For the past 23 years, Cookies Thanksgiving has partnered with hundreds of volunteers to prepare and deliver complete Thanksgiving meals to Oklahomans living with HIV and AIDS. As you know, 2020 – 2022 has been a unique and challenging years. To follow safety guidelines for our immune compromised clients, we will be giving them holiday boxes complete with unprepared meal kits to make their own Thanksgiving meals.

These boxes will include all the fixings and trimmings including cooked Turkey or Ham. We are working with our longtime chefs and food industry professionals who have graced us over the years to create recipes to go into each box.

We want to thank all those who have participated over the years and helped with this program. Do not despair, next year we hope to bring back our normal cooking in our kitchens and pack up food to be delivered on Thanksgiving Day as we have done for so many years. We appreciate everyone’s understanding as we do our best to keep not only our clients, but our volunteers healthy and safe.

We know how special this event is not just to our clients, but also our volunteers. This year we are asking in lieu of preparing and delivering meals, to please donate to Cookies Thanksgiving.  A simple donation of $20 to $50 or even $10 can go a long way in providing food and happiness to these families in need this holiday season. It costs Other Options roughly $7.56 per Thanksgiving meal – including leftovers! We will also be accepting canned food items such as green beans, corn, broth, cranberry sauce, etc.

Below you will find links to send your donation to Cookies Thanksgiving. We have a few limited volunteer opportunities in the links as well. If you wish to donate food items, please call the primary office to coordinate delivery at (405) 605-8020.

Again, let me personally thank you and those who have donated and contributed their time over the years. Cookies Thanksgiving has always been an incredibly special event and long tradition that helps so many of an often forgotten yet very deserving population have a special holiday meal. I appreciate your support and understanding during this unique and challenging time.

Sincerely,

Jim Everett
Pantry Manager

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What are the symptoms of monkeypox?

Monkeypox may cause fever and swollen lymph nodes. Headache, muscle and backache, chills, and exhaustion can also be present. A painful rash develops and goes through several stages including fluid and pus-filled blisters that eventually get crusty, scab over, and fall off.

Can monkeypox spread through sex?

Monkeypox can spread through any type of skin-to-skin contact with an infected person including, but not limited to, sexual contact. At this point, it is not known if monkeypox virus will spread through semen or vaginal fluids. However, the rash can look similar to symptoms of STIs such as herpes and syphilis. Mouth-to-skin contact can spread monkeypox when blisters are present. Condoms may not prevent the spread of monkeypox.

What should I do if I think I have monkeypox?

If you think you have monkeypox, contact the OSDH Epi-on-Call at 405-426-8710 for a free confidential consultation, or your healthcare provider for advice, testing, and medical care. Self-isolate away from others to protect them from infection. Cover all possible blisters (e.g., wearing clothing over the rash).

What should I do if I am a contact to a confirmed
monkeypox case?

Close contacts to someone who has monkeypox may be eligible for post-exposure vaccination to prevent illness. For close contact consultation, call the OSDH Epi-on-Call at 405-426-8710. Monitor yourself for symptoms for 21days from exposure. If symptoms develop, self-isolate away from others and contact the OSDH Epi-on-Call or your healthcare provider for advice and testing.

Other Options-Friends Food Pantry offers a great place for people to exercise the power of community. It is amazing to see the support that people provide to help those in need, and many of these folks have been or are currently clients of Friends food pantry.  The cycle of helping others when you can help and accepting help when you have a need makes for a strong community.  Friends food pantry offers a fun environment for volunteering, being a volunteer at the Friends food pantry is like being a member of a family, we support each other as we support others. Volunteering brings a feeling of happiness and accomplishment, and for younger volunteers it also leads to increased empathy and compassion.  If you have a need to use the services of the Food Bank, please do. That is why we are here, to help during tough times, and remember, you do not have to be “poor” to use the pantry. If we can help you keep your car or pay the utilities by supplying you with food, let us do that.

If you wish to support an organization that is right here in your hometown serving your community, please do. We need your support; without your support we cannot exist.  Lately with the pandemic I’m feeling the weight on my shoulders, sometimes I feel overwhelmed and tired but if people can wait in long lines for food, I can get up and go to work so that their cupboards are not bare.  We all must do something we must build a more just and equitable society where no person goes hungry.

If that feels like that is a tall task, here are some simple things you can do to help others (and your own mental health):

Give:  Nonprofits that have been responding to the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact are facing significantly increased costs. We will need your continued support in the ongoing crisis. Do your research, find a charity you trust that speaks to your heart and donate to support its efforts.

Volunteer:  Yes, this may feel like a worrisome time to be among other humans. Many charities that need your help have implemented new safety measures for volunteers. Get out of the house and help others, you will feel better and you might make some new friends.

Vote:  Hunger knows no political party. We should all be able to agree that no one should go hungry. This fall, we are urging everyone to vote in the November election to ensure all voices are heard, particularly those who are typically disenfranchised, and to strengthen the safety net for our most vulnerable neighbors.

I do not know what tomorrow brings but I have made a pledge that I will keep Other Options and Friends food pantry doors open.  Please help me to do this task by doing the simple ones that will help keep our doors open.

What we cannot do alone WE can do together!

Mary Arbuckle
Executive Director