Who We Support

Course for Change OKC

Communities Foundation of Oklahoma

Award Date: January 12, 2021
Awarded: $101,352

Course for Change OKC is a mentorship and juvenile delinquency diversion approach to helping at-risk youth and justice-involved youth develop relationships and demonstrate responsibility and accountability by completing a long-distance running program. As part of the initiative, youth are paired with volunteer mentors and receive the support of a presiding judge responsible for the juvenile docket. To balance the program, community stakeholders are asked to identify additional youth who could benefit from the program. Research demonstrates that foster youth represent a good pool of participants, as they are disproportionately impacted by the juvenile justice system. The Course for Change OKC initiative is modeled after the Washington County (OK) Run the Streets program.