Business & Tech
Sam's Club Donates $350,000 to OASIS Institute
The money awarded during the Saturday ceremony in Maplewood will help the organization increase the number of health and wellness programs it offers to older adults in cities such as St. Louis.
Representatives from Sam's Club and the St. Louis Regional OASIS Institute gathered Saturday in Maplewood to watch Sam's manager Keith Emms present a check for $350,000 to OASIS executive director Barbara Turkington.
The Sam's Club Giving Program awarded the grant in an effort to recognize and support an OASIS mission of resolving, preventing and raising awareness of chronic disease in adults 50 and older. OASIS has offices in Clayton.
The money will be used to increase the number of OASIS health and wellness programs in St. Louis, San Diego and Washington, D.C., as well as to increase marketing and outreach efforts for those programs.
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"We wanted to celebrate the grant with OASIS," said Susan Koehler, senior manager of community involvement for Sam's Club. "And we wanted to let OASIS know that our interests align with theirs. We also saw it as a great opportunity to educate our members about their cause."
St. Louis-based OASIS is a national organization dedicated to educating older adults about healthy living and enriching their lives through classes. Program subjects include yoga, tai chi, healthy eating and chronic disease.
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Sam's Club spotlights physical well-being by offering free public health screenings on the second Saturday of each month.
"This is our first foray into a relationship with Sam's Club," Turkington said. "I feel there is a lot of synergy between the two of us. We're looking at the same issue of making the older population healthier."
OASIS has 80 partners across the U.S.
"This grant will help increase awareness throughout the St. Louis community, and gaining that reach is the most important thing," Turkington said.
Sam's Club expects to donate a total of $2.8 million to various organizations this year as part of its Giving Program. To be eligible for funding, organizations must fit into one of the program's three branches: small-business support, youth entrepeneurship, and health and wellness.
The program helps address club members' needs, Sam's manager Emms said during the ceremony.
"We do this by supporting community-based programs that empower our young people, families and small businesses to make smart choices that lead to healthy and bright futures," Emms said.
This month, Sam's Club pharmacy employees conducted health screenings for lung capacity, body mass index and blood pressure. Next month, they plan to do skin testing. The screenings are open to Sam's Club members and nonmembers.