A Safe Space for Kids and Teens in Rural Oklahoma Most rural parts of the United States lack sufficient services for homeless or at-risk youth. Shelters focused especially on youth intervention are rare but not non-existent in rural Oklahoma. Community Youth Services of Southern Oklahoma (CYS) offers rural youth more Read more
More Space for Sunshine and Smiles A new building enables the Sunshine Industries Adult Day Services program to grow, thanks in part to the Noble Foundation. By Courtney Leeper A crafter’s dream lay strewn across a long table with four people on either side. Red, blue, green, yellow. Feathers, foam Read more
A Force For Good Children experience bright moments in difficult times thanks to Mr. Tom’s Heart. By Jessica Willingham “I’m too old to be dangerous,” Tom Umstead laughs. Underestimating this 86-year-old would be your first mistake. It’s only 5 a.m., but “Mr. Tom” has been awake for hours picking up Read more
Strengthening the Community’s Place The newly renovated Ardmore Family YMCA provides community members with more space to stretch their muscles and build life-long friendships. By Andrea Mongler The Ardmore Family YMCA has been a fixture of the community for so long that not many residents remember a time when it Read more
Delivering The Dream Langston University nursing program fills needs for southern Oklahoma students. By Jessica Willingham Ardmore is the largest city in Oklahoma without a four-year university. To a region an hour from a metro and surrounded by small towns, higher education looks a bit like the yellow brick road: Read more
A Chance to Change Goes Online Noble Foundation provides funding to help A Chance to Change continue programs to help Oklahomans live healthy, addiction-free lives. The Oklahoma City-based nonprofit A Chance to Change (ACTC) gives Oklahomans just that — an opportunity to change their lives for the better. One ACTC client describes Read more
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 Read more
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 Read more
Experiencing the Trail Noble Foundation supports museum’s effort to preserve and retell the story of Oklahoma’s famed Chisholm Trail By Patrick McSweeney The smell of bacon floats through the early morning air. Breakfast on the prairie is quick, and soon the cattle roundup will move on. The wind blows the Read more
Earning More Than Badges A legacy of collaboration and participation builds stronger ties between the Noble Foundation and regional Boy Scout organization by Jessica Willingham The Noble Foundation and Boy Scouts of America Arbuckle Area Council (BSA-AAC) have been sharing campfires for nearly 50 years. The relationship began with Sam Read more