Paul Milburn charitable fund invests in the future
Circle of Care, founded in 1917, continues to serve children and families across Oklahoma. Over the past two years, Circle of Care has built 6 houses focused on providing safe and loving homes for sibling sets in foster care. The most recent two homes were completed and opened in Shawnee, OK this past spring.
As part of their ongoing Legacy of Care campaign to keep siblings together, Circle of Care is committed to building two additional homes and raising a total of $1.6 million for an ongoing endowment to provide future support and upkeep to the 8 homes originally planned for the campaign.
In the past few weeks, the Paul Milburn Gift Fund advisory board made the decision to donate $250,000 to Circle of Care as an endowment gift for the two homes in the Shawnee, OK area. In addition, they awarded Circle of Care a $25,000 matching grant. The challenge match must be met by June 2021 to access and utilize this additional grant.
“During Paul’s life he was passionate about giving children the means to succeed. From children fighting for their lives at the Children’s Hospital, providing tutoring and mentorship opportunities for high school and college students and supporting youth organizations after school programs. But providing a hand up rather than a hand out to those children growing up in the foster care system gave him the most joy”, stated Joe Carter, VP of Development at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.
These resources will allow Circle of Care to create a true legacy of care for siblings across Oklahoma who find themselves in state custody due to no fault of their own. In addition to these specific homes, Circle of Care serves 170 foster families and 235+ children in foster care and is the 2nd largest private provider of foster care services in Oklahoma.
“This generous gift by the Paul Milburn Gift Fund held at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation will allow us to maintain and upkeep these homes for years to come. This investment in our mission will allow us to continue to support our foster families and the children in these homes at an extremely high level”, stated Keith Howard, CEO and President at Circle of Care. “The sibling bond should be the longest bond someone has over their lifetime and it is our heart to see siblings kept together or reunited through the homes and services we are able to provide.”
You can get more information about Circle of Care’s capital campaign at legacy.circleofcare.org.