Our MISSION
Reconnecting children with their incarcerated parents through shared reading via video messages to provide literacy and social-emotional support.
Oklahoma Messages Project helps incarcerated parents record shared reading sessions and personal messages for their children, strengthening emotional bonds, supporting literacy development, and improving educational outcomes.
The OK Messages Project takes trained volunteer teams into prisons to coach and film incarcerated parents reading a book to their child and sharing a positive message. We mail the books and a digital link of the parent reading the story to approximately 1,000 children two to four times a year.
Oklahoma Messages Project exists to strengthen family bonds between incarcerated parents and their children through structured, literacy-based video messaging. We believe consistent emotional connection is essential to a child’s academic success, emotional stability, and long-term resilience.
Our Goal
Breaking the cycle of incarceration one child at a time
Boosting Literacy
Building Confidence
Bonding Families
A little girl who has been receiving OK Messages Project videos since she was four years old explains why the program is so significant to her.
The OK Messages Project helps Zay Lynn feel connected to her mom by allowing her to see her and hear her voice through the DVDs and books that she receives. It makes her feel like she is with her mom in person.
Ways you can Help
Please Help!
We need children's books for incarcerated parents to read to their children on video! Reading aloud together helps the kids know their parents love them and it improves their reading outcomes as well!
Thank you for your support!
The Impact
The OK Messages Project Works
“I hadn’t seen my mother for a year after she was incarcerated. I was constantly worried about her, had no drive for my goals or school, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’ve been very sad and depressed. Seeing Mom’s video that OK Messages Project sent me, and knowing she is getting better and looks a lot healthier made a big difference to me. It brought relief knowing she still loves me and my brother.”
- Oklahoma teenager
%
of children had less depression and sadness
%
of children showed improvement in reading
%
of children had higher self-esteem
Get Involved
Ways You Can Help
With your help, we can improve the lives of children with an incarcerated parent through shared reading.
Donate a Book
At OK Messages Project, we are always in need of new books for the children. You can purchase a book on Amazon Smiles and have a book sent directly to us.
Become a Volunteer
We couldn't accomplish what we have without our volunteers. Help us continue to make a difference in children's lives. Become a part of our incredible volunteer team.
Help the OK Messages Project Change Lives
Contribute Today!
Keeping a child connected with their incarcerated parent or parents is a tall order, but with your help, we can continue to make it possible. Any amount helps.
$10
it only takes $10 to buy a book
$50
it only takes $50 to buy 5 books
$150
it only takes $150 to sponsor a child for one year
Volunteer Spotlight
Sunny Walker
What motivated you to volunteer with OK Messages?
It was pretty serendipitous actually! After watching the documentary 13th and reading the novel Idaho, the crisis of mass incarceration and particularly the mass incarceration of women here in Oklahoma was so very troubling to me. I wanted to do something but I didn’t know how or where to start. I ran into a dear friend and she told me about OK Messages Project - a program her parents Cheri and Holmes Fuller founded, and I knew right then and there I had to be a part of it.
What makes this volunteer experience a meaningful use of your time?
There truly is no more meaningful way to spend my time! Being a parent to my own children is the most important thing in my life so to be afforded the opportunity to help cultivate that relationship with others is beyond rewarding. For so many children these videos are the only time they get to see their moms, dads and grandparents. To give children the gift of seeing, with their own eyes, that their loved one is safe and healthy; to let them hear the words, I love you and I’m proud of you - those are precious moments and I am honored to be a part of them.
What is the biggest personal benefit you receive from your time within the OK Messages experience?
Children with an incarcerated parent are seven times more likely to serve time themselves at some point. If my involvement with OMP can halt that cycle for even one child, it’s worth it. Nothing feels better than making a difference and I know that on filming days when our team sets up in the gym or the chapel we have made a difference just by being there. Prison is a dark, oppressive place and when OMP is on the yard we are a bright shining light of love and support. We don’t film inmates, we film moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas - I love that.
Your Continuing Support helps Make OK Messages Possible
Thank You to Our Generous Individual, Corporate, Foundation,
& Anonymous Donors!
