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The Kendall-Whittier neighborhood is rich in culture and color,
but unfortunately most of its residents live on the social and
economic fringes of society. Kendall-Whittier families suffer
from many of the challenges caused by systemic poverty,
including poor nutrition and food insecurity; limited access to
health care; family violence and substance abuse; illiteracy;
lack of supervision of children and youth and poor parenting
skills. Truancy and drop-out rates are above average. Generally
defined as Eleventh Street on the south, Dawson Road on the
north, Harvard on the east, and Utica on the west, Kendall-Whittier neighborhood also includes the area around The
University of Tulsa, a source of pride to all Tulsans. For the
past 40 years, Kendall Whittier, Inc., an ecumenical and
nonsectarian
501(c)
(3) organization,
has focused on supporting and revitalizing the Kendall-Whittier
neighborhood.
The mission of
Kendall Whittier, Inc. is
to work together to improve the quality of life for the
individuals of our neighborhood.
Our coalition of churches and our community partner assists the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood through our Partners in Education efforts at Kendall-Whittier Elementary School, Dwight Summer Camp assistance, support of community events and the following programs.
Emergency Food Pantry: This program provides, at no cost to recipients, a week's worth of nutritious food for an individual or family, up to 4 times per year per individual or family. During our 2010-11 fiscal year we served 2345 individuals through direct grocery deliveries. We also provide information about healthy cooking choices, in both English and Spanish. We serve many more individuals in ways other than direct grocery delivery. In response to the significant February 2010 snow storms, Kendall-Whittier Elementary School, which is a Community School, opened its doors to our Emergency Food Pantry for immediate food distribution efforts. Our Emergency Food Pantry (in collaboration with Emergency Infant Services, Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and Tulsa Area Community Schools Initiative) was able to provide 236 families, consisting of 1,180 individuals, with emergency food items to help ease the crisis created by the storms.
Our Pantry provides nutritious items for holiday gift bags (1175 in December 2011) that are prepared every year for the students who attend Kendall-Whittier Elementary School. The Pantry also provides items for teacher recognition gifts at the school and helps with holiday baskets for needy families in November and December. We provided holiday food items for baskets for 45 families in 2011. The after-school Youth Mentoring Program (operated by TU and housed at Kendall-Whittier Elementary) participants and their families also benefit from food available through our Pantry. Basically, if there is a food need in the neighborhood and we are aware of it, our Pantry helps meet the need. If we cannot help (in the instance of a caller being out of area, or a need we don't provide, i.e. rent, utilities, etc.) we make a referral.
G.R.O.W. Garden: Gardening to Reach Out and Welcome, commonly referred to as G.R.O.W., is a KWI learning and community garden project. Over the last year, our garden has made rapid progress. We have tripled the number of available beds to grow food and flowers, and have used the additional space to grow and harvest enough food for TU's Youth Mentoring Program (YMP) students to take fresh, locally grown food home with them many times. Students have eaten greens, beets, and other produce from our garden. Much of the time this food was planted, tended, and harvested by the students themselves. In addition to YMP students taking food from our garden home with them, we also distribute our harvests through our own Emergency Food Pantry. Our garden has been utilized by the YMP as well as volunteers and other school groups in the area, and we plan to expand and enhance our partnerships in the coming years.
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