Making A Difference: Helping Hands Around BA

Helping Hands All Around BA

Facebook Group Helping Hundreds of Families in Need by Tim Hudson

A local man made sure hundreds of needy families in and around Broken Arrow had what they needed for Christmas, and is being lauded around the state for his efforts.

John Lee Livingston said that he started the Facebook group “Help Broken Arrow/Tulsa” about two weeks before Christmas — but the beginnings of it went back to October.

“In October, on Halloween, I was put in the hospital for a week. I was really sick and couldn’t work for a while,” he said. “I wanted to do something, so I started looking on Facebook and saw all these people who were looking for toys or things for Christmas. I made a Facebook group.”

The simple act seemed to have a fairly big ripple effect that started almost immediately, and he got a call from Channel 6 News the next day.

The sentiment struck a nerve and John said the response was immediate.

“It blew up overnight, and I woke up to so many notifications I about didn’t know what do with them all,” he said.

“One lady donated everything from her house, not the house itself, but everything in it.”

He said that after everything was said and done, the donated toys were enough to help 500 children — and counting. Vouchers and toys helped more than 450 people in about a nine-day period.

“Donations started with toys and Christmas baskets. Next, we started taking donations of clothes and food,” he said. “We recently have been using monetary donations to get formula and diapers."

Additionally, the group made 96 Christmas baskets that each had hams or turkeys.

“One lady donated 30 hams,” he said, adding that the group currently has over 1,300 members. “One lady told us that she got her grandson a bike but didn’t have the money to get it out of layaway. The next day she said someone anonymously paid off the bike.” While the group was intended to be temporary, the kindhearted sentiment has taken root and it looks like the group will be around for a while.

“We are looking at becoming a 501c3 and making an organization of it. Being on Channel 6 twice and Fox 23 once really helped a lot, and things have barely slowed down since Christmas,” he said. “We have four admins on site, and I didn’t know any of them before this started. They were people who came forward to help.”

Admins for the site are Kimberly Brown, Rachel Love, Nikki Coats, and Chris Cox.

“A lot of people had their holidays enhanced. We went to a battered women’s facility in Tulsa to help one woman and ended up helping eight more that saw what we were doing. That really got me,” he said. “We’ve taken clothing that has been donated to homeless shelters and youth shelters.”

For more information about the group, or to learn how to make a contribution or request help, visit Facebook and search for the Help Broken Arrow/Tulsa page. The mission of the group is: “What is one thing you NEED that you cannot afford right now? �� Let’s check and see what others say. Maybe you have it, don’t need it, or have a connection to get it. ❤❤❤❤❤ No SELLING. If you’re offering something on here to someone it means you’re GIVING it to them for FREE! If you want to post things you are giving away add the CITY and write FREE.”