Dec. 17 – A $10,000 donation from CEBEV will help Women in Safe Home overcome budget cuts, according to Executive Director Evelyn Hibbs.
CEBEV owner Jerry Whitlock, founder of Whitlock Packaging in Fort Gibson, recently made the donation through one of his companies.
Hibbs said WISH, which provides shelter and other assistance to victims of domestic violence, has seen about $78,000 in federal funds cut from its program.
“That’s actually two staff members at the shelter,” Hibbs said. “We’re trying to keep people from being let go. We have to have staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Hibbs said Whitlock has been one of the program’s most ardent supporters since its inception in 1986. She said he donated his home on Country Club Road to WISH in 1991. WISH has turned it into a bed and breakfast inn to raise money for the program.
“He’s so good at everything,” she said of Whitlock. “He always gives stuff for the shelter at Christmas. If we let a freezer go out, he would buy us a freezer. He has just been a gift from heaven to us.”
WISH Assistant Director Jaime Stout said Whitlock also helps sponsor Flavors of Oklahoma, a major fundraiser for WISH.
Whitlock Packaging was sold to Refresco in 2016. Whitlock owns Jovē alkaline water and CEBEV.
