Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People

Right: Balloons light up the sky at the
Gatesway Foundation’s Annual Balloonfest.
This yearly fundraising event attracts
thousands of visitors each year and assists
the agency in promoting its mission of
providing opportunities for adults with
intellectual disabilities.
Below: Balloon pilots light up the night sky
at Gatesway’s Annual Balloonfest.
than doubled in size and expanded from one
classroom to five reaching into the greater
Tulsa and surrounding areas as well as into
rural Oklahoma. The Tulsa class has a program
for at-risk youth to address the intense
needs of these youth. Many of the youth have
been or are at risk in areas such as being
incarcerated, living in poverty, exposed to
gang activity, or teen pregnancy. This program
is unique to Gatesway and lives have
been set back on course through it. The
future for the transition program is exciting
as it continues to grow, and new partnerships
and programs such as the summer transition
boot camp are being added. Thus the future
of Oklahoma youth is sure to be a bright one.
Gatesway CEO Judi Myers, in an interview
with Tulsa People in late 2013, eloquently
describes the foundation, “Helen Gates saw [a]
fence between the real world and the world
apart, and through her sheer willpower and
commitment to making the world a better place,
she created a gate. That gate became Gatesway.”
For more information about the dynamic
work of the Gatesway Foundation, visit the
organization online at www.gatesway.org.
O K L A H O M A : A S t o r y T h r o u g h H e r P e o p l e
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