In January of 2023, 8-year-old Lyla attended the Martin Luther King, Jr. parade at the OSU Tulsa campus. Witnessing several individuals experiencing homelessness under the bridge and not attending the parade, she asked why those individuals weren’t joining. After explaining it could be due to a multitude of reasons, such as not feeling comfortable leaving their belongings behind, not feeling confident in a crowd or simply just weren’t interested, Lyla’s next question stumped the adults.

“Do they experience joy like you and me?”

The answer took a few minutes to formulate, but the answer was something in the realm of “everyone experiences joy. The things that bring those under the bridge joy may very well be things we take for granted, or because they are people just like you and me, and different things bring joy to each of us, things that bring them joy may just not be what we are interested in and vice versa.”

From there, Lyla was determined to make sure everyone had the opportunity to experience the one place that brings her an immense amount of joy: the Tulsa State Fair. 

She was told it would be a lot of work and a large commitment, but she never shied away from her determination. 

In its inaugural year, Lyla raised more than $1,500 and was able to bring 7 guests plus their caseworkers to the fair. Each guest received a shower, a new outfit, a new pair of shoes and a haircut before attending the Tulsa State fair. 

In its second year, Lyla hopes to raise $5,000. It is thanks to City Lights hosting FairShare as one of its many wonderful programs that makes FairShare possible. 

To learn more about City Lights, click here.