared for the arrival of children by unpacking and hanging clothes, stocking
shoes, and sorting books. Mother and
daughter teams from the “National
Charity League® of Tulsa provided us
with almost 400 hours of additional
volunteer support. This was a gigantic
help in being ready.
tion to the clothes, coat, gloves, shoes,
socks, underwear, hygiene kit and
books (2) each child will receive, students from Tulsa Public Schools will
be given two complete uniforms. We
are thrilled to be able to expand our
services in such a meaningful way.
During the next few weeks, Operation
School Bell® will also deliver almost
38,000 uniform shirts directly to qualifying schools in Tulsa. All enrolled
In 2014-2015, over 2200 area elemen- students in 44 elementary schools will
tary students from 14 school districts
receive two shirts. Each student at 8
have been invited to participate in Op- middle/ junior high schools will receive
eration School Bell® on-site. In addione uniform shirt. Counselors from
Tulsa high schools will be requesting
essential items for their students.
These might include bus tokens, clothing, shoes and hygiene products.
The Tulsa Shock WNBA basketball
team with Tulsa Regional Chamber’s
office of education and workforce
scheduled a guest appearance by Volt
the Fox for our opening day of School
Bell. Children from Choteau Elementary (and ALTulsa members) were
captivated by antics and autographs
from this talented team mascot. Assistance League® of Tulsa thanks the
Shock for sharing Volt with us.
Assistance League® of Tulsa
2013-2014 Officers
President: Kathleen Moss
President-elect: Mary Sue Whitney
Vice Presidents:
Philanthropic Programs: Ora Harrison
Resource Development: Sharon Coffman
Membership: Sussie Hyden
Operations/Crisis Response: Marianne Pickering
Public Relations: Donna Spielman
Education: Pat Erickson
Elective Officers:
Recording Secretary: Deanna Mendenhall
Finance: Pat Holder
Treasurer: Ginny Thomas
Elective Committee Chairs:
Orientation: Nancy Sacra
↑ Volt the Fox, mascot for the NWBA
Tulsa Shock, visited opening day of
Operation School Bell®.
Brian Paschal, senior vice president
of education and workforce for Tulsa
Regional Chamber, helped children
select new shoes. ↓
Bargains Resale Shop: Martha Nichols
Operation School Bell®: Loretta Raschen
Strategic Planning: Deni Phillips
Appointive Officers and Chairs:
Parliamentarian and Bylaws: Mickie Davidson
Business Administration
Computer/Office: Patty Evatt
Recorder of Service Hours: Marlys Dow
Assistant Treasurers: Patty Evatt/Carole Hale/
Eddie Slack
Membership
Placement: Mickie Davidson
Yearbook: Mickie Davidson
Public Relations
Assistance League® of Tulsa Advisory Council
Newsletter Editor: Marinee Ricks/Marianne Pickering
Phyllis Dotson, Chairman
History and Archives: Deloris Taylor
Community Volunteer
Information Technology: Glenna Morrison
Philanthropic Programs
Betty Bradstreet Assistance Fund: Marilyn Brill/Carmen
Kinsey
Heather Duncan
Community Action Project
Ashley Farthing
Farthing Events
Senior Programs: Ginny Greek
Julie Gustafson
Care & Protection of Children: Nancy Ferguson/Debbie
Jones
Community Volunteer
Resource Development
Letter Donation Campaign: Lynn Fuente/Lynn Peacher
Grant Writing Committee: Marilyn Nance
Social/Relationships
Care and Concern: Joyce Coday/Linda Vorba
Libby Johnson
Community Volunteer
Nancy McDonald
Community Volunteer
Michael Mills
University of Tulsa
Hospitality: Jean Copley/Dayon Smith
Luncheon: Ovanda Ladner/Deloris Taylor
Page 2
Brian Paschal
Tulsa Regional Chamber
Robyn Owens
The Owens Law Firm, PC
Steve Turnbo
Schnake, Turnbo, Frank/PC
Mollie Williford
Williford Companies
Tom Wingerter
Lee C. Moore Company
Paula Wood
Tulsa Public Schools
We Are off to a Flying Start
Volume 40, Issue 2
By Kathleen Moss, President
largest philanthropic program, Operation School
Bell®.
Bargains Resale Shop is
busier than ever. Thank
you to all those who contribute to our organization
by donating gently used
clothing and household
goods. It is greatly appreciated. Martha Nichols,
Judy Roberts and their
committee are amazing.
