The Lost Ogle is often a center of gloom for people who live in Oklahoma. We come here to read about all of the awful things happening around us, and as writers, it is also an outlet to purge our bad feelings about being in a place that is aggressively sad.
Not today. Or, at least, not this article. I twisted Patrick's arm and begged him, "Please, please let me write something nice." He sighed, tried to assign me a bit about fracking, and relented. [That didn't really happen, but we need to keep up our MO of being grumpy cynics.]
It's the fucking holiday season, and a lot of people in our area need help. Here are 5 non-profit organizations that need it:
-Sisu Youth Services
Sisu is the impetus behind this whole post. I help curate a thing called MONDO MONDAYS at Ponyboy on 23rd St, and we show weird cult/genre films every week. This last Monday, we showed this horror movie called Basket Case and did a drive for Sisu. We raised $300 in gift cards and cash to pass on to the youth that Sisu assists.
Sisu provides shelter for young people who need it, and a lot of them are LGBTQ+ who don't have family to support them for the holidays.
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-Homeless Alliance
Speaking of shelter, the Homeless Alliance is out here to help adults experiencing lack of shelter. Homelessness isn't caused by just one thing that happens to somebody- there's usually a spiderweb of issues that result in somebody not having a place to live.
The Homeless Alliance is great not just because they offer a day shelter, but also other services that span between dog kennels and art classes.
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-Cleats 4 Kids
A huge way to help out kids is giving them activities. Whether it's running track or shooting hoops, athletic activities can keep those dang young'ns out of trouble. C4K provides everything from shoes to baseballs for local youth. We all know how impoverished Oklahoma schools are, so we know the struggle that those athletic departments are suffering from.
C4K does a lot of shoes drives and other things like that, but you can always help them out with straight cash.
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-Palomar
Palomar is pretty hot right now because they're potentially about to build a new facility with MAPS 4 funding. But they still need help. I went to their MAPS presentation at City Hall, and everybody in the room was goddamn crying by the end, myself included.
Their mission is to help out people in domestic violence situations and give them a safe place to get away from their dangerous environment. You can find out how to help them by clicking this link.
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-Diversity Center Of Oklahoma
I know a lot of our readers are straight white people. I'm in that group as well. So it's hard sometimes to think about the struggles that people with different sexual and gender orientations have to go through, especially during the holiday season when they may have families that have disowned them.
The Diversity Center offers therapy for adolescents and adults to help guide LGBTQ+ individuals through a life that can often be hostile.
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This list is only a paltry number of local organizations who need assistance during the holidays. Cash donations are great, and if you're interested in helping further, email them and find out what their particular needs are. And if there's another charity you'd like to see represented, post it in the comments! Let's make this holiday season happy for as many people as we can!
