Celebrate Life Gala

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Celebrate Life Gala

The countdown is on for the 2022 CPO Gala at the historic Mayo Hotel in Downtown Tulsa, Ok. We are excited to celebrate CPO and share how your support has impacted lives. We have some wonderful items in our live and silent auctions, and we are doing the “Best of the Best” raffle again this year! We still have a couple seats left so if you would like to attend, it’s not too late!

CPO Gala 2022

Saturday, October 1, 2022 at The Mayo Hotel 115 West 5th Street Tulsa, OK 74103 Doors Open at 5:30pm

To purchase tickets please visit our event site below.

Crisis Pregnancy Outreach – Crisis Pregnancy Outreach – Gala 2022 (bidpal.net)

CPO GALA 2019 RECAP

On Saturday, March 30, nearly 275 guests attended Crisis Pregnancy Outreach’s 15th annual Celebrate Life Gala at Tulsa’s iconic Mayo Hotel. The theme word for this year was Chrysalis, meaning a protecting covering; a sheltered state, or stage of being, or growth. This theme fits perfectly with CPO’s mission to help women find wholeness in a secure environment.

The guests at the gala believe strongly in CPO’s mission and are committed to helping better the lives of women and children in crisis. Guests were provided the opportunity to give in a variety of ways. With over 100 silent auction items, 38 intricately designed desserts for the dessert bar, 13 exciting live auction packages, a Getaway Giveaway raffle, a Best of the Best raffle and a scholarship fund, there was a way for all to donate. All of this love for CPO and the people it serves, helped raise over $190,000… the largest amount ever raised!

Also available this year was a fun photo booth with props, as well as professional photography, by Lilliana Ross. Guests also dined on a delicious sit down dinner, while enjoying the evening’s program.

We hope you’ll join us next year and be a part of this beautiful night. Save the Date for the Celebrate Life Gala, on Saturday, October 1, 2022 at the Mayo Hotel.

Tickets for our 2022 Gala can be purchased by visiting our event page.

Crisis Pregnancy Outreach – Crisis Pregnancy Outreach – Gala 2022 (bidpal.net)

Volunteers Matter: Brooks Parker

Crisis Pregnancy Outreach has been 100% run by volunteers since its inception more than 30 years ago. No one has ever received a salary, which enables CPO to make an even bigger difference in the lives of Tulsa area women. We know that volunteers matter, and to honor them we periodically interview and highlight one of our volunteers. This week we hear from another dedicated volunteer, Brooks Parker.

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: I work in the office occasionally, gather and organize baby/maternity donations so they are easily accessible at the CPO storage unit. I helped with donations for the gala in April and I will soon be writing some blog posts.:)

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: I began volunteering the end of November, 2015.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: I heard about CPO from various people over the past several years. When my niece was pregnant a friend recommended she utilize CPO’s services since she was young with an unplanned pregnancy. CPO was helpful for her at that time in her life. There are also several CPO adoptive families at my kids’ school and I have several friend/acquaintances at CPO that are heavily involved in volunteering at the organization. I have always heard wonderful comments.

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: Well, I wouldn’t say “versus”.;) I still volunteer a lot at my kids’ school and I also assist with computer work and am on the finance team at my church. I have wanted to get involved with CPO for some time but the main motivator at this time is because we are now a waiting adoptive family. I love that CPO requires volunteer hours to complete an adoption. For someone like me that may be reserved to jump into a situation I am not familiar with, it has pushed me to put myself out there and learn the ropes of CPO.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: CPO cares for many facets of ladies in crisis and I love that. Again, it is the love in action. It’s not only showing the girls alternatives to abortion but helping them walk it out..for life. Help doesn’t end at a free pregnancy test or delivering a baby or placing a baby for adoption. The CPO girls are offered counseling and support for life and that is huge. I am excited to be able to participate in a ministry that doesn’t just focus on one small area of an unplanned pregnancy but that it offers an all encompassing level of support for women.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I have solidified my introvert status by realizing I really don’t like to talk on the phone. Haha!

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: I am very new to being directly involved with the CPO ministry, but what I have always seen through friends that have been involved and what I see now that I am there is: true love and care for the girls that come to CPO for help. I see love in action and that is what God calls us to do.

