“If you need things in our community, please come to us—even if it's not specifically groceries.” Rachael Condley, Executive Director of Our Daily Bread, announced ODB will receive a grant of $736,000 from the Potts Family Foundation to expand their staff, classes and resources to support our community, on Aug 8. Photo from ODB Facebook.
Our Daily Bread received a generous grant of $736,000 earlier this month and has some meaningful places to put the money over the next two and half years. The grant, provided by the Potts Family Foundation based in Oklahoma City, will directly impact the resources the center can offer to the community.
"We are a food and resource center, which means not only do we provide groceries to meet an immediate need, but also, it's really important to us that we're providing connections to local resources that can potentially help our guests beyond really hard circumstances," Racheal Condley, the executive director of Our Daily Bread explained.
So, what does Our Daily Bread's "resource" side entail, and how will this grant benefit our community? The funding will allow for another full-time Resource Navigator and an additional Healthy Steps Specialist. Rachael explains some of the responsibilities of the Resource Navigator are "hosting classes and educational opportunities at Our Daily Bread, and getting to know partner agencies, researching who qualifies for services, how do they apply, and staying current on those things as guidelines and the application processes might change, so we can connect guests there."
When guests enter Our Daily Bread for groceries, an intake volunteer asks if they need information about services and resources in Payne County. If they respond "yes," a form is filled out and forwarded to the Resource Navigator for follow-up. There's also an online form available under the "Get Help" tab on the website for visitors to access.
Excitingly, the grant will aid our community in another valuable way. "Another big thing a lot of people in Payne County aren't aware of is the Healthy Steps Specialist that we're very blessed to have," Rachael shares. "She works out of the Stillwater Pediatric Clinic, working alongside families to really help them, mentor them, help them make sure that their kids are reaching appropriate developmental milestones... So this grant is actually going to fund a second Healthy Steps position, which is a very big deal."
The current Healthy Steps Specialist saw approximately 2,000 children last year and was "swamped," limited to working only out of the pediatrician's office. In the future, the pediatrician and Child Development Specialist will work together and will be based out of Stillwater Pediatrics. However, Rachael says, "Our goal is after that person gets trained, that they'll also come to Our Daily Bread and our satellites to do some baseline assessments for kids. So that if transportation is a barrier for people getting to Stillwater, or Stillwater Pediatrics, that he or she will be able to do some baseline assessments onsite."
That's a huge win for parents and caretakers, but also for the little ones— more resources to ensure they can get the necessary healthcare needed to thrive.
If there's one message Rachael wants the public to hear, "Especially someone in need, if you need things in our community, please come to us.—even if it's not specifically groceries."
The grant will give guests more time to connect them with the resources they need. With the support of "our amazing community partners," so many of Our Daily Bread's services are possible. And Rachael says, "Because of a grant like this, we're able to have staff members who can work on those things, and make the time to work on those things." What a blessing to our community!
