Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits (OKCNP) is celebrating 11 years of Visions Awards (Visions) on November 30, 2021, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Visions honors those who act as agents of change in the community, providing leadership to enrich and enliven those whom they serve.

Rayna Forgotson O’Connor and Whitley O’Connor, co-founders, Curbside Chronicle, will be honored with the Rodney Bivens Innovation Award. The award is given to visionary leaders or volunteers in the charitable sector who have burst on the scene with a new dynamic and innovative idea that inspired groundbreaking changes, bringing newfound success to the mission of an organization or pioneering, exciting programs that change lives. The honorees receive a $10,000 award thanks to a generous contribution from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in honor of Rodney Bivens’ lifetime achievements with the Regional Food Bank.

“The idea Whitley brought to Oklahoma City as a college student was quite insightful,” said Darlene Wallace, Visions honoree nominator. “He shared his idea with Rayna and together they co-founded Curbside Chronicle to give people experiencing homelessness work, so they could get housing. Next they opened a snow cone stand, followed by Curbside Flowers.”

Curbside Chronical has helped hundreds of individuals end their experience with homelessness. The magazine has won state, regional and international journalism awards. The Society of Professional Journalism honored the publication as Best Magazine in Oklahoma for three years.

Sasquatch Shaved Ice, a snow cone stand, and Curbside Flowers, a full-services flower shop, provide employment, job skills training and life skills development. Sasquatch Shaved Ice serves youth who are transition-age. Curbside Flowers offers extended employment opportunities to Curbside vendors, breaking down barriers to traditional employment – developing time and money management, as well as social skills. These programs enable Curbside Vendors to earn enough money to obtain housing, ending their experiences with homelessness.

Both Rayna and Whitley are proud Oklahomans. Rayna grew up in Norman where she attended the University of Oklahoma, majoring in marketing and minoring in nonprofit business. Whitley attended Vanderbilt University, majoring in human and organizational development and sociology. In addition to their work, Rayna services as the Ward 6 representative on the Citizens Committee for Community and is a member of Leadership Oklahoma’s LOYAL Class XI, while Whitley serves on the University of Central Oklahoma’s Institutional Review Board.

“It’s an honor for us to be receiving this award, but it’s an honor we share credit for with so many people,” said Rayna and Whitley. “A lot of people don’t realize that Curbside was launched by two college kids. But without visionaries like Dan Straughan, Debby Hampton, David Rainbolt and the Inasmuch Foundation taking meetings with us from the very beginning, we would have never gotten Curbside Chronicle outside of our dorm rooms.”

To learn more about the 2021 Visions Awards, visit the OKCNP Visions Award Page: https://okcnp.org/Visions.