Today, Chive Charities launched possibly our most energetic and robust charity campaigns ever to save the Tulsa Special Kids Day Care. For 14 years, Joanne Williams had fought for every penny and every child who walked though the doors of the only special needs day care for 200 miles.

It took less than 7 hours for the Chive community to destroy one of our largest goals ever – $100,000 and surging.

Miss Jo is a world-class special needs teacher, patient and compassionate. She is also the personification of the Fairy Godmother from Disney’s Cinderella. Miss Jo wrote us this note minutes before the goal was eclipsed:

“I had just spent the day with an incredible group of people. Before I met them I really did not know what theCHIVE was. They have taught me so much about caring for your community and caring for others. What I love most about them is that they are the people who live next door to me, the people who work with me, the people I meet in the grocery store.

We talked about that today: How ordinary people can make extraordinary differences. I am so humbled by all of this and I am in awe. I thought tonight, “How can I say thank you? How can I say thank you for this?” I can only say on behalf of the children and the parents at special kids that we are grateful. We did some screaming and running through the halls shouting, “We’re getting a playground! We’re getting a playground!” And the kids ran to the door and looked out and said, Where? Where is it?”

Soon they will see where it is. We can’t wait. Thank you. Thank you for seeing the incredible beauty of our children and recognizing their right to have a place in our community. I would close with “Keep calm and chive on” except that I am absolutely not able to be calm right now.

Thank you Chive Charities. Thank you Angie and John for getting it. Thank you Oklahoma Chive for holding our hands. For the first time we, parents, kids, staff, feel surrounded, affirmed, cared for.”

Keeping Calm,

Miss Jo