SRNF logo white

Center of Family Love Grows Opportunities for Adults With Disabilities

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

Center of Family Love Grows Opportunities for Adults With Disabilities

Residents find ways to express themselves and live freely at a community-minded organization supported by the Noble Foundation

By Jessica Willingham

Wheat fields wrap around the Center of Family Love in Okarche, Oklahoma, a tiny rural town famous for its fried chicken. In this quiet farming community, adults with disabilities are doing what few thought possible: living independently, growing freely, and pursuing self-discovery through art and agriculture. 

“Center of Family Love wraps people in love,” says Marsha Smith, Center of Family Love vice president of program services. Feeling at home in a small town with a big heart wasn’t so much by discovery but by design, she says. “The community wraps us in love, and that makes it the ideal place to thrive.”

The Center of Family Love (CFL) is home to 130 adults with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities. The campus offers two levels of living: group homes for those who can live with greater independence and intermediate care for those with greater medical needs. Residents can work at local manufacturing sites, a recycling center, or in the campus gardens or gift shop. They go to the movies and the bowling alley, they shop and see parades, and they engage in on-site education.

The center was founded 40 years ago by families of children with disabilities. These families had their minds on the future of their loved ones. Historically, adults with disabilities have only a few options after high school. They can go to state institutions, receive costly private care, or live at home with family for the remainder of their adult lives. CFL offers another option: residency to people near and far at no cost. It is the only residency center of its kind that includes specialized disabled geriatric care, and its approach has proven to provide residents with full, meaningful lives that often extend beyond the prognoses of doctors. The eldest resident is in their 90s, a testament to the power of holistic living. 

“Our residents have a purpose, and it’s up to us to help them discover that,” says Nellie Sanders, CFL vice president of philanthropy.

Growing Vegetables

CFL is funded primarily through Medicare and Medicaid, but also through donations from people and organizations like The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. Donations allow CFL to live out its goal of shifting from a medical model — providing basic medical care like a nursing home — to an educational model that expands the lives of residents through transportation, therapy and vocational programs.

The Noble Foundation has awarded $591,000 to CFL since 1978. A 2020 grant for $50,000 funded operations, and a 2019 grant for $100,000 supported a pilot program for the arts and gardening. Noble employees designed hoop houses and advised CFL through the program launch, sharing knowledge on vegetable selection and soil care.

“Bringing horticulture projects to Center of Family Love provided valuable training opportunities for residents and enhanced their gardening skills,” says Stacy Newman, Noble Foundation director of philanthropy. “Center of Family Love is a place where residents can grow independently in every way possible.”

Growing Confidence

The hoop houses are hot and quiet, a silent retreat in the middle of a bustling campus. 

“This is the place I want to go after a long day; it’s so peaceful,” Sanders says. “It’s a place for everyone to garden.”

Raised beds are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), with adaptations for watering and harvesting. Peppers and herbs become pesto during a cooking class for local students, and the lettuce is used in salads prepared by residents. 

“The investment the Noble Foundation made in us was the impetus that propelled us to grow and cook our own vegetables. Now, residents have pride when that tomato comes,” says Debbie Espinosa, CFL executive director. “Everyone wants goals and ambitions, to go to work every day and get paid for it. Everyone wants independence, and everyone has so much love to give.”

Horticulture created roles for residents who otherwise could not work due to physical, sensory or verbal challenges. Garden perimeters are lined with bright marigolds tended by a person with profound autism. The resident came to CFL non-verbal, often rocking intensely and disengaged, his mobility restricted. After a visit to the hoop house, he started pulling weeds as if he had been gardening his whole life.

“With every new thing we introduce, we discover something new in our residents,” Sanders says. “You see them add their own flair to things. The gardening program helped us discover a sense of who they are.”

Limitations are not defined by diagnoses and caretakers, Smith says. Residents make their own way and expand their lives on their own terms — often taking CFL to places and ideas never before considered. Cultivating produce inspired healthy eating, which inspired cooking classes, fitness classes and adaptive exercises. For every program introduced and implemented, many more are inspired by residents’ interests. 

Growing More

Now residents are dreaming bigger for their campus.

As a result of the new programs funded by Noble, CFL is looking to add another building: the Newfield Community and Education Center.

“We need more room and extra support to discover who God intended us to be. We need a building made just for us,” says Tanner B., a new resident, dressed in a suit to emcee CFL’s 40th birthday party, a virtual fundraising event.

Tanner is hoping the fundraiser will bring in $1 million for the new building. Together, architects and residents designed the union-style hub for socialization at all levels and needs. It will house a swimming pool, expanded art studio, performing stage and culinary kitchen.

“We want the room to spread our wings, to find freedom to experience life,” Tanner says. “We are artists, chefs, dancers, singers and growers.”

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe

More Articles

Restoring the Land

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

Restoring the Land

Noble Research Institute takes its next step in carrying out Lloyd Noble’s vision to benefit mankind by focusing on regenerative ranching.

By Courtney Leeper

Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s must have felt desolate at times. Land that had been rich with cotton, golden with rows and rows of wheat, lay waste to rising dust storms.

Mothers and fathers tried to seal their homes from the dust by covering windows and doors with wet sheets. They taught their children to place damp rags over their faces – both indoors and out – so they could breathe. And when the drought-stricken, dying ground no longer gave them enough food or product to sell, many families headed West hoping for better lives.

Eventually, the rains came and the winds settled. But the land — and the people who depended on it — would continue to live with the scars of such an ecological disaster.

A ranch ravaged by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Photo obtained from the Library of Congress.
Lloyd Noble
Lloyd Noble, Founder of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc.

It was for such a moment that Lloyd Noble created the organization that would become known as Noble Research Institute, founded on Sept. 19, 1945. He wanted to provide a lasting resource to help farmers and ranchers conserve and build up their soil. He wanted to help prevent another Dust Bowl and reverse the ruin that had fallen upon the region’s economic base: agriculture.

