Episode 156 · October 1, 2024
Brittany Rae Stokes: Let's Hear it for the Girls
with Brittany Rae Stokes, Cofounder of Project Orphans & Founder of Tulsa Girls Home
36 min
Brittany Rae Stokes: Let's Hear it for the Girls
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In this episode
In this episode I sit down with Brittany Rae Stokes — mother of four, cofounder of Project Orphans and founder of Tulsa Girls Home. What started as a desire to "just help the orphan" from afar grew into something neither Brittany nor her best friend and cofounder Christina ever expected: an NGO in Uganda with 51 staff, hospitals, schools, a women's shelter and foster homes that touch thousands of lives every month.
Then Brittany brought that same heart home. After fostering, adopting, and walking through a hard fight for justice for her daughter Miracle, she saw a gap nobody was filling — there was no home for girls aging out of foster care in our community. So when a friend told her, "Why don't you do it?" she said okay. Tulsa Girls Home is now going on three years, recently moved to Jenks, and is expanding with townhomes for young women 18 to 21.
I love that Brittany reminds us purpose isn't about how big your reach is — it's about how deep it goes. We talk about following the thing that makes you cry or makes you angry, staying committed even when it's hard, and changing the way we see kids in foster care: not as "difficult," but as true survivors learning how to trust and how to love. Whether you're dreaming of starting something or quietly wondering if your one small contribution matters, I hope this conversation encourages you to keep going.
Key takeaways
- Purpose isn't measured by reach — it's measured by depth. Impacting one life deeply matters as much as impacting thousands.</n>
- Follow the thing that makes you cry, makes you angry, or gets you excited to get out of bed — that's often where your purpose lives.
- Start before you feel ready and take it one step at a time. Brittany didn't know how to open a hospital overseas or a group home in Oklahoma — she just kept putting one foot in front of the other.
- You don't have to quit everything to pursue your calling. Brittany worked full-time for ten years before going all-in, and credits that patience for the organization's stability.
- Behind every behavior is an unmet need. Kids in foster care are true survivors, and changing how we see and respond to them changes everything.
- Getting involved doesn't have to mean money first — it can start with shifting your perception, advocating for the fatherless, or using your position and skills to help.
- Lead with one rule: just be kind. Out of kindness flows how we treat others, handle authority, and show up in the world.
“I think purpose is just what we're supposed to do to impact the next person or to leave our mark on this world. And it doesn't matter how big of that reach is, it's how deep that reach is.”
“Just because you find your thing doesn't mean it's going to be easy doing that thing.”
“Behind every behavior is an unmet need. And if we would see that and look at that, we would respond so differently.”
“My job at Tulsa Girls Home is to say sorry for parents who probably won't. And it's a cycle that we want to stop.”
“Family is more than blood. Everyone deserves family.”
Resources mentioned
About Brittany
Cofounder of Project Orphans & Founder of Tulsa Girls Home
Brittany Rae Stokes is a Tulsa native, mother of four, and a licensed therapist. A graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in public relations and advertising and a minor in finance, she spent years in corporate marketing and consulting before cofounding Project Orphans with her best friend Christina Yarid. What began as fundraising to build homes overseas grew into an NGO in Uganda with 51 staff, hospitals, schools, a women's shelter, and foster homes. Brittany went on to found Tulsa Girls Home, a residence for girls aging out of foster care — a resource that didn't exist in the area before her efforts.
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