Tiffany Postoak has the heart, desire and passion to help foster children, particularly those within her own tribe of the Chickasaw Nation.
The East Central University legal studies and political science major from Tupelo High School and a resident of Allen, traveled to Washington D.C. earlier this week as a National Child Awareness Month Ambassador.
As the lone representative from the state of Oklahoma, Postoak served as a community leader, learned the ins and outs of setting up a community service project, and will raise public awareness and affect change.
Postoak’s choice for the fundraising project will be a youth t-ball tournament, for ages 4-6, next spring in the Ada area.
“I was very impressed with Tiffany Postoak from Allen, Oklahoma and also a member of the Chickasaw Nation,” said Cole through a Facebook post. “She is here as Oklahoma’s Youth Ambassador for National Child Awareness Month and is currently leading a project called Chikasha To’ili (Chickasaw Baseball) to raise money for Chickasaw children placed in foster care. Many of the children placed leave the majority of their belongings behind, but the money raised through Tiffany’s project helps provide clothing for these children in their new living environments.”
“The entry fee will be each player donating clothes or toys. So if you have 12 players on your team, the team of players can donate 12 outfits or 12 toys,” Postoak said. “Money can be donated also to benefit the Chickasaw foster care children.”
With the collaboration of Dr. Christine Pappas, ECU legal studies and political science professor, Postoak came up with the idea and was motivated by another former National Child Awareness Ambassador from ECU two years ago in Loren Dunnam.
Dunnam represented ECU and Oklahoma at the Washington D.C. event in 2012 and set up a project to collect clothing and supplies for the children of her Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
“I know that some foster children don’t have many clothes. When you receive foster children, three or four pieces of clothing may come with them, but that’s all,” said Postoak. “Hey, if there is something I can supply for these children I want to do it. I don’t want them to think that the world has forgotten them.”
Through a $1,000 grant from the Festival of Children Foundation, Postoak received the all-expense paid, three-day leadership training on Capitol Hill in D.C. With this trip she had the opportunity for networking with other NCAM Youth Ambassadors from across the country, have ongoing training and mobilization resources and have a platform to grow her service initiative.
This was her second time to go to Washington D.C. Postoak traveled there with members of the Pi Sigma Alpha Honors Program for Political Science.
“I loved it and I’m excited to go back,” she said prior to the trip.