Published: November 13, 2008 in the Sundance Times
Christmas came early for Crook County resident Frank Sanders who was presented on Monday with a $50,000 check from the Wal-Mart Foundation, Wal-Mart Stores, and Sam’s Clubs.
“This donation is hallmark,” Sanders says. “It means a lot to us monetarily; but the true value is that Wal-Mart sees the value of what we’re doing and the lofty goals we have in trying to bridge the cultural gap with the Native American community.”
While cultural differences may set Sanders apart from the Native American people, they are nevertheless bonded by a common reverence for Devils Tower and a common appreciation for one another. It’s that bond that led Sanders to become involved with the Porcupine Clinic on Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South Dakota.
The clinic was built in 1992 by a group of committed Lakota community leaders with grants from private foundations. With a limited budget for medical supplies and care providers, the clinic barely ekes out an existence as it provides free health care to people who might otherwise not get t4reatment.
Every few weeks, using money donated through his Devils Tower Lodge, Sanders delivers supplies to the Porcupine Clinic. It’s all basic items that the medical clinic doesn’t have money to buy, such as diapers, bandages, gauze, cough syrup, ibuprofen, etc. He also provides fuel for the clinic’s dialysis van which delivers critical medical aid to patients in the region.
“I go to Wal-Mart and load up a cart with whatever the clinic needs and then I stop by Tom’s office (Tom Jones, manager of the Spearfish Wal-Mart) and ask him how he’ll sweeten the pot. He always gives me a good deal on the supplies,” Sanders says.
And now that he’s received this generous grant, Sanders says he will go to the Wal-Mart store in Spearfish and load up a cart with whatever the clinic needs. “And then I’m going to stop by Tom’s office and ask how he’ll sweeten the pot.”
It’s not only the money that Sanders invests into the cause of Sacred To Many People. Last year, he initiated Project 365 in which he climbed Devils Tower 365 consecutive days in an effort to raise awareness to what he calls, “a sweeping vision of bringing attention to our own Third World Country right here in the heartland of America.”
The Devils Tower Sacred To Many People Foundation is a non-profit organization coordinated by Frank Sanders, with the assistance of board members: President Michael Eisenberg, a Philadelphia attorney and Frank’s occasional climbing partner; Secretary Juliana Byrd, Frank’s partner in life; and Treasurer Mary Sell, a local CPA.
“Our goal is to help improve the quality of life for Native Americans,” Sanders said. “We want to tear down the walls, culturally, spiritually, and otherwise.” Sanders believes that every social malady known to man can be traced directly to lack of health care and education.
It was with this spirit that Sanders applied for a grant from the Wal-Mart Corporation and Sam’s Clubs.
Wal-Mart Stores, Sam’s Clubs and the Foundation gave away more than $400 million to 100,000 charitable and community based organization in 2007. In 2008, they launched a new State Giving Program to increase the regional impact of the corporation’s giving in all fifty states.
To qualify, an organization must hold a current tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code and must be focused in one of four areas: Education, Job Skills Training, Health, and Environmental Sustainability.
“Frank Sanders’ organization fit into all four of those buckets,” said Craig Briggs, Wal-Mart Marketing Manager for South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska. “As a South Dakota native myself, I am very excited to see this money going back into this area.
Briggs explained that, in South Dakota alone, an Advisory Committee is made up of seven members, including three store managers in western South Dakota and four in eastern South Dakota. Those seven members reviewed all of the grant applications and made recommendations to the Corporate Committee in Washington, D.C. It was through this process that Sacred To Many People was selected to receive one of the grants awarded in South Dakota for 2008.
“We give this serious consideration,” Briggs said, “because we’re giving away serious money.”
