By OBF President Susan B. Shields

On August 22nd, I had the pleasure of attending an all-day meeting of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation’s Grants and Awards Committee.  At this meeting, the Committee, under the able leadership of Judge Millie Otey, interviewed applicants for 2013 OBF grants.  This annual meeting always proves to be one of the most gratifying experiences as an OBF Trustee.  It is impossible to sit through the grants and awards meeting without being overwhelmed by the generosity of the many Oklahoma lawyers and laypersons dedicated to bettering the lives of those less fortunate.  Endeavors such as those represented by these grant applicants should make us all proud to be members of the Oklahoma bar.  The services provided by grant applicants fall into three broad categories: legal services, support for victims, including children, of physical and emotional violence and law related education.  The grantee charitable organizations provide services in every corner of the state.  The grant process involves a thorough evaluation of grant proposals by the Foundation’s Grants and Awards Committee, and a unanimous approval of the Committee’s recommendations by OBF Trustees.  The Trustees are pleased to announce this year’s OBF grants, which follow:

• YMCA Statewide Youth & Government Program, Youth Model Legislative Day and new ABA National Judicial Competition – $3,600
• Senior Law Resource Center, Elder law legal service, educational outreach program utilizing law-students – $10,000
• Center for Children & Families, Arbitration Program for court order services for children in Cleveland and surrounding counties – $10,000
• Family & Children’s Services, Tulsa County Family Court Program for courthouse resource coordinator – $4,000
• William W. Barnes Children’s Advocacy Center, child abuse training & response programming in Rogers, Mayes & Craig counties – $4,000
• Community Crisis Center, Ottawa county victims’ court advocate services – $5,000
• Teen Court, Inc., Comanche county first offenders peer program for positive resolution of misdemeanor offenses plus conflict resolutions/anger management training – $12,500
• Domestic Violence Intervention Services/Call RAPE, Inc., Tulsa & Creek counties court advocate for delivery of civil legal services to low-income survivors of domestic & sexual violence – $11,000
• Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, operational expense funding for statewide delivery of legal services for low-income & elderly Oklahomans – $160,000
• Marie Detty Youth & Family Services Center, domestic violence/sexual assault victims’  court advocate providing services in a six county area from Comanche county – $12,000
• OILS, Low-Income Taxpayer Legal Clinic, provision of paralegal staffing for the statewide legal clinic for low-income Oklahomans – $5,000
• Family Shelter of Southern Oklahoma, part-time Carter county victims; court advocate – $3,000
• TU Boesch Legal Clinic, Immigrant Rights Project, clinical educational program providing legal services to vulnerable non-citizen residents of Oklahoma while providing TU law-students with educational & professional development opportunities, Tulsa County & Eastern Oklahoma – $4,000
• Tulsa Lawyers for Children,staff coordination support of attorney pro bono legal services for deprived children in Juvenile Court and representation at emergency show cause hearings –$40,000
• Oklahoma Lawyers for Children, staff coordination support of attorney pro bono legal services for deprived children in Juvenile Court and representation at emergency show cause hearings –$40,000
• Oklahoma CASA Association, funding towards provision of mandatory training for volunteers, directors & staff at annual statewide conference – $1,200
• OBA-YLD Oklahoma High School Mock Trial Program, overall program support of the statewide law-related educational program for high school students through to national competition –$46,600

Total Regular 2013 OBF Grant Awards          =          $356,900
View OBF By the Numbers-2013