FORT MYERS – Teens at the Oasis Youth Shelter are riding in style, thanks to the LOOK Foundation.

The LOOK Foundation (Let’s Outfit Our Kids) donated $30,000 to Lutheran Services Florida to purchase a van for the shelter, which offers temporary housing to runaways and troubled youth ages 10-17 in a five-county area.

The Oasis Youth Shelter has 22 beds and usually houses 18 or 19 teens a night. The 2010 Honda Odyssey will be used to shuttle youth to school, doctor’s offices, counseling or other appointments.

The timing of the donation couldn’t have been more perfect. The shelter’s current van isn’t running, and the cost of repairs is more than the vehicle is worth, according to LSF Southwest Regional Director Patricia Leonard.

“This van was really a godsend,” she said.

Ray and Darlene Henry founded the LOOK Foundation. The Henrys live in Missouri, but spend their winters in Fort Myers and wanted to do something to help children in their second home. That’s when they discovered Oasis.

Children’s charities hold a special place for the Henrys. Mrs. Henry was given up by her birth mother.

“I wasn’t adopted till I was 10,” Mrs. Henry said while visiting Oasis. Searching for information about her past, she eventually discovered that her birth mother had given up some 17 children, with only two of them ever being adopted.

Ray Henry also came from a large family with 13 children.

“They were very poor,” Mrs. Henry said, and knew what it meant to do without necessities.

Finding success in their adult lives, the Henrys looked for a way to “pay it forward,” and the LOOK Foundation was born. They began by providing shoes, clothing and warm coats for underprivileged children. From there the Foundation branched out to help other nonprofit agencies that worked with disadvantaged youth.

Shelters and foster care programs give children a chance to succeed in life, Mrs. Henry said.

“Kids that are troubled have just as much chance of being OK as kids that have a perfect home,” she said. It’s important that someone reaches out to them to make a difference in their lives.

Oasis is a family-centered shelter, working with youth and their parents to solve the issues that led them to the shelter. More than 95 percent of teens who come to Oasis are reunited with their families, according to J.P. Mojica, Residential Services Manager at Oasis.

Lutheran Services Florida is a statewide, nonprofit human services agency dedicated to helping all people in need regardless of religious affiliation, age or national origin. Headquartered in Tampa, the agency has more than 60 programs located throughout Florida. Since it was established in 1982, LSF has helped more than 800,000 children and families. LSF’s mission is to bring God’s healing, hope and help to people in need.