Tulsa Day Center

Golly gosh darn! We goofed! Our postcards for the Taste of Change event mailed before they were supposed to and before the QR code was live. If you are trying to RSVP, here's the spot.

And if you're not…you should be! Join us on August 8 for food and wine pairings from some of Tulsa's finest chefs, all benefiting the Tulsa Day Center!

Sponsorships are available. Email Monica at [email protected] for more info.

Taste of Change Join us for Taste of Change, a fun in-person event where bold flavors meet fresh ideas!

Our next honoree in :

David Poarch

Board Member

Sometimes your neighbor comes over to ask for a cup of sugar. And sometimes they ask you to help transform lives.

In 1995, David Poarch's neighbor Sandra Lewis, then Executive Director of the Tulsa Day Center, asked his wife Carol to consider joining the board. Carol was busy with two young kids and a full career, so David stepped up in her place.

Over nearly three decades of board service, David served as Vice President, President, and Treasurer of the Tulsa Day Center. But he really secured his legacy at Tulsa Day Center when he chaired the effort to build Hudson Villas, the $6.5 million, 60-unit supportive housing complex that opened in 2013 and has given formerly homeless Tulsans not just shelter, but a place to truly call home. Hudson Villas remains one of TDC's most powerful tools for ending chronic homelessness, with 95% of residents maintaining stable housing year after year.

David has said his life is better for the people he has met through this work. We think Tulsa is better for the work he has done.

This weekend! Saturday, May 16 the City of Tulsa will host the Rising Together: Tulsa Recovery Summit - a free public event focused on recovery, mental health, resources, and education.
Details below. 👇👇

City of Tulsa Saturday, May 16, 2026 | 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.Tulsa Tech - Lemley Memorial CampusClient Service Center (1st Floor)3638 S. Memorial Dr., Tulsa, OK 74145

Next in our series of 40 Faces of Tulsa Day Center -

Maxine & Jack Zarrow
Founding Philanthropists

The ground beneath the Tulsa Day Center tells a story. Before a single brick was ever laid, Maxine and Jack Zarrow, together with the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, donated a full square block of land to make this place possible. Before there was a building, before there were clients served or lives changed, there was a family that believed the land itself should be dedicated to caring for Tulsa's most vulnerable neighbors.

Jack Zarrow joined his father and brother in building Sooner Pipe and Supply into one of Tulsa's great enterprises, and that success fueled a lifetime of extraordinary generosity. Maxine served on numerous community boards spanning mental health, education, and social services, and like the rest of her family, she showed up in ways both grand and quiet; volunteering, identifying needs, and doing whatever it took to help. Together, their family helped launch Building Tulsa, Building Lives, a campaign to end chronic homelessness, which ran from 2007 to 2012 and raised an extraordinary $57 million, financing more than 500 affordable housing units across Tulsa. Jack passed away in February 2012, and Maxine in 2021, and their family continues their legacy by championing the needs of the Tulsa community to this day.

Their foundation continues to carry forward their belief that those most at risk deserve transformational support, not just temporary relief. The Tulsa Day Center stands today, in every sense of the word, on the foundation they helped build.

Want to learn more about mental health and recovery in our community AND see Tulsa Day Center staff in person? We've got the event for you!

The Tulsa Day Center will have a booth at City of Tulsa Gov's "Rising Together: Tulsa Recovery Summit" on Saturday, May 16, and we would love for you to stop by, meet our team, and learn more about the work we do every day for our neighbors experiencing homelessness.

Recovery and mental health touch the lives of so many people we serve, and this free event is for anyone who wants to learn more. Join us at Tulsa Tech Lemley Memorial Campus (3638 S. Memorial Dr.) from 8:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a resource fair featuring more than 40 community partners; free workshops on addiction, overdose response, First Aid/CPR; and even a free light breakfast.

We hope to see you there!

For more information, visit cityoftulsa.org/recoverysummit26.

The 2026 Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits Nonprofit Excellence (ONE) Awards were held at the end of April, and we want to take a moment to congratulate all of this year's winners and nominees. We were nominated in the Self-Sufficiency category, and it is truly an honor to be recognized along with so many other nonprofits doing incredible things across our state.

A special shoutout to Our Daily Bread Stillwater, this year's overall ONE Award winner, and to every organization recognized across all categories. Oklahoma's nonprofit community is doing extraordinary work, and we are proud to be part of it. 💙

Read more about the nominees at https://zurl.co/RQzNh.

Continuing our series of 40 Faces of Tulsa Day Center...

Anne & Henry Zarrow
Founding Philanthropists

Every great story has a moment that changes everything. For the Tulsa Day Center, that moment happened on a cold winter day when Anne Zarrow visited a Tulsa homeless shelter and saw a baby lying on a concrete floor. She went to find her husband, Henry, and told him simply: "You're going to do something about this."

And he did.

That act of compassion and conviction from Anne became the spark that brought Tulsa Day Center to life. For decades, Henry and Anne were personally invested in the success of this new resource for Tulsa’s homeless community. Henry was known to make trips to Walmart to buy cartloads of clothes to donate. The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation provided the first $5 million of the $16 million expansion campaign and helped fund an $8.5 million renovation of our building. Their legacy lives on in every client served, every home secured, and every life restored within these walls.

Tulsa Day Center’s Heart of Henry fundraiser was named in their honor, a tribute to two people whose giving hearts helped build something that has served Tulsans for 40 years and counting. Though both Anne and Henry have passed away, their family continues to champion this mission with the same love, tenacity, and Anne’s one passionate assertion that started it all.

On April 21, we celebrated the people who help make our work possible. 💙

Every day, our volunteers show up to greet clients, serve meals, sort donations, assist in our clinic, and assemble Housewarming Baskets for neighbors moving into new homes. This amazing group gives their time, their skills, and their hearts to this work.

To everyone who has ever shown up for our clients: Thank you. Your dedication to serving the most vulnerable communities in Tulsa is truly appreciated. And we were so glad to get to spend a little time spoiling you.

Interested in joining us? Visit tulsadaycenter.org/give-help/volunteer/ to learn more.

Meet Candida. 💙

In 2021, Candida and her fiancé arrived at the Tulsa Day Center after living in their car for over a year. They had left Norman to start fresh in Tulsa, navigating homelessness, a new city, and the challenges of having a dog in tow. Through it all, Candida never stopped working toward her goals, and continued to pursue her Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice while experiencing homelessness.

With the help of her Case Manager Lauren, Candida secured a housing voucher, and in August 2022 she and her fiancé were placed in a home of their own. Since then, Candida has graduated with her BS in Criminal Justice, and for nearly five years, she has lived in the home she was able to secure with the help of Tulsa Day Center. She has also found a career with a nonprofit, helping to provide more people with the chance to start again.

No matter what, Candida is always positive and always lifts up the people around her. She is exactly the kind of person who reminds us why this work matters. We are so proud of you, Candida! 🎓