Noble advocated for the need to support farmers and ranchers in taking soil health into consideration on their operations, saying “No civilization has outlived the usefulness of its soils. When the soil is destroyed, the nation is gone.”

He also continued to give, a legacy that lives on through The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. That legacy, in turn, continues to fuel the next step of Noble Research Institute’s journey – one that will take them down the regenerative ranching road.

Next Generation of Stewardship

Regenerative ranching, which is a form of regenerative agriculture focused on grazing lands, asks land managers to look at the land not as just the plants that grow on it. The land also includes soil, water, animals, humans and even air — all interconnected pieces that are influenced by and dependent on one another. To improve the soil, one must also seek to improve the other pieces, to manage in a way that is based on an understanding of the ecological processes by which the land functions.

The result is land that is regenerated. It’s not just conserved or sustained to provide food for another day. It’s actually improved, which reaps benefits beyond the farm in the form of cleaner air and water.

Farmers and ranchers who use regenerative ranching principles have made measurable improvements, some by 1-5%, to their soil organic matter (the basis of soil fertility).

They save money by greatly reducing or eliminating use of applied fertilizers and pesticides, which aren’t needed as much once the land is functioning well. They are also able to hold more water in their soils to sustain through periods of drought.

Ranchers who use regenerative ranching principles have, in some cases, added 1-5% soil organic matter to their land.

In 2020, Noble Research Institute focused its attention on how to best support ranchers on the regenerative journey. It set a goal to achieve regenerative land stewardship in grazing animal production with lasting producer profitability. Achievement will be measured by the nation’s farmers and ranchers profitably regenerating hundreds of millions of acres of U.S. grazing lands.

Up to an estimated 70% of the 655 million acres of private and public grazing lands in the U.S. are considered degraded. Keeping cattle and other grazing animals on the land, and managing them well, is essential to building up the land’s health.

“It is amazing to hear the stories of countless ranchers across the country who are making the kinds of improvements to their land that Lloyd Noble envisioned,” says Stacy Newman, director of philanthropy for the Noble Foundation. “He once expressed in a speech that he was, ‘intensely interested in the rebuilding and rehabilitation of the soil.’ This sentiment is also at the heart of regenerating ranching and Noble Research Institute’s work. It is also one of one of the primary areas of giving for the Noble Foundation.”

Keeping cattle and other grazing animals on well-managed land is key to building soil health.

Overcoming Barriers

Regenerative ranching brings a multitude of documented benefits, but much of that success is anecdotal. As a research organization, Noble will answer critical, producer-guided questions regarding soil management, the process for applying regenerative principles and the economics of soil health.

Its educational services will be rooted in equipping farmers and ranchers to effectively use regenerative principles for their specific land and operation. This is crucial because regenerative ranching is principles-driven, not a prescription of practices to use or not use.

Noble will also dedicate its 14,000 acres of grazing lands and livestock operations, located in southern Oklahoma, to regenerative ranching. Noble is on its own journey of transitioning from conventional to regenerative management, a journey that it will openly share through education and demonstration.

Noble is on its own journey of regenerative transition as they dedicate 14,000 acres of grazing lands and operations to the study of regenerative agriculture.

“Everything Noble does will build a farmer or rancher’s knowledge, critical thinking skills, understanding and confidence in applying regenerative principles,” says Steve Rhines, president and CEO of Noble Research Institute, LLC. “We will be here when they need help or when they encounter something new. We are obsessed with helping them and their land flourish.”

A major component of Noble’s objective is to help farmers and ranchers overcome the four key barriers that stand in the way of their lasting use of regenerative, profitable land management practices in grazing animal production.

Noble groups these barriers into four categories:

  • Lack of guidance and mentoring
  • Economic uncertainty in adoption and operations as well as managing ongoing risk
  • Cultural, generational and societal pressures that work against change
  • Lack of available, science-based management knowledge

“There are two parts to this last one,” Rhines says. “First, we need to answer the right questions to benefit farmers and ranchers, which will also benefit the scientific community. Second, we need to make research (whether performed by Noble or others) accessible and usable by farmers and ranchers. In the end, we are dedicating all of our operations to helping break down these barriers.”

By asking the right questions and making research usable by farmers and ranchers, Noble hopes to break down barriers that keep producers from adopting regenerative principles.

Better Land for Us All

Those who have adopted regenerative ranching are making measurable improvements to the land’s health. With healthier land, they are also experiencing more profitability and stability in the face of climate variability.

Regenerative ranching promotes principles that were unknowingly broken in the century leading up to the infamous dust storms of the 1930s, when a decade of 15-25% less precipitation than normal became a tipping point for the weakened land. The series of droughts, still considered record-breaking, exasperated the already dysfunctional ecological processes on the land. In effect, both the land and people suffered.

Regenerative ranching encourages life: It promotes covering the soil with diverse plant life and keeping living plants and their roots in the soil year-round. It protects microbial communities by minimizing soil disturbances and, again, fostering diversity. And it encourages the intentional and adaptive application of livestock, such as cattle, sheep and goats, on pastures.

Regenerative ranching promotes the intentional, adaptive application on livestock, such as cattle, on pastures.

Healthy life on the land inevitably leads to better life for the people who depend on it, which includes both farmers and ranchers as well as all of society. Regenerative ranching is not a choice between healthy land and economic viability but is, by necessity, a combination of both.

“Farmers and ranchers must be profitable so they can reinvest in the land and its restorations,” Rhines says. “Otherwise, at some future point, we will have neither the land productivity to provide for our food needs nor the farmers and ranchers available to do so. As we look to the future, we imagine our nation’s cattle producers having the knowledge and tools needed to rebuild our country’s soil and grazing lands, not only to provide for their families but pave the way for the next generations of producers.”

Noble seeks to empower agricultural producers with knowledge and tools to rebuild our nation’s soil and grazing lands.

