Update: Reviewing Gulf Coast Western's Support of Local Charities

Updated: 9/17/20

Sadie Keller Takes Her Work to Washington

When despair and adversity crept into Sadie Keller’s life, she made the admirable decision to turn her hardships into something positive. At the tender age of seven, Sadie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. While hospitalized, Sadie made several friends who were dealing with health concerns, just as she was. Much like Sadie, these other kids were spending large chunks, if not all, of their youth within the confines of the hospital instead of the wall-less expanse of open playgrounds. In the hopes of bolstering everyone’s spirits, Sadie created a toy drive to ensure that all her friends would receive gifts on Christmas day to add some normalcy to the holiday season.

Sadie’s toy drive was so successful that it grew into a national foundation. Since its inception, Sadie’s charity has collected over 58,000 toys. Though Sadie did her best to maintain an upbeat environment, she still had to deal with the reality of losing friends at such a young age. For Sadie, sharing her journey made it easier to grapple with these difficulties. She even started a podcast that she recorded from her mother’s closet in an attempt to build a platform and provide hope to children battling cancer.

With everything that she did, Sadie wanted to advocate for more childhood cancer research funding. She was so passionate about this mission that she went to Washington, D.C. and met with members of the federal government. Sadie felt that this was the only way to spark real, tangible change, and inspired by her efforts, Congressman Michael McCaul helped Sadie pass the STAR Act, which is a legislation that accumulated millions of dollars to fight childhood cancer. Together, McCaul and Sadie made great strides, and they even captured the interest of many household names, including Gulf Coast Western, Matthew Fleeger, Lester Holt, and Wolf Blitzer. Sadie is now 13-years-old and hopes to continue to move mountains on the way toward a cure for cancer and as a source of inspiration to everyone who is sharing in that battle.

Gulf Coast Western and the Sadie Keller Foundation

Gulf Coast Western and the Sadie Keller Foundation are not your typical corporate-charity partners. Upon review, theirs is a relationship, a first-name friendship starting with a CEO and 12-year-old toy giving star and filtering throughout their respective organizations.

Sadie Keller has collected toys for kids who are spending their holiday season in a hospital since her own cancer diagnosis at age 7. She has seen the kindness of others and knows the impact of picking up 100 toys at a church. But none of it quite prepared her for what happened when the elevator doors first opened at Gulf Coast Western’s Dallas office.

“That was such an amazing experience,” Sadie said. “Everywhere I looked around the lobby, it was like Nintendo Switches, X-Boxes, bicycles, and amazing gifts that anyone would want.”

The company makes its presentation on the same day it hosts its annual Christmas party, when its Boise, Idaho, base is also in Dallas. Sadie and foundation staff are welcomed not only by more than 700 toys, but dozens of employees who make it happen.

This is not corporate charity cutting a check or sponsoring a golf tournament or casino night. They aren’t reviewing portfolios, rubbing elbows, or shaking hands in front of a poster-sized check at a staged photo opportunity. The event is for the foundation and the foundation alone. The Sadie Keller Foundation is touched on-site and Gulf Coast Western reviewed the event and stated that its employees are connected to the good that is being accomplished.

Yet even before the foundation’s 2018 fundraiser where Gulf Coast Western CEO, Matt Fleeger was touched by Sadie and her cause, he had been touched by cancer.

“I have a survivor’s compassion for the emotional and physical impact cancer can have on an adult, but I could not fathom what it takes for a child to endure the suffering treatments and emotions. I decided that very evening to make a difference,” Fleeger said.

Fleeger’s $25,000 donation was backed by a verbal commitment and was agreed to be matched and put towards the resources to help Sadie’s Sleigh surpass that year’s goal of 13,000 toys by October. Vice President of Sales Operations, Tim Taylor set the forces in motion and made “about 24 individual trips” to gather the bounty the last couple of years.

The method behind the mission has refined itself over the years. “In 2019, me and five of the sales guys go with three pickups at a time and have quite a bit of fun,” Taylor said, noting that even then, the annual buying phase of the donation process still takes a handful of trips.

One shopper focuses on electronics while others specialize in boys and girls toys, separating them into 8-and-under and 9-and-older age groups. Taylor corners the retailer’s manager and make sure a cash register is dedicated to the cartloads of presents. “I tell them I’m going to buy $6,000 in toys right now. They get the message.”

And it really is the thought that counts. There are dollhouses, bikes, scooters, and even a Power Wheels tank that shoots Nerf projectiles. “Then we thought about 15-year-olds, still kids, but they’re the ones that kind of get left out in toy drives. So, we got Beats headphones,” Taylor said.

“Gulf Coast Western went above and beyond anything you could ever imagine. And it really is quality over quantity,” said Sarah Keller, Sadie’s mom. “When the kids open their gifts, we want it to be like Christmas morning. If you would get it for your kid, then we would want it for Sadie’s Sleigh.”

Having Gulf Coast Western onboard has been key as the Sadie’s Sleigh program grew from its origin at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, where Sadie was treated for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The program, after its successes were reviewed, grew to include 11 hospitals covering all of Dallas-Fort Worth, plus treatment facilities in Austin, Houston, and five other states.

The foundation has also grown to provide “milestone toys” to mark key steps for young cancer patients and parent packs of coupons and gift cards for restaurants, gas, and other needs of their families. Sadie Keller has turned the momentum into superstar status, working as a public speaker, advocate, and activist for patients. She has even lobbied in Washington, D.C. for more research funding.

Yet the foundation itself is relatively small in numbers. So, Gulf Coast Western’s annual holiday donation isn’t finished when the elevator doors open, leaving Sadie and the foundation in awe. The staff loads the trucks and makes it known that they’re available to support the Sadie Keller Foundation in any way they can.

Gulf Coast Western sponsors the Foundation’s Yellow Ball fundraiser, at which Matt Fleeger has purchased more than a handful of Sadie’s paintings – artwork that supports all aspects of the foundation.

Just as Sadie has other donors, her foundation is but a slice of the charitable portfolio for Fleeger and the company. Gulf Coast Western is also involved with the North Texas Food Bank, Children’s Medical Center, