At Positive Tomorrows, food is an everyday essential.  Food is important, not only for our students nutritionally, but also for their academic development.  Imagine trying to understand concepts like math or grammar when hunger pangs take over your thoughts.  Hunger is a    problem many of our students face daily.

“Feeding breakfast to our students is one of the ways we help our students focus,” said Susan Agel, president of Positive Tomorrows.  “It is a large expense for us but one that we know is critical to the success of our students.”

 Unlike Positive Tomorrows, not all schools include breakfast as a part of the daily schedule.  Most schools require students to arrive early in order to get breakfast and students who ride the bus generally arrive right as the first bell rings.  Children without private transportation may not get breakfast.

 “The importance of food became clear to me when I heard one of our youngest students asking for 2nds and 3rds at breakfast one Monday morning.  He told me he had not eaten since he had been at school on Friday,” said April Doshier, Director of Development.  “Going an    entire weekend without food is something no child should ever face.”

One of the ways we tackle this problem of weekend     hunger is through our participation in the backpack program coordinated by Regional Food Bank of  Oklahoma.  Every Friday, we send food home with our students to help fight weekend hunger. 

 We also feed our children family-style so children who need a little more can have a second helping of potatoes or pasta.  This  requires us to spend a little more on food bills but it is something we consider a necessity.  Any food left over is sent home with a student in order to supplement the family’s diet at home.

The meals we provide to our students are more than just blocks of the          nutritional pyramid.  It is true that breakfast is often a forgotten meal for those of us who have plenty to eat.  But when a young child who is hungry on  Sunday morning looks forward to breakfast the next day, the meal brings much more than just biscuits and gravy.  It brings hope—hope that tomorrow will be better than today.

“I was told quite honestly by a 4^th grader here at Positive Tomorrows that it didn’t make sense to have a pet,” said April Doshier, director of development.  “You would just have to leave it when you move.”

At Positive Tomorrows, class pets are viewed as an important educational tool.  Children need to learn how to nurture and love another living thing.  Using a class pet is an easy way to teach that to our students.

Also, according to Myriah Walker, assistant kindergarten teacher, many of the core skills taught to kindergarten students can be taught using class pets. 

“Students can learn to observe, measure, listen and describe what is happening with their little class friend,” said Walker.  “We’re hoping to be able to purchase a leopard gecko for the class this year.” 

According to Doshier, the cost of the pet is not in the Positive Tomorrows budget.

“The total expense of everything we need works out to about $200” said Doshier.  “We’re hoping someone will step up and make a donation above their normal giving amount to help us purchase this important classroom resource.”

To make a gift towards the purchase of a gecko or to support the many other initiatives at Positive Tomorrows, visit our secure giving site and reference this story. 

Click here to make a gift toward the purchase of the kindergarten class pet.

Students will discover the characteristics of the genre of poetry and use this knowledge as a way of creating a sense of community in the classroom.  This is an exciting new addition to our curriculum that will provide so much more than an academic lesson.  Students will work in small groups, interview one another, and share their work with the class. Activities that encourage students to work together help them learn to work cooperatively and support one another. It’s a great way to employ best practices in literacy instruction, including read aloud, shared reading, and assisted/interactive writing.

We need your help in this program.  We have created a wish list through Amazon.com with books and exercises necessary to the poetry unit.  Prices range from $6.00 to $40.00 per book.  Please take a look at our wish list and see if there is a book that inspires you.

 Here is a link to our wish list, http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/2YM5MY2LK4XQI

But first, we want this school year to be the best ever.  To get ready, we are reviewing our curriculum to ensure our students learn the most up-to-date information that complies with Oklahoma educational standards and we stock our shelves with all of the supplies our students will need.  We are planning for the meals we know are critical to our students.  And as we plan, we know that we will need your help. 

Our food program costs Positive Tomorrows around $30,000 per year.  We insist upon serving hot and hearty food to our students knowing it may be their only meals for the day.  Though expensive, it’s a necessity for learning and child development.  Your financial gift would help us pay for food and for many other expenses, such as assuring for adequately-staffed, comfortable classrooms.