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe

More Articles

Hearts and Doors Open

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

Hearts and Doors Open

A $5 million expansion to the Frank C. Love Institute gives SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital greater opportunities to serve cancer patients from across Oklahoma.

By Debra Levy Martinelli

When the expanded Frank C. Love Cancer Institute at SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City’s Midtown was dedicated on Valentine’s Day 2020, no one could predict that just a month later life as we knew it would turn on its head by COVID-19. For cancer patients at St. Anthony, however, there was a silver lining.

“If we hadn’t expanded before the pandemic, we wouldn’t have been able to treat all of our cancer patients because of the social distancing requirement,” recalls Sherry Rice Rhodes, vice president, philanthropy and foundation at the SSM Health St. Anthony Foundation. “It was a sobering thought.”

Before the $5 million expansion began in May 2019, the space dedicated to cancer patient care was located in the hospital’s basement. It was so crowded family members couldn’t always sit with their loved ones receiving treatments. There was no natural light because there were no windows. The thick concrete walls necessary to shield the radiation oncology department’s nearby treatment equipment resulted in spotty internet service or none at all.

“We literally were bursting at the seams,” Rhodes recalls. “We toyed with the idea of constructing a new building but decided that we’d rather keep the Cancer Institute here at the hospital so that if a patient needed other services, everything would be available to them right here. So we reconfigured space to accomplish that goal.”

Jamie Farha and Mike Milligan look over the plans for the new facility.

More Room for the Journey

The expansion relocated all medical oncology cancer services to the third floor, more than doubling the size from 6,400 square feet to 13,454 square feet. The new space has windows, natural light, internet service, a nourishment center, multiple bathrooms, space for 32 chemotherapy chairs in private and semi-private areas, and area for family members to sit comfortably with their loved ones. It also has a resource center, which provides compassion and support patients need on their treatment journey.

“It’s so much more uplifting,” Rhodes says. “People who have been diagnosed with cancer say your heart stops beating when you hear those words. To be in a space that is comforting and welcoming is important to their treatment and recovery.”

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation contributed $50,000 to the project. Since 1971 it has granted a total of $1,130,000 to the St. Anthony Hospital Foundation.

“The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation’s granting program provides funding to charitable organizations that cultivate good health, as well as those supporting education and building stronger communities,” explains Stacy Newman, director of philanthropy for the Noble Foundation. “The recent grant to St. Anthony Hospital Foundation supporting the Frank C. Love Cancer Institute fulfilled the Foundation’s desire to improve health care of Oklahomans and support the growing need for cancer care to all families across our state.”  

The American Cancer Society has estimated that 22,820 Oklahomans will receive the news they have cancer in 2021. The most common cancers in the state are lung and bronchus, breast, and prostate.

“‘Cancer’ is one of the scariest diagnoses to hear and the St. Anthony Foundation found a way to ease the anxiety of each patient by providing a space conducive to healing and comfort,” Newman adds. “People matter most at the Frank C. Love Cancer Institute, and the improvements allow them to provide compassionate and exceptional care during a difficult time.”

The new space has windows, natural light, internet service, a nourishment center, multiple bathrooms, space for 32 chemotherapy chairs in private and semi-private areas, and area for family members to sit comfortably with their loved ones.

Jamie Farha is one of those people. Farha, who served as co-chair of the fundraising committee for the Cancer Institute expansion project, was thrilled the day it opened its doors in February 2020. But she never expected to walk through those doors six months later as a patient.

“In August 2020, I was diagnosed with breast cancer,” Farha explains. “The diagnosis didn’t make sense. I had never felt better in my life. I was at the top of my game. I went into shock and denial. In a single moment, I went from being a fundraiser for the Institute to being a patient at the Institute.” 

There was no question that she would be treated at the Frank C. Love Cancer Institute.

“The physical changes — the space, the light, the happy environment — made a world of difference,” she says. “But what you’d never know if you didn’t journey the path as a patient is how beautiful the Institute’s team approach is. What they offered was way beyond the physical change. Their care, support and comfort allowed me to walk the path that so many cancer patients walk in arms that were so loving.”

Jamie and Clay Farha. Jamie served as the co-chair of the fundraising committee for the Cancer Institute expansion project.

Serving Patients, Winning Battles

Today, the Frank C. Love Cancer Institute is the second busiest in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and serves patients from across the state. It currently provides services to 13.2% of Oklahomans seeking outpatient cancer treatment and 20.9% of those seeking inpatient oncology care.

“Our goal is to become the leading integrated cancer program, offering a full spectrum of clinical services, as well as prevention and wellness programs,” Rhodes says. “We care for our patients with an uncompromising commitment to clinical excellence and customer service.”

She adds that the expansion has allowed St. Anthony Hospital to serve a growing number of patients with additional oncologists and advanced equipment and technology.

Sherry and Tim Rhodes. Sherry is vice president, philanthropy and foundation at the SSM Health St. Anthony Foundation.

“Patient growth is occurring through partnerships that include expansion of our telemedicine programs, growing our management agreements and partnerships with rural hospitals, increasing our rural outreach clinics and adding new health plexes,” Rhodes says. “Patient satisfaction, as measured by independent surveys, is continuously evaluated for action by clinical and executive staff. Currently, our oncology patients rank us in the top 2% in the nation for patient satisfaction.”

Farha, who completed her treatment in April, can attest to that high level of patient satisfaction.

“I think the reason I’m so passionate about St. Anthony is that they’re true to their mission: They will provide healthcare to anyone who comes here,” she says. “It’s a beautiful place to get the best medical treatment in the state of Oklahoma.”

Rhodes, who has spent the bulk of her career at the SSM Health St. Anthony Foundation, agrees.

“The Frank C. Love Cancer Institute is one more way we’re living out our mission every day,” she says. “Our hearts and our doors are open. We are firmly committed to that.”

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe

More Articles

14 Oklahoma students receive Sam Noble Scholarships

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

14 Oklahoma students receive Sam Noble Scholarships

ARDMORE, Okla. — The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation announced the 2020 recipients of the Sam Noble Scholarships, awarding $167,500 in scholarships to 14 southern Oklahoma students.

