O'Connell Children's Shelter

03/13/2024

As our garden volunteer extraordinaire, Susan Andersen, said: “Days that start like this are a joy! Hoping each of you have a great day.”

Spring break is in full swing and so is our garden program. Please reach out if you’re interested in helping this garden season.

03/04/2024

Our Executive Director, Gina Meier-Hummel, recently appeared on the podcast, More Than Enough. You can listen here: https://cafo.org/podcasts/more-than-enough-podcast/mtep-episode13/. Gina's portion discusses the importance of taking a risk when making change and how to spark a conversation and get involved in the child welfare space. It begins at approximately the 35th minute mark.

03/01/2024

We are thrilled to announce we've hired Torrez Dawson to be our Chief Operating Officer. Torrez has over 25 years' experience in the child welfare field. Amazingly, he began his career as a childcare worker at our original emergency shelter. Torrez brings a wealth of experience and a passion for our community. Welcome to the team, Torrez.

Pictured here (L to R): Jim Clark (Outreach Coordinator), Max Shockley (Hope Center Coordinator), and Torrez Dawn (Chief Operating Officer)

11/28/2023

We are thrilled about what this means for those we serve.

Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, O'Connell Children's Shelter to collaborate on new youth crisis continuum of care. Read announcement: https://bit.ly/46AwTbG

11/21/2023

Excellent write up about all the fun of Lawrence Festival of Trees in The Lawrence Times! Check it out.

A series of Lawrence family-favorite holiday happenings will soon return, but in a new location and with new nightlife events added to the lineup.

10/31/2023

Last night, we had our Halloween Fest. Thank you to everyone who donated or came out and participated. We had a little trunk or treat, a hayride, a pumpkin launching contest, and a little Haunted Hope House. To top it off, we had a bell ringing ceremony for a young person who has been with us over for 6 years--since they were 12 years old. While unverified, they believe they experienced 102 placements before joining us. Regardless of the number, we're certain it felt like that to them and that right there is why we exist. To stop that churn and be a young person's safe haven in a really messy world. This young person is the first person in their family to graduate from high school and intends on going to college next year. Please join us in praying for them. They leave us to a full-time job and an apartment with mentors and supports in place. It was a great night!

10/29/2023

Looking forward to seeing everyone in costume at our Halloween Fest tomorrow starting at 5:00 pm.

Come out with your trunk decorated & bring candy. We will have other festivities including a pumpkin throwing contest & trail rides (plus some snacks).

If you'd like to support the event, but can't attend: you can donate here: https://www.oconnellchildrensshelter.org/get.../donate/. Thanks and Happy Halloween!

10/23/2023

The O’Connells gave us this land in 1976 to serve at risk young men, and today, we do that and so much more. This morning, the beauty of the property was breathtaking—a truly inspiring sight to motivate us on this Monday.

10/17/2023

Help us Host an Amazing Halloween Fest - Ways to Participate:

Come out & decorate your trunk on October 28!
Provide candy/treats for us to hand out!
Provide gently used Halloween costumes!
Make a donation so we can buy new costumes for your our youth: https://www.oconnellchildrensshelter.org/get.../donate/
Donations of gently used costumes or candy can be dropped off at our office at 1925 Delaware.

Contact Jim Clark at [email protected] with any questions.

09/29/2023

We at O’Connell Children’s Shelter are continually working to ensure that our brand and marketing campaigns truly represent OCS in the best way(s) possible. To this end, we invite you to participate in this short survey. If you have a few minutes, we would certainly appreciate your feedback – the survey should take you approximately 6-10 minutes to complete.
Please click on this link to participate: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OCSFBB

09/06/2023

It's that time of year again! This Saturday, September 9 from 10 am to 4 pm, the Summer's End Cruise-In and BBQ Battle is taking place at Broken Arrow Park.

A fundraiser for O'Connell Children's Shelter and Lawrence Police Blue Santa.

Come out, show off your ride or admire the amazing collection of cars on display, enjoy some tunes, and grab a drink and some delcious BBQ.

Set 'Em Up Jacks and KB's Smokehouse are the concessionaires once again. We highly recommend the lemonade. 😉

If you want to skip the conession lines and have a VIP experience, grab a VIP Ticket. The Yuengling VIP experience begins at 11 am. Your VIP admission entitles you to access the VIP tent where you can enjoy all you can eat BBQ from the 2022 BBQ Battle Champ, Beer & Swine, plus all you can drink libations sponsored by Yuengling, and live musical entertainment.

Hope to see you on Saturday!

09/01/2023

Thanks to the generosity of a private donor, we brought the Kona Ice truck on-site to celebrate the start of the new school year. It was wonderful to have a special treat for the youth we serve and the staff who work so hard to ensure they are set up for success for this school year.