Bridges Supporter Jim Agar to Receive Social Justice Award

The Xenia Institute announces that it has selected Norman businessman and Bridges supporter Jim Agar to receive its fifth annual Sam Matthews Social Justice Award.

Agar is an active supporter and fundraiser for Norman service organizations, primarily Bridges (formerly Independent Living Services for Youth), for which he has raised more than $100,000 in the past 12 years. Agar’s efforts have helped fund the Bootstrap Scholarship, which provides college funding to high school students who live alone due to family crisis. Bridges offers these students support such as food, clothing, medical care and housing, in order to help them graduate high school and pursue a college education or career. Bridges also provides one-on-one mentoring and guidance.

Agar, assisted by E’Ann Robinson, has personally secured funding, arranged mentors and awarded graduating students with a plaque marking their achievements. More than 50 students have received a Bootstrap Scholarship since Agar began fundraising for the scholarship in 1996. Hal Smith, chairman and chief executive of Hal Smith Restaurant Group and a former Bridges mentor, said Agar was inspired to begin the Bootstrap Scholarship as a way of recognizing the efforts of students who persevere to stay in school despite hardships. He cites a letter Agar sent to him: “By lending a hand,” Agar wrote, “we may help a child become a productive and responsible adult. To know that we have tried and that we sometimes succeed should be ample reward for our efforts.”

Agar has been a part of the Norman business community for the past 55 years, and played key roles in several businesses. He has also been a community leader, serving on the Norman City Council, as a member of the Chamber of Commerce and president of the Norman Rotary Club, and as a supporter for several city and county events.

The Xenia Institute’s Sam Matthews Social Justice Award is awarded each year to a member of the Norman community who has been an advocate for social justice. The award is named for Sam Matthews, the first Realtor in Norman who defied social customs of the 1960s to sell a home to an African-American family. Matthews received the inaugural award posthumously in 2005; he died in 2000.

“We are thrilled to announce Mr. Agar as this year’s Matthews Award recipient,” said Clint Williams, executive director of The Xenia Institute.  His volunteerism in the community is a perfect representation of the vision of this award: regular people like you and me taking us a step forward in social justice for all.”

The Sam Matthews Social Justice Award Banquet will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010, in the fellowship hall of First Christian Church, Norman.  Tickets are $20 and are available by calling the Xenia Institute at 405.321.8682, or by e-mailing Paige Hoster, assistant to the executive director, at paige@xeniainstitute.org.

The Xenia Institute brings people together, creates a safe space for dialogue, and transforms dialogue into action.

For more information about The Xenia Institute, call 405.321.8682, or e-mail Executive Director Clint Williams at clint@xeniainstitute.org.