We also need help with school supplies.  We provide all school supplies to our students so no child is ever without the essentials needed to learn and no parent has to scrape together scarce resources to buy paper and pencils.  Below is a list of supplies our teachers have specifically requested for this school year.

Volunteers are also a resource that needs replenishing.  We need mentors to encourage and build relationships with our students.  This requires a weekly commitment so each student has one person they can spend time with each week.  We need commitments from people to help with lunch and recess duty once a week and also to help spend extra time tutoring students who need more individual attention.

These are only a few opportunities for supporting Positive Tomorrows.  We hope you are excited about what we do and want to be involved.  However you choose to help, please know that we appreciate you and count you a close friend to homeless children in our community.  

Schools Supplies for 2010-2011 School Year   (Bold items are priorities for current need)               

Annual Report 2009

The halls of Positive Tomorrows are filled daily with children who are happy, hopeful and full of possibilities.  Like the handprints painted on our walls, these children leave their impression in our school.   Take Chris, who struggled  to stay caught up in school.  At Positive Tomorrows,  he was able to accellerate his reading skills and become a capable student and an avid reader.  Justin and Jason were a pair of brothers who were defiant and        dis-interested in school.  Just two weeks into school, these brothers not only changed their behavior, but found a love of school they had never experienced.  They wanted to stay here all the time, to sleep in school.  Their progress was miraculous.   In one semester, these boys progressed more than a single grade level in one or more subjects.

Stories like these are just a small piece of our annual report.  These stories could not exist without the volunteers mentoring the children, donors giving their hard-earned dollars, teachers and staff members coming in each day tenacious and full of spunk and our board advising us and helping us grow.    Being a part of Positive Tomorrows is a journey with our children.  We see their eyes light up as they learn something new.   We help them see the future for what it is, positive and full of hope.

In reviewing this annual report, know that each one of you shares in the successes.  Each meal provided was due to your belief in the children of Positive Tomorrows.  Each ride to school was based on your trust in our services and each time a child meets his or her mentor, those hugs are given by each one of you.

Thank you for all of your friendship over the years.  Our vision for the future holds big goals for our school.  We hope you come with us as we provide more children hope for the future; more Positive Tomorrows.

Click to view Annual Report 2009

To help us become a Sanctuary of Hope for homeless children, Donate Now.

Your friendship means the world to our students and their families.  Thanks for all of your kindness and for thinking of us. 

wish list handout

Samantha, Miranda and Julia

The holiday season is especially hard for homeless families.    For most of us, the holiday season opens our hearts to the world around us.  We provide gifts for others to express our love and appreciation for them.  The holiday season is inspiring.  But for homeless families,  they continue to struggle to locate a place to sleep and food to eat, often finding themselves forced to admit to their children that Christmas may not happen this year.

This holiday season, please consider giving a financial gift to Positive Tomorrows so that we can help homeless children and their families achieve the lifestyles with which we all have grown accustomed.  We help them find permanent homes so that they too can hang stockings and decorate  trees with lights and shiny ornaments.  Let this holiday season inspire you to be a part of change in their lives. 

Happy Holidays from all of us at Positive Tomorrows!!

Wish List

Gift Certificates from Lakeshore or Mardels
Shurley English Levels I & II  Kits
Saxon Phonics 1 & 2 Teachers Manuals

Teaching Materials

Book Display for Large Children’s Books
2-6 foot Tables and 2-8 foot Tables

Household Items (Kitchen & Linens)

Bean Bag Chairs
Gas Certificates for Parents
Working Car Stereo Installed for Bus
Newer Laptop and Digital Video Projector
New Gifts Ages 0-12    (for Birthdays)
Boys & Girls Belts
New Shoes for Kids and Adults
Hand Sanitizer and Clorox Wipes
Trashbags
Electric Pencil Sharpeners
Alarm Clocks