Thank you so much!
Donna Spielman and her
PR committee have been
very busy looking at new
signage for our building.
This endeavor is a result of
information from our focus
groups in the spring. You
will be hearing more about
this at our October chapter
meeting.
Also in the works is a
Men’s Benefit Bash hosted
by Chuck Gawey and
George Dotson at Albert
G’s Bar & Q to benefit Operation School Bell®. It will
be an extraordinary evenKathleen Moss, Betsy Moore of Fleet Feet and Keith Taylor of Channel 8 on Good Morning
ing
of Tulsa’s best barbeOklahoma promoting the Fleet Feet Fundraiser which will be held Friday, September 5, 2014
que with a twist. Invitations
will be sent in the next few weeks so stay tuned for
Summer has flown by so quickly and it is amazing how
more information very soon. Many thanks to the commuch all of you have accomplished and had fun doing it.
mittee members, Chuck Gawey, Marcus Welch, Ashley
®
The first day of Operation School Bell was Thursday, AuFarthing, Sharon Coffman, Bard Moss and George and
st
gust 21 and what a day it was. Volt, the mascot of Tulsa
Phyllis Dotson.
Shock, was in attendance to encourage the students to
Thank you. Mickie Davidson, for completing the monuhave a wonderful school year and Channel 2 was on hand
mental task of preparing the yearbook for printing. It
to document the excitement. Thank you, Kuma Browne
should be available shortly.
from Partners in Education of the Tulsa Regional Chamber
Eight members will be attending Assistance League®
and Cordell Dement from Tulsa Shock for arranging Volt’s
National Conference in Orlando, Florida. Those attendvisit. Brian Paschal, Tulsa Regional Chamber and
ing are Martha Nichols, Deloris Taylor, Ginny Greek,
Advisory Council member, helped students select shoes
Nevin Loerke, Pat Holder, Mary Sue Whitney, Kathleen
and had fun praising their choices. The children were so
Moss, Deni Phillips and her husband Kent Wellington.
excited and full of smiles. Loretta Raschen and her commitWe are excited about the workshops and meetings and
tee members have done an excellent job of preparing,
look forward to sharing it all with you. Thank you for
stocking and purchasing so everything is ready for students
making it possible for us to be a part of this important
to have a happy experience at Operation School Bell®.
and informational conference. We arrive back in Tulsa
Our letter donation campaign is off to a wonderful start
just in time for our chapter meeting and luncheon on
thanks to the hard work of Lynn Fuente, Lynn Peacher,
September 8th. Looking forward to an exciting and fulSharon Coffman, Phyllis Dotson, Patty Evatt, Nancy Kirby
filling year. See you on September 8th..
and the entire Giftworks team. The letters were sent out on
th
August 14 and we are already receiving an incredible response from our members and the community. Thank you
to our wonderful members and donors for supporting our
Page 3
Assistance League® of Tulsa
Membership
Operation School Bell®
Letter Campaign By the Lynns (Fuente and Peacher)
By Sussie Hyden
Total membership for the
Assistance League of Tulsa is 236.
A membership committee meeting is
scheduled at the Assistance League® building on Thursday September 11, 2014 at
1:00 for all committee members and anyone else who would like to join us.
Please send all corrections or additions to
the membership lists to Sussie Hyden at
[email protected].
Senior Programs
By Ginny Greek
Nancy Kirby, Lynn Fuente and Janet Main preparing the letters for the
Operation School Bell® letter campaign.
The senior programs committee met with
Life Senior Services and Mental Health
Oklahoma to obtain their wish lists.
The Operation School Bell® Letter Campaign is off to an exciting start as
we open donations from our past donors. Letters to potential donors will
be mailed in early September. It’s not too late to add someone to the list
that would want to contribute and be a part of our mission. The commuA meeting of senior programs has been
scheduled for Monday, September 22, 2014 nity is rallying around the precious children we serve, and we know you
at the Assistance League® of Tulsa building will, too. When we help dress students, the joy and renewed sense of
confidence can be seen in their smiling faces. Ring the bell and light up
at 1:00.
a child’s life with your financial support. Thank you for all that you do.
See you there.
Finance Committee
By Pat Holder
Finance had their first meeting of this new year. Ginny
Thomas, treasurer, reviewed the end of the year financials. The financial statement was approved and sent to the
board. She will present this information to the membership
for their approval at the September chapter meeting.
Marilyn Nance, grants chair, reported on which grants have
been received, which ones have been applied for and which
grants she will be submitting in the future.