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: Do it. The likelihood of CPO being able to put your God-given gifts and talents to use is pretty high.

Retro CPO: Cheryl Said

Each month we will feature a “retro” CPO article, one that is pulled from our archives of quarterly newsletters. Whenever possible we will provide details regarding the author and date of publication.
This month’s Retro CPO article was written by Cheryl Bauman, our founder and executive director. It was written in fall of 2009, and explains her feelings about open adoption.

As most of you know, I have hd a heart for adoption all of my life. My sister was adopted, so I always knew about adoption. But in those years, it was shrouded in secrecy. My mom never spoke of it in a normal tone of voice. She whispered the word.

When I founded CPO 26 years ago and we became a licensed adoption agency, my vision was for none of the children to grow up having to fantasize about their birth mothers. I have such a passion for open adoption.

Surprisingly enough, none of my children are adopted, and none of my grandchildren were, until—a wonderful day in January, when my daughter, Natalie, and I flew to Hawaii to meet three-year-old Ziona!! The story is long and miraculous, and ended in my 15th grandchild being adopted through CPO!! She is beautiful and precious and such a wonderful addition to our family.

God has blessed our family so richly and I am so very grateful.

1O9A0605 (Here’s little Ziona, speaking and singing at the CPO Celebrate Life Gala in 2015.)

Volunteers Matter: Thom and Christine Crowe

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: Christine and I [Thom] love CPO and have looked for any way to volunteer. I help with social media and we both volunteer with the girls at the CPO Transition House and Christine did a brief stint as the house mom and I helped quite a bit with the recent gala fundraiser.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: We started volunteering with CPO in March of 2015.

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: Kinda funny story, Christine was cleaning out her old emails a few weeks ago and came across an email thread between the two of us about adopting and we talked quite a bit about CPO back in 2006. We weren’t ready yet but, unbeknownst to either of us, the seed had been planted in our brains. Fast forward to 2014, we decided we were ready to begin the adoption process and a family we knew had adopted through CPO recommended that we fill out our application. We applied and were accepted as a waiting family. As we learned more and more about the organization, we fell in love. The mission was something we could get behind and we jumped in with both feet and haven’t looked back!

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: My mom had me when she was a teenager and my sister had our nephew when she was 18, just out of high school. One thing I learned from this was that when a girl has an expected pregnancy, she needs love and support. There are other agencies that do that, but something about CPO just stuck with us. Once we learned it was a 100% volunteer agency and no one was paid so that all the money raised goes straight to the girls, I was sold.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: Having a family is really important to both Christine and me and adoption has always been something on my heart. As we’ve been able to work with and get to know the girls in the transition house, we’ve grown to care for them. They’re special girls and they are why we do what we do. We started out volunteering because we were supposed to, but now the birth moms are our passion.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that I’m a huge pushover! I’m not the best at saying no which is why I think we’re a great fit to befriend the girls and do fun stuff with them. I should probably work on that before I have a teenager at home, but there’s plenty of time for that.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: For me, probably the best gift we could have asked for came in the form of our birth mom and we know God was involved with how we met her. On a Friday night back in August, Christine and I had plans to go out. A message was placed on the CPO Volunteer Facebook group about a girl who needed a ride from a dance back to the Transition House. Neither of us could shake the need to go, so we canceled our plans and got ready to go pick her up. We were waiting to meet a birth mom who was living in the house and wanted to interview us so we made sure it wasn’t her or any sort of conflict of interest for us to go, which it wasn’t but I’m a bit paranoid and a rule follower. We picked up who would be our birth mom and hit it off with her. She and Christine clicked really well and when we dropped her off, Christine, who is not a terribly emotional girl, started crying. Some connection was made. We were supposed to meet with the other birth mom and got the call while waiting for her at a restaurant that she picked another family. While there, we ran into Cheryl Bauman who had wonderful words of encouragement for us. The next day we got a call that the girl we had driven wanted to meet us. We went to dinner and she picked us as her adoptive parents. Since then spent time with her, we have been able to get to know her and now love her so much. She’s an invaluable part of our lives and our family now. We know God put it on our hearts to meet her that night and we’re so thankful we answered.

