Thursday, October 5, 2023 Farmers Public Market 6PM-10PM
Sample the best cocktail creations in OKC and vote for your favorite Bartender at this Casion Night themed fundraiser for Other Options.
About this event
Back by popular demand, Battle of the Bartenders : The Casion will be in town on October 5th, let’s all celebrate the best cocktail creations in town created and served by some of our absolute best bartenders around.
This year 15 vendors will be competing for top prizes all while celebrating our theme: Casion Night! Get your tickets and “STEP RIGHT UP” for games, drinks, and food.
Sample and vote on your favorite cocktail creation while raising money to support Other Options, the only food pantry in Oklahoma for people affected by HIV.
General Admission $50/$75
Designated Driver Special – $25
Pre-Sale – $50
At the Door – $75General Admission Ticket that includes access to all tastings
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.
Approximately 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV, and an estimated 13% of them do not know they are infected. HIV can affect anyone regardless of sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender, age, or where they live. In the U.S., Black, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native populations have higher rates of new HIV infections and HIV diagnoses, and lower rates of PrEP and ART preventive treatment awareness compared to their White peers. HIV-related stigma is one of the top factors that contributes to poor uptake of prevention tools and treatments. Despite the advancements in HIV prevention and treatment, not everyone is benefiting equally.
This infographic explores strategies to reduce new HIV diagnoses and support stigma reduction in the hopes that it could result in increased initiation of, and adherence to, PrEP or ART to prevent new infections and reduce HIV transmission.
Back by popular demand, Battle of the Bartenders formally Bar Wars: The Carnival will be in town on October 20th, let’s all celebrate the best cocktail creations in town created and served by some of our absolute best bartenders around.
This year 15 vendors will be competing for top prizes all while celebrating our theme: Carnival! Get your tickets and “STEP RIGHT UP” for games, drinks, and food.
Sample and vote on your favorite cocktail creation while raising money to support Other Options, the only food pantry in Oklahoma for people affected by HIV.
October 2nd, 2022 at the Myriad Gardens
Join AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City as we come together for the 24th Annual Walk & Festival!
Our FREE family friendly event is open to all members of the community so that we can bring awareness to HIV/AIDS in our community. Vendors, live music and local entertainment will start at 12pm on the Devon Lawn of the Myriad Gardens. The one-mile walk will start promptly at 2:00pm.
We highly encourage organizations/local businesses/friend groups/etc to create Walk-Teams on our registration website (click the button above). This is a great way to engage those around you and raise funds for the ongoing HIV/AIDS efforts in Oklahoma City. Message AIDS Walk OKC for assistance in creating your walk team.
This is an opportunity to the community to remember those we have lost throughout the AIDS Epidemic, celebrate those living with HIV, and raise funds for organizations offering support and prevention services.
The survey is entirely voluntary and anonymous. Survey findings will be reported in summary form, and nothing linking participants to the results will be presented or accessible by anyone other than the evaluation staff at the University of Oklahoma.
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.
Want to make a Donations!
Board Games, Puzzles for Children & Families.
Amazon / Visa / Mastercard Gift Cards / Movie Passes
In 2010, Ladonna felt alone for the first time in 52 years. Multiple family illnesses led to untimely deaths, leaving her to fend for herself despite her own struggles with bipolar disorder, severe social anxiety and eventually multiple sclerosis. After some time, she spoke with the Oklahoma Health Department about ways to secure food, and one of their suggestions was Other Options – a local nonprofit organization providing various services to at-risk individuals, with a focus on those affected with HIV and AIDS. Ladonna eventually attended after hunger overcame anxiety.
“It takes a lot for me to feel comfortable anywhere,” Ladonna says. “When I went there for the first time, I didn’t feel like I was being judged; I felt like my mother was there again. She was the only one who understood me. For the first time since they left me, I knew I had a family, a place to belong to.”
Other Options became a surrogate family to Ladonna; a sentiment shared by the nonprofit’s volunteers and those who regularly rely on their care.
Founded in 1988 by Cookie Arbuckle, Other Options is a staple within the metro area for those in need of nutritious food, clothing and other necessities for survival. Now operated by Cookie’s daughter, Mary, this service extended to a mainstay in holiday hospitality: Cookie’s Thanksgiving. Since 1999, this annual event provides over 1,000 in-need families and individuals with prepared Thanksgiving meals, either in person or delivered upon request. Many, including Ladonna, look forward to this holiday with a newfound appreciation.
“Thanksgiving can be a hard time for a lot of us because there’s plenty that don’t have no one else,” Ladonna says. “I try to visit every day to see my family, but Thanksgiving is different. That’s when everyone gets to see why these people are God-sent. But, this year is going to be different.”
Readjustments to daily life, holidays and annual traditions are hallmarks of COVID-19 world. This weight of planning for a pandemic-friendly Cookie’s Thanksgiving is a task not lost on people like Mary Arbuckle and Jim Everett, the Pantry Manager of Other Options. Plans to modify the in-house holiday began as early as March.
“We knew things would not be ‘business as usual’ for Cookie’s Thanksgiving back when the rest of the country was coming to grips with everything,” Everett says. “Because of this, we’re having our volunteers prepare boxed meals and either delivering them to their houses or through our drive-thru service. This is to ensure that everyone is safe while still being fed.”
For those like Ladonna, this is a difficult, though necessary, transition.
“God, I miss my Other Option family every day,” Ladonna says. “But it’s things like Cookie’s Thanksgiving that remind me that I’ll never be alone.”
Everett continues to welcome all donation and volunteer efforts towards Cookie’s Thanksgiving. Donation and volunteer opportunities can be found on the Other Options website at otheroptionsokc.org.
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
Guiding Right is now able to offer the delivery of at-home rapid testing kits for the detection of HIV, providing a self-help option for fast results in minutes. The tests are designed with a simple, easy-to-use process for patients to test themselves without needing a medical professional.
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