Sunnybrook Christian Church serves over 70 children 

STILLWATER – For 45 minutes a sweet girl sat in Josie Ehoers chair at Twenty-Seven Salon. This child is in foster care, living in a shelter in Stillwater and needed a haircut after standing up for another girl.  

She cut her hair when she heard of someone else being bullied for having short hair. She didn’t want the girl to feel alone or feel bad about her looks. Although her heart was in the right place, she needed a haircut after taking scissors and chopping off her own hair. 

Ehoers helped improve this child’s well-being with something as simple as a haircut – a haircut made possible through CarePortal.  

CarePortal is a growing connection technology, managed by the 111Project, that allows agency partners – like Oklahoma Human Services Child Welfare – to submit vetted needs to the community and local churches to serve families in crisis. 

These vetted needs can range from diapers and wipes to bunk beds and blankets, which will help support a foster family, strengthen a biological family, help a family get one step closer to reunification or improve the well-being of a child living in foster care.  

Payne County has 92 children in foster care as of Aug. 1, according to monthly numbers released by the OKDHS. 

Ehoers goes to Sunnybrook Christian Church and received a text from the Amanda Butler, Point Person at Sunnybrook Christian Church, asking if she’d be willing to help.  

Sunnybrook Christian Church has been enrolled on CarePortal since 2019 and has served 77 children in the past year with an economic impact of $45,297.  

Ehoers is no stranger to serving others, since her family runs a non-profit in Africa, but she’s also aware of the needs within her community. 

“It’s good to remember to serve locally,” she said.  

Ehoers said many DHS caseworkers sit in her chair and share stories.  

“It never ceases to amaze me how much they care,” she said.  

Ehoers said this little girl came in reluctantly and didn’t make eye-contact but left happy and feeling good about her hair. 

CarePortal provides ample opportunities for the church to not only help families in crisis or prevent children from going into state custody, but also support the DHS staff in their county.  

111Project is a not-for-profit 501c3 with the mission to mobilize the local church so every child has family. The organization’s initial goal is to mobilize 1,000 churches across Oklahoma that can serve at least one family a month on CarePortal and recruit and support a foster family every year.  

If 1,000 out of the 6,200 churches in Oklahoma commit to recruit and support one foster family a year, and serve one family a month on CarePortal, the state will move closer to having more than enough help for children and families in crisis. 

Any churches or individuals interested in learning more or getting involved can visit 111project.org.