Sam Noble Scholarships assist both undergraduate and graduate students studying agriculture, and undergraduate students studying technology. The 2020 Sam Noble Scholarship recipients are:

  • Matilyn Allen, Maysville, Oklahoma State University
  • Dalee Barrick, Waurika, Oklahoma State University
  • Krista Carroll, Tishomingo, Oklahoma State University
  • Racelyn Gemmell, Wilson, Oklahoma State University
  • Makayla Green, Maysville, Oklahoma State University
  • Kendall Hays, Ardmore, Oklahoma State University
  • Faith Howe, Sulphur, Oklahoma State University
  • Shyann McWhirter, Maysville, Oklahoma State University
  • Ethan Neble, Ringling, Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
  • Alisa Northcutt, Tishomingo, Oklahoma State University
  • Jentri Rayburn, Ardmore, Oklahoma State University
  • Amanda Upton, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma State University
  • Harlee Wiggins, Elmore City, Oklahoma Panhandle State University
  • Tanner Wofford, Allen, Oklahoma State University

Agriculture undergraduate scholarships are $2,500 per semester for as many as nine semesters, and graduate awards are $3,125 per semester for up to five semesters. Technology students receive scholarships of up to $1,875 per semester for two years.

Sam Noble, for whom the scholarship program is named, bequeathed funding to establish the program in 1992. The first scholarships were awarded in 1999. To date, the Noble Foundation has awarded more than $2,927,500 to 219 students.

Access to the scholarship application for the 2021 application period may be requested through the Noble Foundation website or by calling 580-224-6213. Agricultural scholarships are limited to students pursuing an agriculture-related degree at universities with a separate college or division of agriculture. Technology scholarship applicants must be attending or planning to attend Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in Okmulgee or Oklahoma State University–Oklahoma City.

Applicants for the Sam Noble Scholarship must reside in one of the following southern Oklahoma counties: Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Coal, Garvin, Jefferson, Johnston, Love, Marshall, McCurtain, Murray, Pontotoc, Pushmataha or Stephens. An external committee selects the recipients.

Additional information about the Sam Noble Scholarship Program is available online at www.noblefoundation.org/scholarships.

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe

More Articles

12 Oklahoma Students Receive Sam Noble Scholarships​

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

12 Oklahoma Students Receive Sam Noble Scholarships

Sam Noble Scholarships assist undergraduate and graduate students studying agriculture as well as undergraduate students studying technology

ARDMORE, Okla. — The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation recently announced the 2021 recipients of the Sam Noble Scholarship, awarding a total of $107,500 in scholarships to 10 southern Oklahoma students.

The 2021 Sam Noble Scholarship recipients are:

  • Toby Bowles, Oklahoma State University
  • Tucker Bundy, Oklahoma State University
  • Carson Capps, Oklahoma State University
  • Taylor Chambers, Oklahoma State University
  • Kallie Clifton, Oklahoma State University
  • Taryn Cook, Oklahoma State University
  • Makayla Crawford, Oklahoma State University
  • Klay Ervin, Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
  • Seth Kemp, Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
  • William Shelby, Oklahoma State University

Agriculture scholarships are limited to students pursuing an agriculture-related degree at universities with a separate college or division of agriculture. Technology scholarship applicants must be attending or planning to attend Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in Okmulgee or Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City.

About the Scholarship

Applicants for the Sam Noble Scholarship must reside in one of the following southern Oklahoma counties: Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Coal, Garvin, Jefferson, Johnston, Love, Marshall, McCurtain, Murray, Pontotoc, Pushmataha or Stephens.

Additional information about the Sam Noble Scholarship Program is available online at www.noblefoundation.org/scholarships.

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe

More Articles

6 Students Receive Noble Educational Fund Scholarships

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

6 Students Receive Noble Educational Fund Scholarships - 2022

The Noble Educational Fund Scholarship Program is sponsored by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation for eligible dependents of full-tim employees of Noble entities.

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation announced the 2021 recipients of the Noble Educational Fund Scholarships, awarding $120,000 in scholarships to students.

The Noble Educational Fund Scholarship Program is a merit-based, competitive scholarship program sponsored by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation for eligible dependents of full-time employees of Noble entities. The scholarship is open to students seeking an undergraduate education at institutions of higher learning or post-high-school training at vocational technical training institutions. Students may apply as high school seniors or at any point during their postsecondary education.

The 2021 Noble Educational Fund Scholarship recipients are:

  • Lindy Gou, the child of Weihong Dong with Noble Research Institute, LLC. Lindy will be a freshman at University of Oklahoma, majoring in English.
  • Eathan Newman, the child of Todd Newman with Noble Research Institute, LLC. Eathan will be a freshman at University of Oklahoma, majoring in biochemistry, pre-med track.
  • Daniel Osayi, the child of Irene Osayi with Noble Corporation. Daniel will be a sophomore at University of Houston, majoring in biology.
  • Rachel Tan, the child of Tao Guan with Noble Corporation. Rachel will be a freshman at University of Texas at Austin, majoring in computer science.
  • Garrett Trett, the child of Ronald Trett with Noble Research Institute, LLC. Garrett will be a freshman at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, majoring in political science.
  • Jennifer Wen, the child of Jiangqi Wen with Noble Research Institute, LLC. Jennifer will be a freshman at Emory University, majoring in biology.

The scholarship amount is $2,500 per semester ($5,000 per academic year) for up to four years, totaling up to $20,000 over the course of a student’s undergraduate career. The cumulative amount varies, depending upon the student’s classification when awarded the scholarship.

