Even with many years of service specializing in family relations and child development for state and federal government programs as well as having served as an early childhood educator, Kendra Cox Morgan always felt like she wasn’t completely fulfilling God’s role for her life.

With her husband Ryan by her side, Morgan prayed for wisdom and guidance throughout that time while also raising their family.

In 2013, with a vision of starting a nonprofit, Morgan told her husband about her idea that would benefit children struggling with learning disabilities or developmentally falling behind the level of their peers.

Morgan said she was half expecting her husband to tell her it wasn’t logical or it was crazy, but instead he told her “’go for it...it’s what we’ve been waiting for.’” So with his encouragement, she sat down and Googled “how to start a nonprofit.”

Soon, Building All Children was born.

With the entire family involved from the beginning, she said daughters Maggie and Adison (currently 20 and 19, respectively) and son, Jace (15) helped create the name and have been an integral part of the organization’s success, doing whatever needs to be done.

What started as a small venture eight years ago has blossomed into an organization of 10 professional team members and a nine-member board which currently serves thousands of children and families throughout the Tulsa community.

Morgan explained why she is so passionate about helping children grow, build and learn; it’s a mission close to her heart.

The daughter of Gayle Cox and Robert Cox and a 1994 graduate of Kingfisher High School, Morgan said she struggled academically.

Although she had the support of her family, friends and many teachers, and put in extra effort, she said she still had difficulties with school.

“I always struggled with learning,” Morgan said. “I was so determined and worked so hard, but could never make the grades.”

Even with help from her family and teachers such as Karen Quigley in elementary school and Dana Golbek and Beth Schieber at KHS, something never quite clicked, Morgan said.

Golbek said it was not for lack of effort.

“She was never afraid of hard work and putting in extra time and effort to reach her goals,” Golbek, longtime KHS math teacher, said.

Morganrecalledthemany hours Golbek spent working with her after school, a memory that almost brought tears.

“She will always hold a special place in my heart.”

One thing Morgan did excel at was basketball, under the direction of coach Cherie Myers.

“Coach Myers taught me great leadership skills, teamwork, as well as to be bold, courageous and be firm in what I believe,” she said.

She had aspirations of playing basketball at the university level, but Morgan said during her junior year that she realized that might not be possible because of her academic record.

“Coach Myers and my parents discussed my options with me and I decided to go the junior college route,” she said.

Looking back on those days, Myers said she was always impressed with Morgan’s work ethic, dedicating herself to whatever she chose to do as well as being an outstanding player.

“She was a dream person to coach,” Myers added. “She was so compassionate and a great teammate because she cared about all the kids around her, whether they were on the floor with her, on the bench or outside of the team.”

With a basketball scholarship to Northern Oklahoma College at Tonkawa, Morgan set out on the next phase of her life, which would prove to be a pivotal moment not only for her, but future generations.

A professor, Dr. Clane Kirtley, took a special interest in Morgan and referred her to Dr. Mary Sweet-Darter for an assessment with hopes of determining her strengths and weaknesses and formulating a way to help her succeed.

The results revealed how Morgan’s brain functioned.

“I was incredibly visual,” Morgan said, “but had always been taught with an auditory- style learning, which is a common method.”

An amazing transformation was on the way as Sweet-Darter and Kirtley arranged for an artist to take Morgan’s class notes and convert them into pictures, which continued throughout her time at NOC and for a semester at Oklahoma State University.

“She kept drawing pictures, retraining my brain to learn visually,” Morgan said.

“I’ll never forget, I was in first aid and had to learn all the bones of the body and I just got it,” she said.

“I could visually see all the bones and knew the answers,” she added.

Making her first “A,” but certainly not her last, Morgan began to excel and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in family relations and child development from OSU.

Later making the decision to further her education, Morgan said she truly enjoyed learning while studying for her master’s degree and completed her degree in early childhood education and is a certified child development and parenting specialist.

“That’s the heart behind BAC,” Morgan said. “I want to figure out how these children learn, what they are good at, what they aren’t good at, focus on their strengths and not their weaknesses, because I never could get it until someone looked at what I was good at.”

With three primary goals, BAC’s mission is to assess, resource and empower.

An assessment is done to determine what the child is good at, areas they may be falling behind in and areas which need building. Families are then connected with appropriate resources either through BAC programs, home development or referrals to outside therapy programs in the Tulsa area.

Empowerment occurs in various ways including partnering with churches that support BAC’s mission.

“We host playgroups in churches all over Tulsa,” Morgan said.

Playgroups provide children the opportunity to develop social skills as well as motor and cognitive skills, she said.

Themes are centered around stories of the Bible, which help children develop in all areas while learning biblical truths, she added.

With many families interested, Morgan said there is usually a waiting list and increasing availability is something they’re working on.

Another program offered at BAC is its Building Readers in which qualified personnel work individually with children who are dealing with difficulties in reading and comprehension.

“We have children who are struggling to read word after word who a few months later will come in telling us excitedly about the books they’ve read,” Morgan said.

“It’s exciting to see the program work the way it’s designed to work.”

Additionally, Moms and Mentors is a project which places women into small group Bible studies which provide parenting support and guidance.

BAC is designed to serve children up to age 12, Morgan said, but the majority are in the age range of 3 to 8 years old.

BAC accepts all children regardless of the child’s level of development or family’s financial situation.

Sponsorship, monthly donors and church partnerships help pay for services, however participating families are asked to donate $100 to sponsor the next family if possible, providing an opportunity to give back, Morgan said.

“The word ‘all’ is in our name because we aren’t a special needs program – we serve all children,” Morgan said.

In early July, BAC moved into the Asbury Development Center in Tulsa, transitioning from an 1,800 square feet facility to 10,000 square feet, which exponentially increased its outreach opportunities.

Within the new facility, Morgan said they created a customized “tiny town” with intricately detailed kids-size grocery and hardware stores, diner, service station, veterinarian clinic and church.

As children play and learn, staff are also able to use the elements of the tiny town to teach children appropriate social skills and interaction, Morgan said.

Out of many success stories, Morgan shared an example of a student who was ready to transition into third grade, but struggling with reading.

After eight months in the program, the student is now a half-grade ahead of target.

With varied resources available at BAC, Morgan said they’re able to bring hope to families and build confidence in children, empowering a lot of people.

Looking back on her own struggles, Morgan said, “it probably helped me understand these children a little better.”

With strong ties to Kingfi sher, Morgan said she is grateful for the tremendous support the organization receives from various churches, individuals and families in the community.

“I’ve always had support and I feel the Lord always puts the right people in my path,” Morgan said.

Raised in the Federated Church, she said faith was also a big part of her life.

“I had a God who always provided,” Morgan said. “I believed in him strongly and still do and believe my faith has gotten me this far.”

Having followed Morgan’s journey for years, Golbek said, “I remember Kendra’s positive attitude, dedication and perseverance… qualities which I’m sure have contributed to her success.

“I’m so proud of her vision and creation of BAC.”

Grateful to serve and help so many, Morgan said she never in a million years would have guessed she would have this opportunity.

As BAC continues to grow, Morgan said building is the key to success.

“We’re always building and molding their hearts, their minds and their future,” she said. “The building never stops.”

In high school Morgan always exhibited a desire to make a difference, Myers said, and spoke of how she might help people…people who struggled, yet might not have the support system she had.

“I’m so proud of her and everything she’s accomplished,” Myers added.

“She just has that special thing about her and I always knew she was going to achieve great things.”