TULSA, Okla. — With a trademark twinkle in her eye, Lisa Bain knows how to make magic happen.
Bain, the cofounder of Lisa Bain Ministries, brought Santa, Mrs. Claus, and even superheroes to the children of the Little Light House.
"Just loving on these kiddos and spreading Christmas joy, and letting them know that we are just blessed to have them all in our presence," Bain said.
She's teamed up with Rich and Cartmill Insurance to gift students with bags brimming with books, toys, and treats. They thought of staffers too.
"Little Light House is so blessed to be a recipient of her generosity and her heart. She truly sees needs and meets them, and we are so thankful for that," said Lauren Gebhard, Senior Director of Children & Family Services for Little Light House.
Bain is famous for spreading joy, especially when it comes to her therapy dog, Mabel Joy.
"We love to have special needs kids and all kinds of people with animal therapy. It just does amazing things," Bain said.
This Christmas party is one of many Lisa Bain ministry projects. She's hard at work year-round.
"We love to spread hope, but we also spread support to those who are going through an illness, a broken place, something in your life that might be hard or a crisis situation we want to be there," Bain said.
This non-profit was born out of her own crisis.
"My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. She was my best friend. The doctor gave her five months, but on that same day and that same season, I was diagnosed with four autoimmune diseases because I carried the same gene she did," Bain said.
She says the two women started the charity that day. Little Light House was the first place they helped. "She got to see us make the first visit before she went to heaven. She lived five years, not five months," said Bain.
The ministry works in several ways.
"We are helping over 1000 people just this month. And our resilience care boxes filled with items are for the person struggling makes such a difference," Bain said. The boxes include prayer quilts, gift cards, snacks, books, and more.
She also holds workshops, and expos and has monthly Treasure Talks, which are online inspirational interviews. With over 40 different partnerships, she's touching lives all over. "We've got quilting volunteers at churches, we've got schools that pack bags this Friday, we had a group of volunteers backing boxes, hundreds of people making it happen, and that's what I love to see," Bain said.
The heart of this ministry is about care, connection, and community, where the Christmas spirit is felt every day of the year.
"I can honestly tell you serving and giving is healing. Giving equals joy. Joy equals hope, hope equals healing, and if I can help one person see the light in their broken place with what I walk through, then I'd do it all over again. And I know my mom is it and gets a front-row seat."
Bain shares more of her inspirational outlook and store in a new book called "Feel the Rain." You can read more about her and the ministry's work online.
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