Activate OKLAHOMA!
34 Things You Can Do
The Power of ONE
1. Write a letter. Whether it’s to a CEO, a newspaper editor, or just to a friend who’s lonely, your words need to be heard. Do it by snail mail or by email, but do it. comments@whitehouse.gov yourviews@oklahoman.com
2. Carry blankets for the homeless in your car during the winter.
3. Carry rain gear (ponchos, etc.) for the homeless in your car during the summer.
4. Every time you go to the grocery store, buy a canned item or non-perishable to drop in the barrel for the hungry as you leave the store. Do not patronize stores who don’t have a barrel, or keep on the manager until they get one.
5. Have your favorite charities’ websites listed in your “favorites” when you go online, and regularly go to their websites to sign petitions, add “clicks” for services (see our “click & serve” page), or help with whatever else they need.
6. Have your local representatives’ and senators’ telephone numbers listed by the phone, and then call them regularly to voice your opinion. You may only get the secretary, but they have to write down your opinions, and that does influence the public official. http://www.house.gov http://www.senate.gov
7. When you see a call for toys or canned goods or clothing on TV, go donate. Learn where your local television stations and neighborhood charities are, so you can do drive-bys with the donations. http://www.koco.com http://www.kokh.com
http://www.kfor.com http://www.newsok.com
8. Donate clothes to your neighborhood clothing outlet. Oklahoma Goodwill Industries 410 S.W. 3rd St. OKC, OK 73109 (405) 236-4451
9. Donate glasses for the elderly. http://www.uniteforsight.org http://www.lionsclubs.org
10. Donate old cars for educational funds. http://www.donateacar.com http://www.800charitycars.org
11. Donate food to the Food Bank. http://www.regionalfoodbank.org/
12. Donate blood regularly, if you can. http://www.redcross.org
13. Volunteer for the local public radio station. In OKC, that is KGOU http://www.kgou.org. In Tulsa, it is KOSU.91.7FM.
14. Volunteer for the local public television station. In OKC, that is OETA, Channel 13. www.oeta.onenet.net/
15. Make a show or Public Service Announcement or news brief for one of these. They give classes, sometimes free, in how to do this. You could have your own show!!! That why this is called “public radio” and “public television”.
16. Become an independent news producer for independent media. www.okimc.org/
17. Call the talk shows with your opinion. You have valuable information that needs to be heard. www.ktok.com/ /
18. Write an Op Ed article for the local newspaper. Your opinion may open the eyes of someone else. yourviews@oklahoman.com
19. Hold a yard sale for your favorite charity, and clear up your clutter at the same time.
20. Get your kids involved in all these things.
21. Spend a portion of your Christmas or Thanksgiving holiday dinner feeding the hungry.
22. Volunteer to man the phones at a charity phone-in fundraiser.
23. Make care packages to carry in the car for the homeless with easy open cans, water, no-refrigeration applesauce, and peanut butter with crackers and plastic knives.
24. Write a blog. http://www.wordpress.com or through Google.
25. Vote.
26. Volunteer for the World Environmental organization, a group dedicated to preserving plants, animals and their habitats. Go to: http://www.world.org/weo/contact/us/ok or email volunteer@state.ok.weo.us . If you are interested in energy conservation, email: energy@state.ok.weo.us .
27. Teens and students can find places around Oklahoma to volunteer or intern at http://www.groovejob.com/browse/internships/in/OK/Oklahoma. These jobs involve everything from volunteering at Sea world to learning leadership skills.
28. Check out the Volunteer Center of Central Oklahoma at http://www.1-800-volunteer.org . Read about the volunteer center at Heartline Inc.
29. Volunteer at the museums. Ask about their docent programs. You can learn interesting things, have fun, and teach others all at the same time! The Sam Noble Museum of Natural Science needs volunteers. Call (405)325-1652 or email volunteer@snomnh.ou.edu. Training is provided. Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age.
30 Volunteer or a hospital or hospice. There is nothing more rewarding than comforting someone and being their friend in a difficult time. Hospice of Oklahoma County needs Patient Care Volunteers, Agnitsch Hall is a Neighborhood Services Organization (NSO) and needs Administrative help. Hospice of Oklahoma County requires Hospice Support. Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped requires interns and volunteers. Frontier Hospice needs Patient and Family Support Volunteers, Bereavement and Spiritual Care Volunteers, and Administrative Volunteers.
The Child Abuse Response and Evaluation Center (CARE Center)requires Administrative Support.
31. Help animals by joining an animal support group, such as the Pets and People Humane Society. They need folks to do everything from washing cat and dog bowls to pet mentors and phone handlers. http://www.petsandpeople.com
32. You can support our troops by joining The Hugs project where you help make sure no soldier is forgotten. http://www.thehugsproject.org Says the website, "The Hugs Project is committed to improving life for our dedicated U.S. Military. Our "mission" is to give a "hug" (handmade items for warmth or cooling depending on season) to every American serving in the Middle East. We want every deployed troop and American civilian to know we support their mission to protect our freedoms & to provide freedom to the people of the Middle East. This is our way of saying "Thank you, we appreciate you for the difficult job you do". The Hugs Project ©2005 is a non profit organization and your donations are tax deductible.All monies donated go toward letting deployed Americans and our allies know that they are respected and that they are NOT forgotten. A donation of $25.00 will pay for 1 care package full of wonderful items. You can donate via PayPal or send a check to The Hugs Project PO Box 6761 Edmond, OK 73083.
32. OklahomaCasa helps kids who have been abandoned or neglected. They may have been in and out of foster care. From the website: "The Court Appointed Special Advocate (“CASA”) programs in Oklahoma are non-profit organizations that recruit, screen and train community volunteers to act as Court Appointed Special Advocates for abused and neglected children in juvenile “deprived” proceedings, and to help ensure their needs and best interests are served while wards of the juvenile courts." http://www.oklahomacasa.org
33. Check out http://www.volunteermatch.org, and plug in your zip code. This website will bring up a list of groups within your area where you can volunteer. There was everything from Adopt a City Street to the Allied Arts Foundation, the American Red Cross, the Arts Council of Oklahoma, The Best Friends of Shelter Pets, nymerous aging centers, and the Arts Festival Oklahoma.
34. Help someone have a home! Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry working in partnership with God and the community to build simple, decent, affordable housing, and to provide hope for responsible, hard-working, limited income families living in substandard conditions. To volunteer group or individual workdays on Central Oklahoma Habitat job sites, call 405-232-4828 or email us for dates. Here's their website: http://www.centraloklahomahabitat.org/index.php/volunteer/