Melanie Anderegg, the CEO of Parent Child Center of Tulsa, was prepared for guests on Thursday morning. She did not expect a surprise.

"We thought that it was just going to be a typical site visit to come learn more about our organizations," she said. "We were all prepared in that direction. So, whenever Cox Charities presented the check, it brought tears to my eyes."

The check was for $10,000, and the leaders plan to use the money on expanding programs to prevent child abuse and neglect. That's been their mission for years.

Parent Child Center of Tulsa is one of 29 Tulsa-area nonprofits to receive a grant from Cox Communications.

"It is a very fulfilling thing," said Roger Ramseyer, Cox Communications. "This is our employee-giving program. These nonprofits were selected only by our frontline Cox employees."

Ramseyer said there were more than 140 applications to choose from.

"It is an exciting thing to see the difference these nonprofits are making in the community," he said.

BeHeard Movement focuses on hygiene for people in need. It also got a check, and organizers say the money gives them some certainty.

"Now that we have this donation, we definitely know we can keep extending our five days of operation into October and potentially November," said Moses Ortiz, an organizer.

Recipients say they rely on money like this and are grateful for the grants. More than $265,000 in grant money is being distributed to the 29 nonprofits that were selected.