Home
Welcome to the online press kit for Dr. O. Raye Adkins
and Letters To My Father: The Gifts
From Loss To Miracles
Dr. O. Raye Adkins' mission to help children in need
grew from a little girl's grief for the dad she never knew
O. Raye Adkins, Ed.D, is a school principal turned business and nonprofit executive, an expert on caring for children facing loss and poverty, and author of the new book Letters To My Father: The Gifts.
In this astounding personal memoir, she recounts how she found her life's mission to help children and hurting people through her search for "gifts" from the father she never met.
Her father, Raphel Orval Beason, was killed in the Port Chicago Naval Munitions base explosion on July 17, 1944. He was among 322 men, 275 of them African-Americans, who died in the largest stateside military disaster of World War II. The explosion, in what is now Concord Naval Base near Oakland Bay, was felt throughout the San Francisco area. Families such as Dr. Adkins' were left to grieve with no bodies to bury, no apology or even explanation from the Navy.
Years later, despite her success as an award-winning school administrator, Dr Adkins battled depression. Heeding a counselor's advice to buy a gift her father would have given her, she found an oversized cuddly teddy bear in a San Antonio gift shop.
She named the teddy bear Collemore after her paternal great-grandfather. It was the first of three precious "gifts" that helped her heal and set her on her mission to uplift orphans in Texas and build schools for children in the poorest parts of the world. Other miraculous gifts allowed Dr. Adkins to visit the place where her father died and, through the kindness and interest of a stranger, to have his name added to a monument honoring World War II veterans in his hometown of Palestine, Texas.
Dr. Adkins founded her nonprofit O Raphael and her company OraMite, Inc. with the sole purpose of helping others, particularly children of poverty who need help getting a good education and kids who have lost a parent, whether by death or other types of separation.
"Many of the children who are in poverty are also missing parents in their lives," Dr. Adkins says. "There's a strong correlation between poverty and the single parent."
OraMite donates proceeds from sales of its "Moisture Drops" lotion bars to O Raphael's mission to support schools in Africa and other poverty-stricken areas.
Dr. Adkins established the Help The Bear Program to distribute cuddly Collemore Bears to children receiving help through the Methodist Children's Home that serves Texas and New Mexico. A donation of $50 covers the cost of a bear for a child who has been separated from their home or a missing parent. The donation will also help to fund the outreach of O Raphael. People can donate a bear or purchase a bear for personal gift.
Letters To My Father: The Gifts speaks to anyone who has suffered a loss at an early age or is dealing with adversity. Dr. Adkins' 42 years of professional experience working with children facing hardships led her to write the book and found O Raphael — all in honor of her father.
"Comfort is what you have when victory is yours," she says. "Then, you can pass it to others."
Her father, Raphel Orval Beason, was killed in the Port Chicago Naval Munitions base explosion on July 17, 1944. He was among 322 men, 275 of them African-Americans, who died in the largest stateside military disaster of World War II. The explosion, in what is now Concord Naval Base near Oakland Bay, was felt throughout the San Francisco area. Families such as Dr. Adkins' were left to grieve with no bodies to bury, no apology or even explanation from the Navy.
Years later, despite her success as an award-winning school administrator, Dr Adkins battled depression. Heeding a counselor's advice to buy a gift her father would have given her, she found an oversized cuddly teddy bear in a San Antonio gift shop.
She named the teddy bear Collemore after her paternal great-grandfather. It was the first of three precious "gifts" that helped her heal and set her on her mission to uplift orphans in Texas and build schools for children in the poorest parts of the world. Other miraculous gifts allowed Dr. Adkins to visit the place where her father died and, through the kindness and interest of a stranger, to have his name added to a monument honoring World War II veterans in his hometown of Palestine, Texas.
Dr. Adkins founded her nonprofit O Raphael and her company OraMite, Inc. with the sole purpose of helping others, particularly children of poverty who need help getting a good education and kids who have lost a parent, whether by death or other types of separation.
"Many of the children who are in poverty are also missing parents in their lives," Dr. Adkins says. "There's a strong correlation between poverty and the single parent."
OraMite donates proceeds from sales of its "Moisture Drops" lotion bars to O Raphael's mission to support schools in Africa and other poverty-stricken areas.
Dr. Adkins established the Help The Bear Program to distribute cuddly Collemore Bears to children receiving help through the Methodist Children's Home that serves Texas and New Mexico. A donation of $50 covers the cost of a bear for a child who has been separated from their home or a missing parent. The donation will also help to fund the outreach of O Raphael. People can donate a bear or purchase a bear for personal gift.
Letters To My Father: The Gifts speaks to anyone who has suffered a loss at an early age or is dealing with adversity. Dr. Adkins' 42 years of professional experience working with children facing hardships led her to write the book and found O Raphael — all in honor of her father.
"Comfort is what you have when victory is yours," she says. "Then, you can pass it to others."
Visit Dr. Adkins' public Web sites at http://www.letters2myfather.com and http://www.oramite.com
Media Contact is Michelle Tennant: Michelle@publicityresults.com, 828-749-3200.
Media Contact is Michelle Tennant: Michelle@publicityresults.com, 828-749-3200.