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: In whatever capacity you can, do it. If you can volunteer, there are unimaginable ways to make an impact. If you want to adopt and have a heart for the birth moms, this is the place to do it. CPO gives them and you the resources you need for a successful open adoption. If you don’t have time but have financial resources, give. CPO is a good steward of the gifts they are given. Just get involved. If you’re not sure or have questions, reach out and come see what CPO is doing. You’ll be sold hook, line, and sinker just like we are!

Elise Newborn Photos-99

Nathan’s Story

Needing inspiration? Watch the video from this year’s gala. It is so good!

Celebrate Life Gala 2016 Recap

The recent Celebrate Life Gala was a huge success. The event was held at the Mayo Hotel on Friday, April 30th. What a beautiful venue!

The evening began with a silent auction and light hors d’oeuvres. This year our silent auction utilized software from GalaBid.com. This allowed our attendees to bid on their phones, which made the whole experience very fun and interactive!

Thanks to the interactive software, the silent auction continued as dinner began. This allowed users to visit with their tablemates, eat their dinner, and continue bidding on their favorite auction items.

Dinner was delicious, and everyone had a great time!

Meanwhile, a dessert auction was ongoing. What a fun way to decide what your table will enjoy after the meal!

During and after dinner, Karen Larson again served as our emcee. She explained our mission and our needs. There were other speakers as well as videos and live music.

The final part of the evening was perhaps the most exciting: the live auction! What a fun way to get some awesome items and support CPO at the same time!

In all, it was a lovely evening. If you missed it, check out even more photos on our Celebrate Life Gala 2016 page, and be sure to attend next year!

Volunteers Matter: Jackie Potter

Q: How do you volunteer with CPO?
A: Currently, I am the Gala Sponsor Chair for our annual Celebrate Life Gala. I’m responsible for securing table sponsors for the event, as well as a lot of behind the scenes gala work. In the past Chad and I were mentors for the transition house, and I have also coordinated host families for birth moms, and out of town families.

Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: I began volunteering with CPO in January of 2005, so 11 years ago!

Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A:My husband, Chad and I had experienced an interrupted adoption through another agency, and went to see Teri Burnett for some guidance. She introduced us to CPO, at that time. However, I’ve known of CPO since about 4th grade, when Cheryl’s daughter Natalie and I would carpool and go to Tracie’s house for after school snacks! 🙂

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer with CPO vs. other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: CPO just fell in my lap, after talking with Teri Burnett. We first came here because of our desire to adopt, and then it quickly turned into more than that. You see the work being done and how much more work needs to happen and you can’t help but want to be a part of that ministry. The one thing that keeps me volunteering at CPO is the constant need. There are so many hurting women and children in our community and I want to be part of their healing, and that’s what CPO does.

Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: CPO is so close to my heart because it stands for LIFE. Plain and simple. CPO respects the lives of the birthmoms coming for help, knowing they are worthy of goodness in their lives. They respect the lives of the babies, finding them their perfect forever family. And CPO respects the lives of the adoptive parents; knowing that God placed the desire to adopt on their hearts. And in such a seamless way, CPO unites all of these lives together.

Q: What have you learned about yourself since volunteering?
A: Through volunteering at CPO, I’ve learned that it’s ok to step outside my comfort zone. Because when I do that, God stretches me, and continues to form me into the person He created me to be.

Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: God’s hand is in constant work at CPO. From the financial donations that keep our organization running, to the volunteers in the nursery so that we can meet without interruption, to the birthmoms that turn their lives around, to the adoptive families that have received answers to prayer…God is in constant work with those involved with CPO. He orchestrates it all so beautifully!!

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming involved in CPO?
A: If you’re interested in volunteering with CPO, I say go for it, please come help! The more we have doing His work, the more women and children we can help. We can’t do this alone. But, I would also say, be prepared for your life to change. God’s doing big things here!

Jackie Potter

Celebrate Life Gala 2016

It’s that time of the year and we are excited to announce our 12th Annual Celebrate Life Gala! This one night event is right around the corner and preparations are in full swing! We hope you can join us for this wonderful night of celebration. Below we have listed all the details you need for this event as well as how to sponsor a table. Even if you are just wanting to attend on an individual ticket, we hope to see you there!

