Salvation Army Making Plans To Help Families During Teacher Walkout

With just 20 days until the possible statewide teacher walkout, parents are trying to make childcare plans.

Some Green Country organizations are stepping in to help families if a walkout happens.

3/12/2018 Related Story:  TPS School Board Unanimously Votes To Support Teachers If Walkout Occurs

One of these organizations is the Salvation Army, which is gearing up to offer free childcare at 6 Boys and Girls Clubs throughout Tulsa.

Captain Ken Chapman says “if there’s a tornado that happened today, the Salvation Army would be out within 15 minutes responding.  We believe this teacher walkout is a community disaster.”

The Salvation Army wants to make sure every child has a safe place to go if schools across the state shut down on April 2nd.

The organization will be opening its Tulsa-area Boys and Girls Clubs from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. during the shutdown – at no cost to parents.

“We don’t want latchkey kids,” said Chapman.  “We don’t want them roaming the streets getting into trouble, so we’re going to bring them into our clubs.”

Chapman expects to take in as many as 400 kids at each of the 6 locations.

He says the clubs will offer educational activities as well as supervised fun during the extended Spring Break.

“Our children are our natural resource and we want to make sure that during this difficult time that parents don’t have to worry,” stated Chapman.

Chapman estimates that expanding programs at the clubs will cost as much as $20,000 each day.  While he’s not sure where that money will come from, he believes in the generosity of Tulsans.

“This community, when disaster hits, they gather their forces,” said Chapman.  “They gather their resources and together we make Tulsa a better place.”