Coming Together in Loss & Celebration

I have had the opportunity to not only feel our Oak Farm Community come together, but to experience our Oak Farm Community come together. Not once, but twice in one month; both in loss and in celebration. I could not feel more blessed to be part of this Oak Farm Community. Together we are Oak Farm STRONG and we have demonstrated that over and over again!

Our first experience together began in the middle of the night, early Thursday morning on January 31, at approximately 2:30 a.m., when Oak Farm received notification that an alarm was going off at the middle school. It was signaling a fire, but that was because there was so much water being released from a frozen sprinkler pipe that had burst in the attic. With the point of origin at the top of the house, the water had nowhere else to go but down. All. Three. Levels. There was an estimated 4 inches of water in the basement by the time it was turned off. As a result of the water damage, floors had to be removed, drywall and ceilings had to come out and every belonging had to be stored. Fortunately, some of the original wood of the house was saved and can be preserved. We can also use this as an opportunity to restructure the layout in parts of the house to enlarge rooms for our growing middle school community and make improvements where needed. Most importantly, no one was hurt and the loss experienced at the middle school were physical items that can be replaced.

The water damage at the middle school has been sad and discouraging. However, the middle school is not what defines Oak Farm; it is the people in our community that do. These people are committed to inspire children to reach their potential through meaningful work, regardless of the building they occupy. The sadness and loss that we have experienced is a part of our story, how we choose to fill the remaining pages is up to us. We, as a community, have decided to live each day through this mission with the children of Oak Farm.

The amount of support from the Oak Farm community has been overwhelming. In the face of adversity, our community has been resilient. Oak Farm High School was positioned to welcome the middle school students to a beautifully prepared learning environment with the least amount of disruption possible for all students. The students, families, and faculty have come together and embraced this new challenge to start a new normal for as long as needed.

The Middle School water damage required removal of all walls, flooring and ceilings.

“It was a day of varying emotions, but it ended with such a feeling of accomplishment, support and gratitude (and maybe exhaustion)!”-Lauren Moyer

Our second experience together was much more enjoyable and occurred late Saturday evening on February 23rd, at 6:00 p.m., when 345 Oak Farm supporters came together to celebrate “The Greatest Story, Let it be Told!” at the 12th annual Tall Oak Gala. For the first time ever, the event was sold out and accomodations were made to add 80 more guests! Together, we raised over $146,000...$21,000 over our goal! The generosity given by the community allows us to continue Lorene’s legacy through the support of the overall operations of the school. There was laughter. There were tears. There was dancing. There was music. There were new friendships made and memories that will last until we come together again. The Tall Oak Gala was an evening to remember as we came together to celebrate Oak Farm’s history; how Oak Farm came to be, what we have accomplished and where we are going in the years to come.

No matter the reason for bringing our community together, I know we will do so collectively with grace and support of one another. Each individual moment is a part of the story of Oak Farm, our story, and I am grateful to be writing it with each of you!

Candice

The Gala was a great success and raised over $145,000.00 to continue Lorene's Legacy.