Published: July 11, 2006 12:27 am            

Foundation issues $200,000 challenge

Youth & Family Services of North Central Oklahoma continues its capital campaign effort with a recently issued $220,000 challenge grant through the Mabee Foundation.

With the Mabee grant, YFS has raised nearly $1 million in its capital campaign effort. However, the challenge grant requires YFS to match the foundation’s $220,000 by raising additional funds from the community.

“Through the generous support of our donors, we have already raised the majority of the funds needed for the grant, and only have $100,000 left to raise,” said YFS Executive Director Justin Simmons.

“We are so happy that the Enid community will benefit from outside dollars because of this grant, and are especially excited that local funds will be matched dollar for dollar in this final leg of the campaign,” Simmons said.

To raise the remaining funds, YFS kicked off “100 Grand for Kids” on July 3.

Campaign chair Dr. Bert Rogers is optimistic the community will pull through.

“All we need to meet our $100,000 goal is for 100 people to commit $1,000 each to this campaign,” Rogers said. “The great thing is that a $1,000 gift is payable over three years, and amounts to less than the price of a candy bar or a cup of coffee a day.”

YFS operates both a youth shelter and counseling center and embarked on a fund-raising project last November to replace the youth shelter portion of the facility, with long-range plans to raise funds for the counseling center at a later date.

“The youth shelter portion of our building is falling down, and the counseling center is not holding up much better,” Simmons said. “Thanks to the Mabee Foundation, YFS can build the whole facility at once, and not have to go back to the community with another capital campaign years down the line.”

YFS Board President Coni Blankenship said, “This grant is great news. I am so pleased with the Mabee Foundation’s willingness to support YFS with this level of funding, and with the community’s support of this project.”

YFS has been working with an architect and volunteer building committee in designing the 11,000-square-foot facility, and the agency plans to break ground this fall. The building committee consists of John Sellers, Bob Dense, Larry McClure and Dennis Luckinbill.

Donations to the fund-raising campaign can be mailed to YFS at 2925 N. Midway, Enid, OK, 73703. Questions about the capital campaign can be directed to Simmons at 233-7220.

Youth and Family Services of North Central Oklahoma, founded in 1974 by Thelma Gungoll, is an Enid-based nonprofit agency that provides therapeutic foster care placement, counseling and other family-centered services to children and families. The agency primarily serves Garfield, Grant and Major counties, and currently operates the only emergency youth shelter in northwest Oklahoma.