With support for OATS bus services in Callaway and other Mid-Missouri counties decreasing because of federal budget cuts, the bus service applied for and has received a $50,000 contribution from the Walmart Foundation to aid help low income and disabled people ride to work.
Dorothy Yeager, OATS executive director, said the grant was given to the non-profit OATS organization through the Walmart Foundation's State Giving Program.
OATS has received federal funding allowing the organization to provide work transportation to low income and disabled people. But with federal budget cuts looming, Yeager said federal funding was going away, causing the organization to seek alternative sources of money to aid individuals needing transportation to work.
"In many Missouri counties," Yeager said, "we are the only provider to take rural residents to work. Many people can get transportation services when they live in urban areas, but not in rural Missouri."
Steve Maloney, Walmart market manager, and LaTonya Annoor from the Walmart area office, presented the $50,000 check to Yeager and OATS directors.
"The Walmart Foundation is pleased to support OATS and we are committed to helping those in need in communities we serve," Maloney said. "Through this grant we hope that Missouri residents will have access to transportation not just for their jobs but for their everyday needs."