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PrintThe Little Light House shines bright for local children
The school helps children with disabilities unlock their potential.
For 37 years, the Little Light House, a Christian-based developmental center, has been serving children ages birth to 6 years old with a variety of disabilities, including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome, autism, speech or cognitive delays, visual or hearing impairments, and helping to unlock each child’s potential.
The Little Light House was co-founded in 1972 by Marcia and Phil Mitchell and another couple for each of their children, both born visually impaired. Finding no one in the Tulsa area providing such services, the families responded to establish a much-needed program.
The first Little Light House location was a small white-frame, rent-free house, and classes for the first five children were taught by a recent college graduate, with the assistance of five volunteers. Within nine months, the student population had tripled, and a year and a half later, professionals in the field were referring to the Little Light House as a “model program within a six-state region.”
The Little Light House is now located at 5120 E. 36th St. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush named the Little Light House as the nation’s “546th Point of Light,” and in 2003, the school was named Outstanding School of the Year by the International Christian Accrediting Association.
Families do not pay to attend the Little Light House, which currently serves more than 70 children, with 153 children on the waiting list. The school relies entirely on private and corporate donations.
One major source of donations is the organization’s Garden Party fund-raiser.
The sixth annual Garden Party is April 24. The theme is “Unlocking the Potential for Children with Special Needs.”
Special guests include Maureen Harbinson, executive director of the Little Light House in Jackson, Miss., and Lisa Smith, a Texan with Down syndrome who performs sign language with several notable gospel singers.
A Mississippi native, Harbinson trained in Tulsa under Marcia Mitchell and has served as executive director of the Mississippi facility since it opened in January 2006. A third Little Light House recently opened in Denton, Texas, this past January.
“Maureen Harbinson was instrumental in convincing Marcia to plant Little Light House schools around the country and world,” says Jay Dee Brumbaugh, Tulsa Little Light House director of development.
Smith has performed sign language with Sandi Patty and Larnelle Harris; been featured and interviewed on the “Dr. Phil” show and traveled across the country with Women of Faith conferences.
Auctioneer Jay Litchfield will lead the live auction, which includes a 1988 560 SL two-door convertible Mercedes. A silent auction features collectibles from area boutiques and businesses.
The Garden Party is sponsored by Mike Hughes, Architects, PC; George Kaiser Family Foundation; and H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Charitable Trust.
What: Little Light House’s sixth annual Garden Party, “Unlocking the Potential for Children with Special Needs”
When: 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., April 24
Where: Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center, 6808 S. 107th E. Ave.
How: Individual reservations are $65, and a table of 10 is $650. Eight sponsorship levels are available. Call Monica Martin, 664-6746, or e-mail mmartin@littlelighthouse.org.
