Tulsa Girl's FairShare Initiative Brings Smiles To Those In Need

A 10-year-old Tulsa girl wants everyone to share the fun rides and food at the Tulsa State Fair.

She raised $5,000 to bring people who are homeless to the fair.

The Tulsa State Fair is where Lyla Thomas has the most fun.

“I love the fair, I experience a lot of joy, and I wanted them to do the same,” she said.

She wanted to share that joy, so she raised $5,000 through sponsorships, selling lemonade and other fundraisers.

She used the money to create FairShare and partnered with the City Lights Foundation to bring 14 people who are homeless to the fair.

“Our friends walk through a lot of heavy in the day in and day out, so for us to be able to partner with Lyla, which has done an amazing job raising funds for this, and just advocating for others to have joy, and be able to come out and partake in that, I think is really huge,” Sarah Grounds said.

Executive director Sarah Grounds says this is a big and fun day for everyone. People are able to ride rides, play games and eat all the fair food they want. Sarah says this helps the City Lights Foundation build connections. 

“Our work doesn't end at the end of today, as we build relationships with people, we're continuing to walk to make sure we can do everything we can to help people be stable in the long term,” she said.

This was Paul Humphreys' first trip ever to the fair, and he says he was excited to see everything out there. Most importantly, he's touched a 10-year-old would take the time to do something like this.

“That blows my mind; I'm amazed that kids are thinking about people,” he said.

This was Lyla's second year to do this.