The next finance meeting will be on Sept.30th at 1:00 at the
building. Board and committee chairs who have a request
for additional assistance please let me know so I can put you
on our agenda.
Annual Children’s Book
Drive
Saturday
October 25, 2014
Mark Your Calendar
Page 4
A wonderful selection of framed works were featured at
Bargains Resale Shop’s recent Art Sale.
Assistance League® of Tulsa thanks the following people
so very much for their generous contributions in
July and August, 2014.
(prior to our current Operation School Bell® letter campaign)
James and Suzette Birch
Nancy Bloomfield
Patricia Bryant
Larry and Cheryl Chambers
Cartwright Family Trust
Bruce and Beverly Dieterien
George and Phyllis Dotson
Grace Eagleton
J. Matt Ferguson
Robert and Mary Frizzel
Vernon and Maralee Jones
Barry and Carmen Kinsey
Denise Brice Kurtz
Richard and Nevin Loerke
Lucas Controls Company, Inc.
Jeffrey Newhouse
Patricia Otto
Clara Perkins
Carolyn Plucknett
Dolores Ritter
Tom and Pat Sherrill
Tom and Sue Stees
Martha Swezey
Peggy Jane Taylor
Whitaker Architects, P.C.
Metisa Essley Wilhelmsen
Philip and Emily Wood
Woolslayer Companies, Inc.
Bargains Resale Shop
What is the saying about, "another day,
another dollar"....we have been doing
that and more! Bargains has been
bustling with wonderful donations and
impressive sales this month. We thank
St. Francis Hospital Gift Shop for their
generously donated items. We also
received a variety of estate sale donations and a constant stream of individual donations from our community. This
past month our "Back Room Guys"
assisted with donation pick ups. We
are so grateful for their hard work.
Thanks to all who have spread the
word about our tremendous "bargains"
as new customers are showing up
daily.
We celebrate success because so
many volunteers have priced more
items than we have ever seen before
and rung them on our cash register. It
is exciting to know that all of our efforts
will provide funding to purchase new
clothes for the children of Operation
School Bell® and help fund our other
programs.
Not only have our members stepped
up, but Scout Troop 1 at First Presbyterian Church has been in construction
mode and we are the benefactors! The
organization requires an approved service project to complete the Eagle
Scout program. Anne Waller Neal's
Volume 40, Issue 2
Education
By Pat Erickson
Circle Fund supports our Chapter in a
variety of ways. The national Assistance League® organization pays for
workshops and educational opportunities and sponsors public relations
events on a large scale. $25 will earn
you an exceptionally attractive pin
this year. Please participate as this is
the only fundraising program that
helps our National organization help
us.
By Martha Nichols and Judy Roberts
son, Mark Waller, mentored her
grandsons, Miles and Garrett Waller, Thane Gehring, Grant Carter
and Pierce Pettit in building new
shelves for our workroom and a
desk top that is spectacular ! We
appreciate their hours of labor and
beautiful craftsmanship.
As our business at Bargains continues to expand, we can always use
more help. Many times one of you
will pop in for an hour or two. We
do appreciate it. For those members who haven't been able to volunteer yet during our tenure, we
welcome you any time you can give
in the future. To all of you who have
already given so, so many hours, we
thank you profusely.
Page 5
Assistance League® of Tulsa
Try on a
smile at
Operation
School Bell®
One Size
Fits All
Page 6
Volume 40, Issue 2
Page 7
Caring and Commitment in Action
Tulsa
President: Kathleen Moss
Newsletter Editors: Marinee Ricks
and Marianne Pickering
W E ARE ON THE WEB!
W W W . A LT U L S A . O R G
Assistance League® of Tulsa
Vision:
Assistance League® of Tulsa aspires to meet the needs of
the most impoverished in our community.
Mission:
Assistance League ®of Tulsa is dedicated to clothing disadvantaged students and meeting essential needs of the most
vulnerable in our community.
Core Values:
Commitment-showing compassion for all
Accountability-being fiscally responsible to our donors and
our community
Kathleen Moss, Rochelle Williams, President of Eastern
Oklahoma Medical Group Management Association’s Tulsa
Chapter, and Loretta Raschen ↑ Rochelle brought a generous
donation and a basket of books, markers and games to
Operation School Bell®. Thank you so much!
Leadership-demonstrating professionalism that is visionary
and ethical
Respect-appreciating and considering others
Self esteem-enhancing success in the people we serve