FOUNDER OF HEALTH FOR FRIENDS, FRIEND TO NORMAN’S NEEDIEST CITIZENS
The Xenia Institute has announced that Kathy Heiple, founder of Health for Friends and recognized community leader, health professional, volunteer, and longtime advocate for the health and well-being of Norman’s working poor and disadvantaged, is the recipient of this year’s Sam Matthews Social Justice Award. She will be honored at the Seventh Annual Sam Matthews Social Justice Banquet on Thursday, March 1, 2012, at First Christian Church, Norman. The event and award honor the memory of Norman resident Sam Matthews, the first Norman realtor to break Norman’s “sundown” laws by selling a home in 1969 to Barbara and George Henderson, Norman’s first African American homeowners. His courage and commitment to social justice are remembered and celebrated each year by honoring another member of the Norman community who continues to embrace social justice and service to others. Former award recipients include Matthews, who received the award posthumously, Joe Ted Miller; James Agar; Kay Holladay; Lester Reed, and Barbara and George Henderson.
Before establishing Norman’s Health for Friends in 1985, Heiple, who is a registered nurse, started a summer program for children with learning disabilities, worked with the Chamber of Commerce to produce guides to local medical facilities and services for newcomers to Norman. She also was active in the United Way and organized blood drives and community health fairs in Norman and Moore for the American Red Cross. It was during her work with the people who attended health fairs open to the community that she recognized the critical need for basic health care among the people in Norman who could not afford health insurance. Many of those individuals held one or more jobs and were also supporting families. Health for Friends, which started in a motorcycle garage “with a grease pit in the middle of the floor and very little else,” according to Heiple, has grown over the last 27 years into a modern, comprehensive healthcare center providing nearly 26,000 appointments to Norman’s uninsured and underinsured through its medical clinic, dental clinic, and pharmacy. For her work in establishing Health for Friends, Heiple was recognized with the 1989 Norman Human Rights Award. As an agency that provides “patient-centered health care to the uninsured for better lives and better communities,” the agency was recognized with the Human Rights Award in 2009. In 2011, Health for Friends was recognized as one of the top nonprofit organizations in the State of Oklahoma.
In 1992 Heiple was recognized by President George Bush as one his “Thousand Points of Light,” a national program honoring individuals and volunteer groups “who are helping to meet critical needs in their communities and creating change every day.” Heiple continues to volunteer and make a difference in Norman by serving on the board of Full Circle Senior Adult Day Center.
Heiple is married to Norman attorney Harold Heiple. They raised three children in Norman. Daughter Laura lives in Sacramento, California, with her husband, David Knutty, and their three children, Andrew, a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy; Derek, a sophomore attending St. Michael’s College, Vermont, on a basketball scholarship, and Carly, a junior in high school. Both of their sons live in Norman; Greg is a broker and financial adviser and Scott is a commercial realtor. Greg’s two sons, Zachary, 13, and Alexander, 11, attend All Saints Catholic School. All are described by Kathy as “gifts from Heaven.” Kathy and Harold Heiple are active members of St. Thomas More University Parish in Norman.
The keynote speaker for the event will be author and motivational speaker Jay Wilkinson. Mr. Wilkinson is a former resident of Norman and the younger son of Bud Wilkinson. Like his father, Jay recognizes that while life is always evolving and changing, there are great truths that remain constant. Among those truths is that social justice, kindness and graciousness in service to others can enhance success, productivity and meaning in the lives of many.
The banquet will take place Thursday, March 1, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of First Christian Church, 220 S. Webster, Norman. Tickets are $30 each; tables for eight guests can be purchased for $210. Space is limited and early reservations are strongly encouraged at this time.
For more information or to make a reservation, please contact Bob Thomas, Executive Director of The Xenia Institute at 405-321-8682 or via email at bob.thomas.xenia@gmail.com.
The Xenia Institute is a 501-c-3 organization in Norman, Oklahoma, dedicated to facilitating transformation and significantly enhancing possibilities through dialogue.