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe

More Articles

Will Shelby Exemplifies the Passion and Heart of the Sam Noble Scholarship

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

Will Shelby Exemplifies the Passion and Heart of the Sam Noble Scholarship

By Tressa Lawrence

Growing up, Will Shelby could usually be found in a barn or somewhere surrounded by cattle. From his participation in 4-H meetings, livestock judging contests and FFA events, to helping out on his family’s cow/calf operation and tagging along on his dad’s veterinary calls, it is easy to see where Shelby’s passion for agriculture comes from.

Raised in Madill, Oklahoma, Shelby says being active in agriculture was the biggest influence in his life, and he credits much of his success back to that.

“Everything that I have accomplished so far, I can really trace back to things that I’ve learned from and gotten to do with 4-H and FFA, and just growing up in the ag industry. It’s something I really hold close to my heart,” he says.

Will Shelby guides a cow through the pens to the chute. He plans to pursue a career as a large animal veterinarian, specializing in bovine reproduction and embryo transfer.

These life experiences have opened many doors for Shelby. As a member of the 2020 Oklahoma State University Livestock Judging Team, he was the 5th highest individual overall and was named a Livestock Judging All-American at the 115th National Collegiate Livestock Judging Contest. In 2021, he went on to be the assistant coach of the OSU livestock judging team.

Shelby is currently in his second year of veterinary school at OSU. One aspect that made him stand out as an applicant for this year’s Sam Noble Scholarship committee was his consistently maintained 4.0 GPA throughout his undergraduate degree and now in veterinary school.

“Will is a fantastic student. To me, he holds himself to a high standard because his goal is to graduate with a complete 4.0 GPA, which is awesome,” says Stacy Newman, director of philanthropy at The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. “The current generation of college students have faced so much adversity, and Will rose above that. It never seemed to bother him.”

Will Shelby (left) is thawing an embryo as he prepares to perform ET. His dad, a veterinarian, standing by to help him with the process.

Impacting the Future of Agriculture

After completing veterinary school, Shelby plans to return to southern Oklahoma. He is passionate about the cattle industry, and he looks forward to working as a large animal vet who specializes in bovine reproduction and embryo transfers. He is also passionate about continuing to help youth within the agricultural industry, cultivating opportunities for future generations.

“After vet school, I’d really like to stay involved in livestock judging and the youth ag industry as much as I can. I think it’s something that’s so crucial to kids,” Shelby says. “Growing up, it’s something that made a huge difference for me. With the crazy world we live in, if you can just get a kid into an ag class or to join 4-H, I think it really can make such a big difference for them. I want to contribute to things like that as much as I can throughout my adulthood.”

Shelby has his own herd of club cattle that he sells prospect calves from every year. His voice lights up with excitement as he talks about his show calves and being able to help the young 4-H and FFA members who buy his livestock. Long after the calves leave Shelby’s family property, he continues to be involved with teaching the next generation of showmen and showwomen and ensuring their success. 

When asked why he wants to become a vet, Shelby spoke fondly of his childhood experiences riding along with his dad, who is also a veterinarian. It wasn’t necessarily the procedures or medical protocols that Shelby remembers, but the relationships and friendships that his father developed with different ranchers and stockmen throughout the area. 

“A big part that has always really interested me — and it may sound silly to some — is the interactions and relationships with people,” Shelby says. “I grew up watching my dad go and work cattle at someone’s ranch or farm. The interaction between cattle producers and veterinarians is something special.

“Getting to work alongside them, helping them improve and making their program more efficient is something that I’ve always thought was a neat aspect. I think that’s a big part of why I always wanted to be a veterinarian,” he says. “It will give me a great chance to not only be involved in that industry, but also work with people that I care about and meet other cattle producers.”

Will uses a portable ultrasound probe and headset with a digital display that allows him to see the ultrasound during the ET process. The cow is being held in place with a chute for safety.

The Legacy of the Sam Noble Scholarship

Shelby’s passions in life exemplify the goals of what the Sam Noble Scholarship hopes to accomplish, Newman says, so much so that he was awarded a $10,000 scholarship for his undergraduate studies and a $12,500 scholarship for his graduate school studies. 

“The intent of the scholarship is to support those who are continuing their education in an ag-related discipline who will come back to rural Oklahoma and make a difference in those communities,” Newman says.

The Sam Noble Scholarship was founded in the 1990s with the mission of supporting agricultural students from one of 15 designated counties in southern Oklahoma who plan to return to the area and work within the agricultural industry.

Recipients must be pursuing education in an agricultural field or pursuing a technology certificate. Since the first scholarship was awarded in 1999, more than $2.4 million has been awarded to students who exemplify the future of agriculture. The scholarships are awarded based on scholastic merit as well as the student’s essay responses. Students who show a passion for agriculture and a heart for their rural communities sort themselves to the top of the candidates, according to Newman. 

To find more information on the scholarship and if you are eligible to apply, visit https://noblefoundation.org/scholarships. The online application period for Fall 2023 scholarships opens January 1 and closes March 1.

Will Shelby updates breeding records as his father provides assistance. The genetic records will show which embryos went into which cow.

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe

Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics prepares the next generation of scholars

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics prepares the next generation of scholars

By Maggie Malson

Recognized as a top 1% U.S. high school and named “#1 Best Public High School” in the state by niche.com, the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics has proven itself a valuable educational asset.

Since 1992, OSSM has graduated more than 1,900 high school students, with 85% of them maintaining a career in a STEM field after their post-secondary education and 60% remaining in or returning to Oklahoma.

“An emphasis on math and science is the direction the world is taking. If we want to maintain our leadership position in the world, we must have well-prepared scientists, mathematicians, computer scientists, doctors, engineers and more,” says Edna Manning, interim president of OSSM. “It’s essential to national security and the gross production of what we do in this country. So much is based on technology. It takes good understanding of mathematics and science to make that technology possible.”

OSSM provides free public education with an emphasis on rigorous course work in math and science as well as humanities to qualifying juniors and seniors. Students from all 77 counties of the state have attended OSSM, which is located in Oklahoma City on a 32-acre campus. Regional centers scattered throughout the state also offer an option to rural students who want to complete more advanced classes while also staying at their home high school.

