(Lee’s Summit, Missouri, May 16, 2022) – OATS Transit, a Missouri based not-for-profit transportation provider, is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation totaling $100,000. These funds will be used to support the capital campaign for a transportation hub in the Kansas City area.
In recognition of Marion and Henry Bloch’s lifelong commitment to their community, the Bloch Family Foundation focuses its support on organizations that serve Greater Kansas City - Jackson, Clay, and Platte counties in Missouri, and Wyandotte and Johnson counties in Kansas.
OATS Transit has purchased property for a new operations facility in Lee’s Summit, MO just off I-470. Construction is expected to begin in 2023 and planned for completion in 2025. The facility will oversee specialized transportation in Jackson, Cass, Clay and Platte counties. OATS Transit provides transportation for medical appointments, work, essential shopping and more. In addition to rural service for individuals of any age, OATS Transit operates the RideKC buses in Lees Summit, which is a partnership with the City of Lee’s Summit and the Kansas City Area Transit Authority.
“Thanks to the support from the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation this grant allows us to match our federal dollars with local funds,” said Dorothy Yeager, Executive Director of OATS Transit. “We are excited to be building and expanding in the Kansas City area market in the near future,” added Yeager.
Since 1971, OATS Transit has served thousands of Missourians in 87 counties with a staff of 550 employees. Last year the company provided more than one million trips in the state. OATS Transit has grown to be one of the largest and most unique transportation systems of its kind in the country. For more information about OATS Transit or to view schedules for buses running in your area, please visit the website at www.oatstransit.org or follow them on your favorite social media site.
Photo: Jill Stedem, Administrative Director (left), and Dorothy Yeager, Executive Director (right), of OATS, Inc. accepted the grant check from the Marion & Henry Bloch Family Foundation.
“Enhancing quality of life by providing safe, caring & reliable transportation services.”