TULSA, Okla. — Deni Fholer discovered what her life was going to be like while sitting in her car at Chandler Park. Her bible opened to Isaiah 58. The year was 1979.
"If you read that chapter it talks about helping the poor, bringing Justice, and helping with housing and those kind of things," Fholer said.
Her life was changed. Since then, Fholer has been doing all she can to help people get back on their feet. The culmination of her life's work isIsaiah 58, a nonprofit she started in 2010, 31 years after the bible laid out her path.
"We're a gap filler ministry," Fholer said. "So we try to help with things other agencies, and ministries can't and won't help with."
The focus of Isaiah 58 is to introduce people to Jesus and help them fill any need they have. When Social Security runs out before the month is over, she steps in.
"She gives out clothing, she helps with Christmas presents, Thanksgiving, all kinds of things," said Diana Norman, a woman who started getting help from Isaiah 58 in May of 2019.
Fholer says the needs of Tulsans have increased exponentially. What was once a phone call from someone who needed help with an electric bill, now involves the electric bill, car repairs, hospital bills, and no food in the pantry.
"It's many more layers than it used to be," Fholder said. "So it makes it more difficult to help folks."
A crisis social worker at the Indian Health Care Resource Center by day, Fholer is available 24/7 to help anyone in need.
"I give everybody my cell phone," Fholer said. "So people text me, they call me, they'll contact us on our Facebook page or our web site and ask for help."
Isaiah 58 has grown from her garage, to a storage facility, to this building which has been home for 3 years. There are no fund raisers and no letters to donors asking for money. Fholer believes God will provide as her nonprofit grows, as will the good people of Green Country.
"We have a very large vision that includes housing and transportation that will be no cost to folks," Fholer says. "So we're praying about that and seeing what God will do there."
If you'd like to help Isaiah 58 help Tulsans in need, please click here.
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