Project Back-to-School Runway

The Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children Owasso campus holds its annual Back-to-School Style Show and Brunch on August 6.

On Saturday, August 6, the Owasso campus of the Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children (OBHC) will host its 14th annual Back-to-School Style Show and Brunch at the Renaissance Hotel in Tulsa  (71st and Highway 169). This year’s event features a western theme. All proceeds directly ­benefit the OBHC children.

“It’s a very special day for the children,” says Donna Brooks, OBHC Owasso’s ­regional development director. “This is a day where the focus is on them. In addition to receiving the clothing they need for the year, they also have the opportunity to feel loved and valued.”

At the show, each child will model two outfits. “Some of the children may be shy the first time out, but when they see the love and applause poured down on them, they really open up
and show off the second time,” says Brooks.

Scott Pallett, administrator of the OBHC Owasso campus, adds, “The Style Show goes beyond clothes. It really helps the children with their self-esteem. That’s one of the ­greatest values of this event.”

OBHC has been helping Oklahoma’s children for over a hundred years, since the Reverend J. A. Scott and his wife took in a sick baby in Oklahoma City in 1903. The Owasso campus opened in 1973, and provides basic residential services to boys and girls ages five through 18, residential maternity care, and mother-child programs for parenting for ­adolescent girls. “Our mission statement is what really sets us apart: to help children become capable, caring, Christian adults by sharing Christ’s love and ­providing help and homes for them,” says Brooks.

All funds raised from the Style Show benefit the children at the Owasso campus, and
will be used for school and church clothes. Surplus funds will be used for the children’s other basic needs. “This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” says Pallett. “It helps clothe
the ­children not only to go back to school, but also throughout the year.”

One way you can help is through OBHC’s Paper Doll project. For $200, a small
group such as a Sunday school class or community group can outfit a child.

The Style Show has come a long way in 14 years. “It’s truly remarkable,” says Brooks. “It started in the basement of First Baptist Church in Tulsa, and we plan to sell out 1,400 seats for this year’s show. It’s amazing how God has blessed it.”

News On 6 anchor LeAnne Taylor will be back for her seventh year emceeing the Style Show. “LeAnne is so funny and bright, and she has a true compassion for and interest in the children, and it shows,” Brooks says.

The shopping experience that the children are able to have because of the Style Show is also special, says Brooks. “Dennis Hix, the manager of Dillard’s in the Promenade Mall, gives the children breakfast, and then the employees go over the latest styles and trends with them. They have a pizza party for lunch, and they receive gifts when they leave. Dennis has a lot of compassion for them, and he really makes it a day  to remember.”

The Style Show is heavily volunteer-driven. “The Style Show is an in-house effort, and we have an incredible group of 150 volunteers from many area churches,” says Pallett. “Putting on the Style Show is almost a year-round process, and they make it possible. We couldn’t do it without them.”

The Back-to-School Style Show and Brunch is Saturday, August 6 at 10:30 a.m. at the Renaissance Hotel in Tulsa (71st and Highway 169). Advance tickets are required. Tickets are $17, and you can reserve a table for ten for $170. For more information on the Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children Owasso campus, its programs, the Style Show, and other events, visit www.obhc.org. 

 

For more information, contact

Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children

12700 E. 76th St. N.
Owasso, OK 74055

(918) 272-2233

www.obhc.org