“There are good rural schools all over the state, but because of attendance numbers or financing, they can’t always offer some of the advanced courses we can or – due to the teacher shortage our nation is experiencing – they may not be able to fill positions for physics or chemistry teachers in the smaller districts,” Manning explains. “We’re an option for some of the very bright young people in our state who have an interest in science and math and have grown up in a rural community.”

OSSM President Edna McDuffie Manning, Ed. D., stands in front of the building named in her honor, the Manning Academic Center.

OSSM funding comes from the state, but it also relies on generous donations from individuals, foundations and corporations to offer a residential, college-like experience to its students.

“The Noble Foundation was one of the early contributors when the school was founded,” says Manning, who became the first employee and president of the school in 1988, serving in that role for 25 years. “They understood the need for more well-prepared scientists and their impact on the future of the state. What the Noble Foundation does is so vital to the scientific community, as well as to the welfare of the people.”

In its mission, the Noble Foundation supports charitable organizations that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

“OSSM fits two of those categories — supporting education and building stronger communities,” says Stacy Newman, Noble Foundation’s director of philanthropy. The Noble Foundation also supports Noble Research Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization.

Dr. Amy Roberson works with students in her Plant and Soil Science course, a class that is directly impacted by philanthropic funding from The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. Dr. Roberson also teaches courses in endocrinology, embryology, genetics and microbiology.

“Noble Research Institute assists farmers and ranchers as they regenerate the land in a profitable manner,” she adds. “We understand in order to continue the Institute’s mission and vision, we have to get students interested in math and science at a young age.”

OSSM provides a unique learning experience and fills a void. If, for example, students in a public or private school complete the highest level of math or science their school has to offer, they can apply to OSSM. Not only is OSSM free to Oklahoma residents, but it gives these students, who wish to excel further in math and science, courses that are taught at higher levels than in traditional public schools.

“In two years, we try to give students a solid background in mathematics and the sciences,” Manning says. “We require biology, physics and chemistry for every student. We try to set them on the path of being scholars and being successful people, not only because of their knowledge base, but also in their ability to learn.”

Since 1994, the Noble Foundation has granted $875,000 to OSSM. The funding contributed to the construction of buildings early on, providing teacher workshops and supplies, and in recent years, supplementing faculty salaries. The grant money helps OSSM retain a high-quality teaching staff, with 90% of the faculty holding doctorate degrees in their respective academic fields.

Amy Roberson, Ph.D. in cell biology, has been teaching at OSSM since 2011. Her classes include plant and soil science, microbiology, molecular and cellular biology, human biology, endocrinology, embryology and genetics.

“I worked closely with Noble Research Institute to develop a plant and soil science course to bring more agriculture into the classroom,” Roberson says. “Some of our students who have taken the plant and soil class go on to study environmental science, plant science or environmental engineering.”

Noble Foundation paid for her to attend a Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education Institute, which is a two-week summer course that provides hands-on labs and activities teachers can incorporate into their classrooms.

 “We get students from diverse backgrounds, both from rural and urban areas,” she adds. “It makes it challenging as a teacher, but also creates a unique environment for learning and in-depth discussions. I probably learn from the students as much as they learn from me. These students are quick learners, ask tough questions and not only excel in math and science, but many are also talented writers, musicians and artists.”

Calculus and physics teacher Tony Cornforth, with an M.S. in mathematics, echoes Roberson’s thoughts about OSSM students.

“The students who decide to come to OSSM are characterized by a greater desire to focus on academics, as well as having academic ambition,” Cornforth says. “They are here because they want to go to a Top 50 university and want to pursue a career in a STEM field that is lofty, interesting and lucrative. These students are highly motivated in their studies.”

Many of the students he teaches go on to pursue careers in the medical, engineering and computer science fields.

“OSSM provides transformational growth and positions students for a rewarding career,” Cornforth says. “It does more than increase their knowledge. They learn time and stress management, how to be disciplined and to live in a community with culturally, religiously and racially diverse people. It’s a whole element of character development and personal growth for our students on top of the academic gains they experience.”

Cornforth adds that they are maturing not only as students, but also as people.

“It’s rewarding and satisfying to see as a teacher,” he says. “Hopefully that growth doesn’t stop, but continues into college and their career.”“We know there are many bright, young people all over the state of Oklahoma,” Manning concludes. “We typically have about 140-150 students on campus, but our facilities were built to allow for up to 280 students. We are ready to grow and be able to reach more students.”

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe

Cities in Schools partners elementary kids with HS mentors to foster success

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

Cities in Schools partners elementary kids with HS mentors to foster success

By Katie Maupin Miller

Goals aren’t one size fits all, and neither are the paths to pursue them.

Cities in Schools (CIS) empowers young people to overcome obstacles in their pursuit of education and build new relationships along the way. 

“Cities in Schools want to cultivate success stories from each kid,” says Mikinzie Price, CIS executive director. “It is our goal to support each student on their path. Meeting them where they are and letting them know we’re there with you.”

Once an off-site afterschool and summer program, CIS saw a need in its community after the pandemic left gaps in elementary education. The familiar routine and meaningful social interactions most students found in the classroom were missing when in-person schooling was shuttered during the COVID-19 scramble. So, in the fall of 2021, Cities in Schools pivoted to the current service-learning program, a cost-free mentoring program pairing at-risk elementary school children with high school students.

“The overall goal would just be to support kids who don’t have a lot of support or have something missing in their lives,” says John Silver, Plainview Elementary vice principal and CIS liaison. “Whether the students need academic help, or maybe they have a harder home life, or whatever it is, there’s a wide range; we want to come alongside them and connect to them with a role model.”

Every Tuesday and Thursday, the high school students, fondly called “bigs,” set up their classroom and prepare for their “littles” to arrive. More than 40 high school students participate in the program, sharing a snack with their mentees and working on homework before enjoying a fun activity together — ranging from Dr. Seuss rap battles to constructing towers out of spaghetti noodles.