Who: YOU, and other CPO supporters
What: Celebrate Life Gala
Where: Mayo Hotel, Downtown Tulsa
When: Friday, April 1st at 6pm
Why: Delicious meal. Lovely location. Live auction. Silent auction. Multiple fun donation opportunities. Join us to support Crisis Pregnancy Outreach!

celebrate life gala

At CPO

At CPO, women feel safe.
marlita

At CPO, children play freely.
cpoblog-11

At CPO, volunteers are dedicated.

At CPO, women learn to trust.

At CPO, we come together.

At CPO, we celebrate accomplishments.

At CPO, we live.

At CPO, we thrive.

At CPO, lives are changed.

The CPO Gala: A Night of Huge Importance

Written by Angela McLaughlin

When a woman comes to Crisis Pregnancy Outreach, a tremendous weight can be lifted from her shoulders. She will receive love, understanding, compassion and assistance throughout her entire journey. This assistance comes in many forms. It may be something as simple as clothing to wear during her pregnancy, or something as large as a safe environment to live in during and after choosing to make an adoption plan for her child. Some women need help to keep the lights on at their homes; some women simply need the comfort of a shoulder to cry on. Whatever the needs of the women who come through CPO’s doors are, they will be met. I write from experience, as someone who has been truly touched and changed by the help I received from this organization.

Like many non-profits, CPO holds an annual fundraiser, which allows them to continue their amazing ministry. It’s an inspiring evening, filled with stories from birth mothers, adoptive families and their children, volunteers, and women who are parenting their children. It’s a chance for the many lives that have been transformed by CPO to come together and celebrate this amazing, life affirming organization.

Unlike many other organizations, no one at CPO receives a salary. Volunteers who care deeply about the mission and the families they serve are the driving force behind all the amazing things that CPO accomplishes. And the same goes for the Gala. As Stephanie Johnson (a member of the gala planning committee) told me, “The secret to putting the gala together is volunteers! There is a committee each year that works for months on every little detail. Other volunteers help by picking up donations, working at basket wrap day, setting up the day of the event, working the event and even cleaning up afterward. If it weren’t for our CPO volunteers and the team at Hampton Creative, the Gala would not be possible.”

One of my the most extraordinary and inspiring moments of the Gala each year is the video testimonial. Volunteers work to put together a video, capturing the resilience and strength of the women who have been healed, helped, and loved through their crisis pregnancy. The video is always a show stopper, bringing tears and laughter, and reminding everyone in attendance of the tremendous impact of their help, whether the donation comes in the form of time or money. Stephanie describes it as “the moment we at CPO can share what our ministry is all about and why it is so amazing!”

The response is equally amazing. In 2013, CPO raised $80,000, enough to pay off the Transitional Home, ensuring that women who choose to make adoption plans for their children are able to rest and begin the next chapter of their lives in a safe and loving environment, something some of them have never experienced before. In 2014, CPO raised $100,000, enabling the organization to purchase a van, allowing them to provide reliable transportation to counseling, group meetings, and doctors appointments. This allows the mission of CPO to be delivered in an even more efficient manner, ensuring that no woman has to miss an opportunity for help and healing due to transportation issues.

As a birth mom whose life was changed dramatically by making an adoption plan for my beloved Samuel, I hope to lend my voice to this event for years to come. While the most valuable services provided by CPO are indeed free, it’s difficult to focus on healing when you’re unsure of your living situations, burdened by medical issues, or unable to attend much needed counseling because you don’t have transportation. The CPO Gala is a wonderful and beatific event, with a silent auction, delicious food and fabulous decor. But it’s more than that. It’s a request, a request for the ability to continue to provide birth moms, adoptive families and the children they love with the support that they need and deserve. It’s a party, definitely, but it’s also a vital fundraiser for a cause that truly transforms lives. And what could be more important?

Want to get involved? There are still opportunities to help with this year’s gala. We will have a silent auction prep session (wrapping up the baskets and items) on February 19th from 10-2 at the CPO office. Childcare and lunch are provided.
Help is also needed the day of the gala setting up for the night, working the event and cleaning up. If you would like to help please email stephanie@cpotulsa.org.

Want to attend? All the info you need is included on the invitation below. Here’s the link to purchase tickets: cpotulsa.org/rsvp.