How one little boy's first birthday made a difference

Birthdays are an important day whether you are turning one or 107. In most cases, the first birthday is the cutest, with cake everywhere and a face full of icing. For one-year-old Jayce, his birthday party proved that even with cake covered cheeks you can make a difference in the world no matter what your age.

The birthday boy after his party.

Jayce is already a giver --whether he's giving loving squeezes to his stuffed animals or consoling a crying nursery mate with a tender hug-- and as his first birthday inched closer his parents saw an opportunity to help others instead of adding to a roomful of toys.

"Before we had our son, my husband and I both agreed we wanted to teach him the value of volunteer work and doing things for others over yourself," said Jayce's mom, Maurisa. "When his first birthday was getting closer we realized that Jayce has plenty of toys. We decided for his first birthday we wanted to start the lesson of giving."

Seuss themed goodies and cakes.

As a counselor at Moore High School, working with a parenting group that is ran by CCFI, Maurisa and her family see firsthand the benefits from the programs and felt that they should give back to the agency by hosting a Dr. Seuss themed benefit party for Jayce's birthday.

And the timing could not have been better as Jayce's birthday weekend kicked off a week of national reading celebrations during Dr. Seuss's 107th birthday for Read Across America Day on March 2nd.

Cake time!

"We chose the Dr. Seuss theme because we love books. Jayce loves to sit and flip through his board books," Maurisa said. "We value reading as a foundation for his future and have read to him every night since he was a month old."

As friends and family arrived for a Seussational adventure filled with red fish and blue fish made out of Jello and 478 diapers in tow, Jayce--with his cake-filled fists-- his very proud parents, and their guests gave local children and families much needed items from the CCFI wish list.

When the party came to an end and all the cake had been washed away, Jayce climbed into his chair- looking a little bit bare- and there he sat, exhausted, cuddled up with his Grinch stuffed animal... and after a year of laughter, learning and fun this little philanthropist turned one.

How Cookies and Cupcakes Led to Contributions

First Presbyterian's Circle Four Women's Group: Cookie Exchangg

Back in November, I attended a “tour” of CCFI at our church, First Presbyterian, presented by Katie Fitzgerald.  Katie spoke with such passion about the neglected and abused children here in our own community that I couldn’t help but be moved by the needs of these children in Norman.  When I heard about the benefit event cupcake parties, I was impressed not only with the idea of having people bring a CCFI donation item to our Christmas cookie exchange, but also with how easy the food preparation would be with the assistance of CCFI’s cupcake program.  Since bakeries around Norman agree to donate cupcakes to CCFI for benefit parties, the baking was already done! 

The best part of making my Christmas cookie exchange a CCFI benefit event was seeing how people can band together to help others.  The ladies of First Presbyterian’s Circle Four women’s group loved helping mothers and children in Norman.  A simple gathering of church ladies for Christmas produced amazing results for CCFI!  While I know that our contributions are merely a drop in the bucket of what CCFI may need, it was wonderful to see how contributing to a cause brought all of us together.  And, I know that our efforts are greatly appreciated.

CCFI works in our own community to improve the lives of children and parents.  I love how they fight for children and work to root out the causes of childhood neglect and abuse through counseling, programming, and nurturing and providing for children’s’ basic needs.  I highly recommend that others use the CCFI’s benefit event program and have cupcake parties of their own!  It couldn’t be easier, and it couldn’t be more rewarding.

- Written by Connie Hall [with Rebecca Davis]

Jack's Celebration

Jack and his friend, Kira, Celebrating their CAKE par

For most 8-year-olds, tearing open countless presents from family and friends usually only happens during the holidays and on birthdays. But that was not the case for one boy, who requested that his guests bring gifts for others during his CAKE (Celebrating Adopted Kids, Everyday!) celebration during November.

As a young philanthropist, Jack Flax is inspired by his parents, Troy and Jenny, to give back to the community and saw their CAKE celebration as a way to inspire others.

“We really wanted Jack to do something special not only for himself, but for others as well,” said Jack’s mother, Jenny. “We invited all our friends with adopted children to the CAKE party and made it a benefit party for CCFI. I think helping a local agency made it even more special for us, the guests and especially for Jack.”

Jack's cake, it says: "Happy Adoption Day Jack"

Jack and his friends and family raised over 250 diapers at their party last month, all of which went to the CCFI public diaper and formula closet.  The Flax family believes that philanthropy starts young and that learning to help others at an early age truly makes a difference. Here at CCFI we couldn’t agree more. Teaching young children to perform great acts of kindness, such as this, is an important life skill. Children, like Jack, are our future generation of volunteers and supporters and we are beginning to see younger philanthropists each year.

Jack’s mother, who’s been active in several of her own philanthropic adventures, couldn’t be more pleased. “Whatever your situation in life, there’s almost always someone who has it a little tougher than you do,” Jenny said. “I think that getting kids to understand about donating and giving back when they are young really makes a difference.”

Jack agreed and said, “It’s a really fun way to help and have fun with my friends!”

The Bare Necessity

Over the next few weeks we’d like to shed some light on a common necessity that is often overlooked, something that we all have either worn, purchased or changed: Diapers.

CCFI Public Diaper and Formula Closet.

A recent study from Huggies found that 55% of U.S. mothers have never before thought about the problem of caregivers in their community not having enough diapers for their children’s daily needs. However, compromising on necessities and only having a few diapers for a given day is more common than we think.
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Keeping a child in a clean diaper is a struggle for less fortunate families. Each day in Oklahoma caregivers are faced with the unfortunate decision of having to choose one basic necessity over another. When families have trouble providing diapers, there are typically few places they can turn for help. Many community based organizations and food banks don't usually carry diapers and government-based support programs do not allow for the purchase of diapers.

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Mothers report that keeping their child in a clean diaper is one of the most important things they do for their child. No matter a mother’s financial standing, marital status, ethnicity, or education- each one of them sees changing their child’s diaper as a wonderful act of love for their baby. For mothers living in hardship, this sentiment is felt even stronger when they are able to give their babies a clean diaper as this basic necessity can be a struggle to come by.

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With the help of community members, we have been able to keep the Center's Baby Pantry open to the public for more than 20 years. In the past year, we have given over 3,000 diapers and 350 cans of formula to families in need in the Norman community.
 

CCFI Benefit Parties!