The Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits (OKCNP) will host the 2021 Oklahoma Nonprofit Excellence (ONE) Awards on April 24, 2021, in Tulsa, with limited attendance. The event will be livestreamed on OKCNP’s website as well. Leading up to the event, OKCNP is celebrating the 21 Oklahoma nonprofit finalists in seven categories. RestoreOKC is a finalist in the Transformation category.

Founded in 2016, RestoreOKC serves the needs of 5,000 individuals living in northeast Oklahoma every year. Their mission is to “build relationships of reconciliation for restorative justice.”

The community in RestoreOKC’s service area has a high morbidity rate for every major disease, much of which is accredited to the lack of access to primary healthcare. The infant mortality rate is more than three times other parts of Oklahoma. Mental health visits for northeast Oklahoma City are eight times higher than the average for Oklahoma County and treatment for drug addiction is reported as five times higher.

In order to combat these challenges, RestoreOKC works to change the narrative from a cycle of poverty to a story of resilience, persistence, humility and strength. They work to share the story of historic injustices and how hope helps grow community.

RestoreOKC also assists low-income individuals become homeowners and has helped repair homes that clients inherited homes, including those who have been affected by the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

“I have prayed for a new roof for more than 10 years,” said Ms. J, client, RestoreOKC. “I remember how nervous my dad was to take our family north of Northeast 23^rd Street when it became legal for Black people to be north of the street. I have lived here ever since then and always wanted to make it better for the next generation, but could not afford to fix the roof or the issues with the title.”

Many of RestoreOKC employees became their families’ primary income earners at the age of 13, while also going to school. Many of those students failed in school, due to the pressure of having to financially provide for their families.

In 2016, RestoreOKC saw the need to help students succeed in the classroom. In response to the desire to grow student success, they developed Care Teams. Care Teams placed more than 500 volunteers in three elementary schools.

With the assistance of Care Teams, teacher retention rates grew from 5 percent to 70 percent in northeast Oklahoma City. Teachers now know northeast Oklahoma City schools will provide them with more support than they will have elsewhere.

“I’m so thankful for each of my babies at RestoreOKC,” said Ms. W., community advisory board president, RestoreOKC. “They love our community so well and each volunteer makes a difference and I want them all to know that I am so grateful and hope they know that we consider them part of our family. I pray for them every time I eat something I bought from the market at RestoreOKC.”

To learn more about RestoreOKC, visit their website: https://www.restoreokc.org/.

The ONE Awards is dedicated to honoring the outstanding work of Oklahoma nonprofits statewide. The ONE Awards also serves as the primary fundraising event for OKCNP. Proceeds from the ONE Awards enable OKCNP to serve communities throughout Oklahoma.

To learn more about the OKCNP ONE Awards or to watch the event, visit: https://www.okcnp.org/page/one-awards.