The Little Light House is honored to be named Oklahoma’s Top Nonprofit

Out of 19,000 nonprofits in the state of Oklahoma, 24 organizations are nominated by the ONE Awards Selection Committee in eight categories: Arts and Humanities, Community, Education, Health Services, Self-Sufficiency, Seniors, Sports and Recreation and Youth Development. All 24 nonprofits receive a $5,000 prize, and category winners receive $7,500. The overall winner receives a grand prize of $10,000, sponsored by the Charles Schusterman Foundation.

“We are so thankful to the Schusterman Foundation for sponsoring the award. We are thrilled to receive this prize money for the Little Light House. With tuition-free services, every dollar makes a huge difference in the lives of our students,” said Molly Smith, Director of Development at the Little Light House.

Jean Winfrey, Executive Director, was excited about what this award might mean for the waiting list children. “With approximately 140 children awaiting services at the Little Light House, we believe this award will assist us in gaining further attention for our building expansion project and our Capital Campaign, Building Brighter Tomorrows for Children with Special Needs. The sooner we are able to break ground and begin construction, the sooner these precious children can receive the early intervention they so deserve.”

Phil Lakin, Jr., a ONE Awards Selection Commissioner and CEO of the Tulsa Community Foundation, said the award for The Little Light House was well deserved. “This organization does so much to help Oklahoma’s most precious and vulnerable children,” Lakin said. “I am honored that The Little Light House is the winner of the Charles Schusterman Award for Excellence, and I know their staff and board will be proud of this special distinction.”

This is the sixth year for the ONE Awards. Past overall winners have included the Oklahoma FFA Foundation, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Mental Health Association in Tulsa, Oklahoma Blood Institute and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. The Little Light House is honored to join these organizations as the recipient of this award.

The stories from the Little Light House’s Bible Based Curriculum (BBC) each have repeating lines. When listening to a BBC story, our students anticipate the line coming up in the story and are anxious to participate by saying the line at the right time.  Students who are nonverbal enjoy activating a voice output switch to be able to “say” the line.

Miss Katherine reads a BBC story to Isaiah and Eleanor. Isaiah is about to use the switch to say the repeating line!

To add music to the story-telling, Miss Janie makes up a tune to go with the repeating line, then records that on to a voice output switch such as a Big Mack. When it’s time for the line in the story, the children can play the song and sing along.  Oftentimes,  when children, especially those on the autism spectrum, can “sing” the line they are even more engaged in the story.  Adding music also helps students to remain attentive and it effectively reinforces positive behavior, as children anticipate getting a turn to play the song.

If you’d like to add music to your story-telling, you don’t have to have an expensive voice output switch!  Some small picture frames come with recording devices.  We’ve also found a small inexpensive voice recorder on Amazon.com that looks like another great alternative. What songs and stories will you pair together?

Our main program for families on the Waiting List is FLIP: Family Learning and Intervention Program.  This is an educational program for parents of children currently on the LLH Waiting List.  FLIP hosts monthly classes to provide helpful information on a variety of topics relevant to families of children with special needs.  At a recent meeting, Miss Kate, the FLIP teacher, taught about different sensory activities that are great for children with special needs (Check out our Pinterest board on Sensory activities!).  The FLIP program aims to be a practical resource for Waiting List families!

Lily attends FLIP with her family!

These meetings give parents an opportunity to meet other parents of children with special needs and share resources and ideas.  This time also gives families a chance to become more acquainted with the LLH, which will make for an easier transition when their child is placed in a classroom.  One current family said about the FLIP program: “We put him on the waiting list and enrolled him in their FLIP program, where  once a month, we attended an evening class and become familiar with the school. By the time Grady was able to attend the school full-time–after two years on the waiting list–he was familiar with the school and so were we.”

FLIP has been such a great resource for our Waiting List families. At this time, there are approximately 10-15 families participating in this great program.  We would love to see more families take advantage of this program, and we are thrilled to serve the ones that are currently involved!

If you have a child with special needs in the Tulsa area, take a look at our Waiting List Services page.

It’s time for a Garden Party Giveaway–Pinterest Style! Here’s what you do to be entered into a drawing for 2 tickets for Garden Party ($130 value) on Saturday, April 20th at the Tulsa Convention Center at 9:30 AM:

1. Follow the Little Light House on Pinterest
2. Make a Pinboard for Garden Party Hats!
3. Repin THIS PIN! Make sure you pin the original pin from the Little Light House–that’s how we can keep track of your entry!
4. Pin at least 5 cute hats that you think would look great at Garden Party! (Check out some Little Light House Staff Pinterest boards for ideas!)

We can’t wait to see what you pin!

This Garden Giveaway Contest goes from today (March 25) until Tuesday, April 2, 2013!

Staff Pinterest Garden Party Hat Boards:

Hannah’s Hats

Amy’s Hats

Little Light House’s Hats

Visit the LLH YouTube Channel

Visit the LLH YouTube Channel 

Visit the LLH YouTube Channel

Subscribe to the Little Light House YouTube Channel

Visit the LLH YouTube Channel

Subscribe to the Little Light House YouTube Channel