First Tee—Tulsa Students Volunteer At Iron Gate To Give Back To Community

“Hello, welcome to Iron gate. What would you like?” That was the greeting First Tee—Tulsa students gave to the guests at Iron Gate in downtown Tulsa.

Iron Gate is a soup kitchen and grocery pantry with a mission to feed hungry Tulsans and offer them a welcome place when in need. “On an average week, we help 195 households with grocers, which translates into about 878 bags of groceries every week,” said Ashli Sims, Iron Gate’s Development Director. In January of 2020, First Tee—Tulsa students volunteered their time to give back to their community and help at Iron Gate. “It’s important for them to give back to their community and to bring some positivity into it,” said First Tee—Tulsa Executive Director Janice Gibson. With a smile on their face, each student helped pass out groceries to Iron Gate’s guests – everything from fruits and vegetables, bread and milk, meat, and more. One student who greeted each guest as they walked in the pantry earned a nickname for the day. “He’s become the mayor of Iron Gate today,” Sims said. At First Tee—Tulsa, we want our students to learn more than how to hit a golf ball. We want them to learn valuable life skills – like giving back to your community and helping someone when they need it most. “About 60 percent of pantry guests come only one time in a 12-month period. That tells us for most of our guests it was an emergency that brought them to us – an unexpected bill, job loss, or health crisis,” Sims said. Overall, First Tee—Tulsa students helped provide 342 bags of groceries for 76 households. We are so proud of our students for taking time to volunteer for this opportunity. Each one showed what it means to be in the First Tee program and how to live by our 9 Core Values. You can find more information about Iron Gate here.