CITIZEN SPOTLIGHT
Mary & Lenny Kaplan MARY AND LENNY KAPLAN MAKE SERVING OTHERS THEIR LIFE’S MISSION. Story and photos by Berlin Green
At 79 years young, Mary Kaplan and her husband Lenny, 76, have made public service their life’s work, and every week for the last 12 years, the couple has dedicated their time to making sure that homeless individuals have a warm meal, clean clothes and a kind word. The Kaplans, who recently renewed their vows after celebrating 43 years of marriage, have a long history of involvement with social issues, and they’ve dedicated their lives to causes that affect people’s health and safety. “Lenny and I lived in Florida at the beginning of the AIDS crisis, so we’ve worked a lot with AIDS patients. We worked on helping develop the first blood test for HIV,” Mary Kaplan said. “So for all this time we’ve been involved one way or another. Lenny told me when we got married that we’ll never be bored, and well, wasn’t that true.” After spending 45 years as a critical care nurse, Mary retired in 2010, but helping people wasn’t something she could simply stop doing. “On our way to church, we saw about 30 to 40 people gathered under what used to be the I-40 bridge,” Mary Kaplan said. “The temperatures were well over 100
degrees. They all looked so hot a nd s o miserable. When we came back, they were still there, only the g roup was larger. I said, ‘That ’s terrible; somebody should d o Mary and Lenny Kaplan, founders of Ice Angels. something.’ Lenny and I looked A grant allowed them to purat each other, and he said well, ‘I chase a concession trailer to make guess we’re somebody.’” hot food on site, and, after some The couple quickly sprung into struggle to find a consistent place action, and that one afternoon’s to set up feedings, the Crossbridge good deeds would turn into more Community CME Church donated than a decade of service people their parking lot to the cause. Now, in the community would come to each Wednesday at noon, you’ll rely on. find the Kaplans and more than a “We went home and got some dozen volunteers — operating as ice water and came back out and the Ice Angels of Mosaic — handing started handing it out,” Kaplan out hot meals, clothes, blankets, said. “It continued to be hot, so we hygiene kits and other necessities kept doing it three days a week, at 1200 S. Walker Ave. just going into town and passing “We’ve been here at this site for out ice water to everyone we could five years now,” Kaplan said. find. Then one of those times “Before we came here, we would somebody said, you know, I’m just go to different areas trying really hungry. So we started to serve the same people and making sandwiches and bringing eventually get kicked out. The fruit. From there it just kept pastor here is very dedicated to growing and more and more people serving the homeless community, have gotten involved.” so we have a home here for a long time to come.” Several churches and volunteers gather each week to help the Kaplans continue their mission. The Pet Food Pantry of Oklahoma visits the site twice a month to provide pet food and needed care supplies. “Our goal is always to provide a hot, nutritious meal,” she said. “A lot of times they just get chips and hotdogs, so our goal is definitely to give them something healthy that always includes a protein, salad, vegetable and water. The homeless will give up their food to their pets before they’ll eat themselves, so having the pet food pantry come out is wonderful — it ensures everyone is able to eat. On this April day, Ice Angels served 97 meals. Kaplan has seen a lot of the same faces over the years, and as the homeless problem
continues to grow in downtown Oklahoma City, new ones appear every week. ‘Last month, we served 405 people; for the year, it’s about 4,000,” she said. “I’m 79 years old. I’m hoping that it slows down, but, of course, I don’t see much of a chance of that. The problem has grown a lot over the years. There are those that come and go, and when you don’t see them for a while, you really worry about what is happening. There’s a lot of sad stories, but some really incredible stories too.” The Ice Angels rely solely on the time and generosity of donors and volunteers, all of whom proudly come together to support the cause. “One of the things that I love about this is that its groups of people from different places, from different churches and organizations coming together simply to serve those in need in our community,” said Andre Contino, a pastor at the Moore First United Methodist Church. “Because we’ve been doing this for a while now, we get to know a lot of the people we serve on a first-name basis. You’re able to build relationships and make a great impact. It’s a blessing for us and for those we serve.” To learn more about Ice Angels or how you can help, visit www.mosaicokc.org/missions__outreach.
A line of people get supplies and a hot meal provided by the Ice Angels and volunteers.
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