Tulsa Nonprofit Seeking Public's Help For New AC Unit

Tulsa's Akdar Shrine headquarters is in need of a new air conditioning unit, the cost of which could cause long-term hardship for the nonprofit.

"It's hard to concentrate," office manager Angie Akdar said. "It's hard to stay focused, get things done. It's actually a little stuffy right now." 

You might recognize the name from the Akdar Shrine Circus.

The shrine is used to bringing smiles to people's faces, but now with an AC unit on its last legs, it could seriously hurt both their day-to-day and long-term operations.

Angie Eremita, the shrine's office manager, said the heat affects her workflow.

Sometimes the office space becomes so hot, Eremita said they have to leave the office for the day. 

"It's worrisome every day not knowing if I'm going to come in and it's going to be either burning up in here or the air conditioner is working," Eremita said. "From day to day, you really don't know." 

Kyle Hess, the shrine's Potentate, said they have not renovated the building since they moved into it in 2001. 

So far, the cheapest AC replacement the shrine could find would cost up to $300,000. 

He also admits the repairs have been long overdue and that time is not on their side.

"Once it gets hotter, that other compressor is going to fail, and if it does, you can feel it in here right now it's pretty warm," Hess said. "If it fails, we will not have any air conditioning."

Hess said the shrine members are all volunteers and use their own money to maintain the building,

With COVID-19 restrictions, and now the air conditioning failing, Hess said the nonprofit hasn’t had “normal” operations for a while.

He just hopes it's not too late.

If you would like to donate to help pay for the air conditioner, you can give the office a call or come to the shrine in person.

A link to the shrine's website can be found here.