While the program’s schedule may seem straightforward, the relationships fostered within CIS make it magical. Each elementary student works to improve areas they struggle with, whether it is multiplication tables or making new friends at the lunch table.

The compassionate, driven group of high school mentors showcase the diverse paths young people can take to success. The older students come from a plethora of backgrounds and interests — athletes, artists, “techies” and musicians — all modeling a love for learning and connection-building. Regardless of their chosen career path, graduating mentors are eligible for scholarships awarded by CIS, which can be used to pay for college tuition or tools for technical school. It’s the diversity of the CIS program and the individual assistance it provides young people which makes the program unique.

Each semester students submit surveys to summarize their mentoring experience. Most write fondly of interacting with their mentors, improving their reading and learning new things. One response in particular captured the power of the relationships forged during CIS.

What’s the best thing about mentoring? One elementary student answered, “Playing outside and doing homework and him helping me. He makes me happy when I almost get a little bit angry.”

Stacy Newman, the board chairman of Cities in Schools, said the mentoring program is successful because it’s not just focused on academics – but connects teens and youngsters personally.

“If a student is having a bad day and just needs someone to talk to, CIS mentors are available,” she said. “There is still an academic component, but we let the Bigs set the curriculum for that mentoring session. We keep the students between the lines while allowing flexibility with each mentor to determine the direction of the session. The high school mentors have done amazing work and are beginning their path of pay it forward charitable giving.” The mentors work hard to help the younger children, but they learn a lot about responsibility, building relationships and themselves in the process.

“I love hanging out with the kids and always be(ing) able to make them smile…and help(ing) them not worry about anything at least for a little while,” one high school student wrote.

As CIS executive director, Price sees firsthand the difference it makes in the lives of young people. She hears about their improved schoolwork, sees how they make new friends and receives gracious emails from parents writing to say the program gave them back their Thursday evenings to focus on family.

“I think that as a society, we sometimes forget how great challenges can be when you’re little. It is tough navigating a world that you’re trying to figure out. They’re doing that at 7 years old, and we expect them to do it easily,” Price says. “We must be conscious that they’re learning, adapting to so much and overcoming daily challenges. I’m in awe of the littles and bigs. I think each kid’s challenges are individual to them. It may be not having as many school supplies or overcoming a learning disability.”

Helping young people tackle everyday challenges so they can focus on achieving their goals is the core of CIS’ mission. From the widely successful service-learning program, now offered in two local schools, to creating resource rooms for students and staff. Price, her board, the school staff and CIS liaisons are listening to their community to provide for south central Oklahoma’s young people. And such an ambitious mission wouldn’t be possible without support.

Mentors and mentees from Plainview schools prepare to sing Christmas carols for residents of Southbrook Healthcare.
Mentors from Plainview High School work with mentees from Plainview Elementary schools to tutor students individually and work with them in group activities.

Supporting Education

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation has granted CIS more than $500,000  during the last two decades to support the organization’s mission to enhance literacy in a safe, nurturing environment. CIS’ goals go hand-in-hand with the Noble Foundation’s values, which support the Noble Board’s vision to cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities through philanthropy and charitable grants.

Cities in Schools’ recent pivot to an in-school mentoring program rather than an off-site afterschool program excited the Board, which encourages nonprofits to constantly find new ways to meet the needs of their community. Stacy Newman, who also serves as the Director of Philanthropy for the Noble Foundation, said the foundation supported Cities in Schools’ evolution.

“The foundation was very pleased that Cities in Schools was forward-thinking while coming out of the pandemic and found a path to stay plugged into our community.” 

CIS participants gather at Southbrook Healthcare to carol for residents as part of their community service outreach.

Newman said the CIS program shift to mentoring came after the Cities in Schools Board of Directors asked how the organization could better serve the community and continue when faced with the pandemic and remote learning challenges. The CIS Board took a leap of faith into an area that, in our community, was missing. Newman said that by turning to mentoring, especially during remote learning, Cities in Schools began to address a much-needed issue in the Ardmore area.

“We felt we could better serve the community by partnering with the local schools,” she said.

While the Noble Foundation has strong ties to the Ardmore area, nonprofits and government subsidiaries inside the U.S. are welcome to submit letters of inquiry through the Foundation’s online grant management system from Jan. 1 through June 30 each year. These letters will be reviewed before the formal distribution of grant applications. 

Price is grateful for the Noble Foundation’s continued support of CIS.

“Noble’s support and kindness have just been grounding and stabilizing,” she says. “It encourages us to keep going daily when you have people in your corner like Noble.”

With community support from organizations like Noble, Cities in Schools can continue to provide opportunities for young people.

Perhaps Silver summarized it best.

“The heart of this program is just helping kids, meeting needs and reaching out to those who need.”

Mentors and mentees play games together.

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe

More Articles

Making Magic

Gene Waxman on November 14, 2023

Making Magic

Noble Foundation philanthropic efforts promote creative, cultural change in southern Oklahoma

By Jessica Willingham

There isn’t an occupied seat in the audience, but the Charles B. Goddard Center for the Visual and Performing Arts is bustling with activity. A crew with the Ardmore Little Theater works to transform the empty main stage into the iconic setting of August: Osage County. The whirring sounds of construction fill the auditorium as a director weaves among stagehands, guiding them as to how soft the stage lights need to be as the curtains open for Act One.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building, a resident artist assists senior citizens with creating their first watercolor; a dance teacher instructs five little ballerinas in how to plié; and a classroom of students walk their parents through an art gallery, proudly displaying their works.

Like a Jackson Pollack painting, the Goddard Center has a lot going on. But, if a person takes a step back and views the image as a whole, one will find that each component works in sync to form a living masterpiece.

Painting classes are just one way the Goddard Center brings art appreciation to southern Oklahoma residents.

