Love At The OK Korral
Toby Keith Is On A Mission To Help Kids With Cancer
Toby Keith knew he had to do something. In 2003, two-year-old Allison Webb, the daughter of a former band member and road manager for Keith, was being treated for kidney cancer. “I saw firsthand how a child’s cancer diagnosis can devastate a family,” Keith remembers. “Every time Ally would come home from the hospital after treatment, she would call her house ‘Ally’s House.’”
When doctors told the family that Allison only had a week to live, Keith took action, sending his plane to pick up Allison from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and fly her home to Oklahoma, where she died August 6, 2003.
Already a supporter of children’s causes, Keith decided to make Ally’s House Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting families of pediatric cancer patients in Oklahoma, the sole beneficiary of his annual Toby Keith & Friends Gold Classic, which raised an estimated $250,000 that first year and continues to support the Foundation.
Ten Years In The Making
But Keith wasn’t finished. The award-winning country music singer/songwriter, who has 19 Number One hits and sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, had an even bigger vision to help Oklahoma families fighting pediatric cancer.
That vision became a reality this past November with the opening of the OK Kids Korral in Oklahoma City. Funded by The Toby Keith Foundation, the $9 million facility provides a cost-free home-away-from-home for pediatric cancer patients and their families who are undergoing treatment at nearby hospitals. With 25,000 square feet, the OK Kids Korral has 12 overnight suites, each large enough for five people, as well as four daytime suites where families who have an afternoon appointment can rest and relax during the morning. The state-of-the-art facility also includes a gourmet kitchen, Oklahoma-themed Route 66 indoor playroom and outdoor playground, game room, family resource room, laundry room, theater and reflection room. There’s even a $1 million wing designed specifically to protect children who have a weakened immune system.
An Amazing Place
“The OK Kids Korral is like Ritz Carlton meets Disney World,” Keith said. “I couldn’t be more excited to open the doors to children with cancer. This place is amazing. It’s exceeded my dreams and expectations tenfold, and I’m completely blown away.”
More than 13,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States each year, and cancer kills seven children in the United States each day. When a child has to travel away from home for cancer treatment, the financial and emotional stress placed on the family can often feel overwhelming. The OK Kids Korral provides a safe, convenient and hopeful place for families to connect with each other and focus on the well being of their child.
“Every decision about the house was made with our guests in mind,” said Juliet Nees-Bright, executive director of The Toby Keith Foundation. “We hope the Korral brings comfort and a smile to those who need it the most.”
“We’ve been working on the Korral for 10 years,” Keith says. “Every wall, every corner, it’s been built with love and you can tell that God is ever-present.”