(Cushing, Okla.) Cushing United Fund is “going for the goal” and this year’s goal is $75,000.
“We need to raise $75,000 in order to be able to give the agencies the money they need,” Drive Chairman Dena Floyd told a room full of Lions on Tuesday. “We are not affiliated with the United Way, [a national organization], so every bit of these funds go to this community.”
This is Floyd’s third year as Cushing United Fund drive chairman, but she has been an active volunteer for Cushing United Fund for eight or nine years. It is something she is passionate about.
“If I could do this all the time – I would,” Floyd said. “I love it.”
Floyd’s passion comes from seeing the need and what great work each agency does to help fill a need. She also admits since she has been involved she has seen the need grow greater and the dollars grow smaller. “Some of the agencies need more and we have other ones filling out forms to become one of the agencies we support,” Floyd said. “And unfortunately, the past couple of years we have fallen short of our goal.”
This year Cushing United Fund has enlisted the help of those who know the needs best – the recipients. Several representatives joined Floyd to talk to the Lions Club about those needs and how much they depend on the funds provided each year.
Speaking were: Amy McCracken, LoveINC; Allison Griffith, Wings of Hope; Mary Ann Ethridge, Back Pack Program and Lori Brown, Cimarron Council Boy Scouts.
Floyd ended the program by inviting everyone to come to the first ever Cushing United Fund “Evening in the Park” fundraiser, Thursday, August 23rd, 7 p.m. til dark. Not only will each agency be there to answer any questions – they will be competing in a Homemade Ice Cream FREEZE-OFF!
The event will include ice cream taster kits, watermelons by the slice and music by Rick Reiley and Gene Collier.
Cushing Fire Department will have its vehicles there, too, so be sure to stop by and tell them ‘Thanks!’ for the great job they’ve been doing. The Red Cross will also be in attendance.
The monies raised for Cushing United Fund have become invaluable to the agencies who are recipients. A total of ten agencies receive some sort of money from Cushing United Fund.
They are:
Cushing Food Bank – $15,000
Cushing Care Clinic – $10,000
LoveINC – $15,000
Back Pack Program – $12,000
Judith Karman Hospice – $4,000
Ministerial Fellowship – $1,000
Wings of Hope – $10,000
American Red Cross – $5,000
Girl Scouts – $1,000
Boy Scouts – $1,000
*Here is some information about each of those agencies.
Cushing Food Bank: Dollars are leveraged to purchase food through the Oklahoma Food Bank network. In 12 months, the Food Bank spent $20,000 on 99 tons of food and provided food to 9,000 adults and 4,500 children. Manned totally by volunteers, in a new facility provided for their use and owned by First Baptist Church, Food Bank of Cushing depends heavily on their United Fund allocation.
Cushing Care Clinic: Another agency manned by volunteers which provides vital medical care and medicines to people who couldn’t afford it otherwise. Last year $14,000 in medicines was purchased, $3,600 was used for mammogram scholarships, hearing aids, and other medical needs, and $32,000 in medicine was received from pharmaceutical companies. Physicians, pharmacists, nurses, physician assistants, and other health care professionals donated 1800 hours of their time and knowledge to provide health care to over 300 people.
LoveINC: Their slogan is “mobilizing churches to change lives” and they truly live up to it. Churches provide people who volunteer; UNITED FUND provides a large amount of the financial resources needed to give people and families not just a hand out but rather a hand up. The organization attempts to get at the root of why the person needs assistance and works to get them out of that position. A huge number of volunteers match donated resources with those where they are needed most. A person-to-person connection helps build self-esteem and relationship in recipients. The organization also screens persons seeking assistance through an intake interview and verification of financial information to make sure resources go where they are most needed.
Back Pack Program: Many school children receive needed nutritious meals during the week through the school cafeteria. What happens on the weekend? Each Friday, identified students receive a back pack filled with nutritious kid-friendly food for the weekend, and they return the back pack on Monday morning. A measure of how important the food is: not a single child has lost his/her back pack.
Judith Karman Hospice: End of life issues can be overwhelming to patients and their families. As a ‘not for profit’, Judith Karman insures decisions are based on the medical needs of the person. Many Cushing families have benefited from Judith Karman Hospice care.
Ministerial Fellowship: This organization unites pastors to unite churches to win our community for Christ. United Fund funds are used to support a variety of programs including scholarships to Cushing students, student fellowship groups, food/fuel coupons to transients and community inspirational services.
Wings of Hope: Family Crisis Services (formerly Stillwater Domestic Violence Services) – their mission is to break the cycle of violence by providing safety, hope and empowerment. When families come apart, often women and children need immediate assistance. They provide safe sheltering (new facility), 2-hour help Line, individual and group counseling, parenting education, victim advocacy, children’s services, and interventions for abusive individuals, and other services. While this agency is housed in Stillwater, many Cushing residents have benefited from its serve at critical times.
American Red Cross: All about disaster relief. Be it fire, flood, tornado or other, the rapid bringing together of vital services when disasters strike is remarkable. An active, funded local chapter is necessary for this response.
Girl Scouts: This program is about investing in young girls for leadership and character development. We have two groups of Daisies that are active. The Girl Scout building located in Memorial park has been updated with improvements to furnace, water heater, painting and the roof. Our troops meet in the building, troops from surrounding communities use the facility and it is available for family reunions and community activities.
Boy Scouts: Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts are alive and well in Cushing. This is an investment in helping young boys become better young men. United Fund dollars help support the camping programs and facilities which are an integral part of our local scouting troops.
For more information on Cushing United Fund contact Dena Floyd at 918-223-0128.
Cushing United Fund has withstood the test of time. It was chartered July 2, 1958, helping people help people. It is a 501-C3 so contributions are tax deductible. It is governed by a Board of Directors made up of Cushing people who only want to help others.
*Information courtesy of Cushing United Fund.
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