Wednesday, May 29th 2013, 10:55 pm
One young girl in Green Country is getting national attention for the way she convinced her parents to get a safe room installed at their Bartlesville home.
When it gets windy and cloudy, and storms are brewing, especially like the ones that were so destructive in Oklahoma last week, it always makes 11-year-old Olivia Park nervous.
"It makes me very scared, very scared," Olivia said.
So, for a long time, since before she was 4 years old, every birthday, each Christmas--she always asked her parents for a safe room.
Finally, her mom challenged Olivia to make a safe room video.
"She said when you get 500 likes on a video on YouTube or Facebook, you will get a safe room," Olivia said.
"I didn't even think she'd make the video, but she made the video," said her mom, Rosemanne Park.
See Olivia's Plea For A Safe Room On YouTube
"So please, please like this video, and please give it 500 likes. I would love a tornado cellar," Olivia said in the video.
She didn't get 500 likes, so her mom changed it to 500 views, and made good on her promise.
"I decided I had to be good on my word, so I, my husband and I, said 'Let's go ahead and get her one,'" Rosemanne said.
When the safe room was delivered, it was a surprise. She got what she'd always wanted.
"He knocked on my door, and I didn't know it was him, so I was like, 'What in the world?' Yeah she bought one, it was cool,' Olivia said.
See Olivia Get Her Surprise From Jim Giles Safe Rooms
But it doesn't end there. She got the safe room just four days before Oklahoma's deadly tornado outbreak.
Combine worldwide attention on Oklahoma with the power of YouTube and social media, and the video of Olivia's surprise safe room attracted a lot of attention.
"Had about 130 views and then overnight, she got over 40,000. I don't know really what happened," Rosemanne said.
5/28/2013 Related Story: Storm Shelters Of All Types Performed Well In Moore Tornado
The family started getting national interview requests and calls from around the world.
Both Olivia and her mom are glad her little video is making people more aware of storms and the importance of having a safety plan in place.
"There's two things you need in Oklahoma: Jesus and a storm shelter," Rosemanne said, laughing.
As for Olivia, she said, "I feel way safer."
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