The Dream

It was Charles B. Goddard’s wife, Ethel, who dreamed of a center for the arts in her community. She was the librarian for Ardmore High School, and her best friend, Lil Williams, was an actor, director and key player in Ardmore’s community theater. Like their friendship, Ethel believed the arts and the classroom worked beautifully together. She set out to make it happen. The center broke ground for construction in Ardmore, Okla., in 1969. Ethel chose to name it the Charles B. Goddard Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in honor of her late husband, a man she described as the most generous person she had ever known.

A photo capturing the groundbreaking ceremony hangs in the Goddard Center’s administrative office. The black-and-white image of Ethel can be seen smiling proudly while surrounded by her many supporters.

One of those supporters was, and still is, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. Since the groundbreaking, the Noble Foundation has provided more than $1 million in grants. In 2013, the organization continued its tradition of support with an additional $30,000 for operational funds and outreach programs.

“The Goddard Center provides social programs and community projects that improve the quality of life in southern Oklahoma,” said Mary Kate Wilson, director of philanthropy, engagement and project management at the Noble Foundation. “We are proud to assist in continuing that legacy of service.”

The kinship between the two organizations came naturally. The Goddard Center and the Noble Foundation share similar roots – ones that have grown deeper and more entwined through the decades. Both Charles B. Goddard and the Noble Foundation’s founder, Lloyd Noble, were Oklahoma wildcatters, accomplished entrepreneurs and dedicated philanthropists. The Goddard Center and the Noble Foundation both call Ardmore home. And each generation of respective leaders has joined in supporting each other’s organization by serving on boards, as trustees, members and volunteers.

“I think the relationship between the center and the Foundation speaks volumes for both organizations,” said Leila Lenore, executive director at the Goddard Center. “The impact of the grant monies we receive from the Noble Foundation cannot be overstated. The educational, economic and social dividends provided by the performing and visual arts are important to both the vitality and viability of southern Oklahoma.”

Construction of the Goddard Center building in downtown Ardmore began in 1969.

Reaching Out

Ethel Goddard passed away before the Goddard Center opened its doors to the public, but her passion for joining culture with community continues. Today, hundreds of children, adults and senior citizens attend any of the 12 art classes and workshops available each semester. Classes range from pottery, drawing and painting to granite sculpting, which is taught by 2008 National Medal of Arts recipient Jesús Morales. The center is also home to the Ardmore Little Theatre, a nonprofit performing arts organization.

The quality and frequency of new performances, exhibits and classes held at the Goddard Center is dependent on grants, donations, sponsorships and revenue generated from the center’s 500 memberships. An average of eight performances and six traveling exhibits are hosted each year, featuring regional and professional artists. In the 2013-2014 season, the center will host American cultural performances, Made in Oklahoma exhibits and the Oklahoma Arts Conference. Even Metropolitan Opera performances will be live-streamed from New York City directly into the center’s theater which features a large two-story screen.

Yet the center’s mission isn’t confined to its own walls. Outreach programs, funded by donors like the Noble Foundation, take art out of the gallery and into the community. These programs provide scholarships for summer art camps and art classes; free performances for local school groups and gallery tours; and free dance and movement lessons at preschools. The Goddard Center has also launched an integrated arts program as part of their outreach efforts, beginning with Jefferson Elementary School in Ardmore.

“I think teaching is so strict and focused on meeting certain standards that we’ve lost some creativity in the classroom,” said Robyn Spriggs, a music teacher at Jefferson Elementary. “Art allows our students to open their minds and see things in a different light.”

The program enabled the school to hire an art instructor to work with teachers to integrate art into everyday lessons. Students learned to associate movement with vocabulary and incorporated cultural art into history courses. This style of learning offered a different and effective way for students to retain information while gaining confidence. Soon after the program began, students’ speaking and presentation skills improved.

“Since bringing art into the classroom, we have watched our students’ self-esteem skyrocket,” Spriggs said. “That self-esteem translates into other areas. Our test scores have improved significantly, and we have been able to steadily maintain higher scores.”

Following the success of Jefferson Elementary, the Goddard Center has moved their program to Ardmore’s Lincoln Elementary School. The Goddard Center continues to use these art programs as a tool for educational reform, social change and economic activity in southern Oklahoma.

Actors in an Ardmore Little Theater group perform Les Misérables on the Goddard Center stage.

Beyond the Classroom

While Ethel’s passion for education is still at the forefront of the Goddard Center’s outreach efforts, serving the community through art doesn’t stop with the students. The Goddard Center believes art is for everyone, especially underserved citizens. In that spirit, the center provides free concert opportunities to senior citizen centers, veterans, and people with mental, physical or developmental disabilities. Watching a child discover her passion for dance or a stroke victim regain the use of his hands through a pottery class has made the center’s efforts worthwhile to everyone who has donated their time or money to the mission.

“At its core, art transcends languages, cultures, disabilities and age,” Lenore said. “It is the great equalizer in a multicultural community that can be enjoyed, no matter your background or socioeconomic status.”

According to Regina Turrentine, a volunteer, the center has become a home for many. While organizations designed for the arts can sometimes be viewed as a place for a select few, the Goddard Center is a bustling and welcoming place for everyone and every artistic taste, she said.

A growing interest in the arts has recently fueled more diversity in musical performances at the Goddard Center – like Junior Brown, John Fullbright, and The Black Lilies – in addition to classical genres.

In Turrentine’s nearly 40 years as a volunteer, she has seen the center’s work return to it 10-fold. Volunteer and membership numbers have increased, community involvement has been sparked, and the arts have gone from sparse to alive and well in southern Oklahoma. Turrentine believes art has changed Ardmore, then art can change the world.

“The world is chaotic and besieged,” Turrentine said. “But when people see beauty, they become more beautiful in their behavior and expectations. To walk into the Goddard Center and see all the beauty happening here – it’s magic.”

Noble Foundation News

Stay up to date on all the ways the Noble Foundation is helping address agricultural challenges and supporting causes that cultivate good health, support education and build stronger communities.

Subscribe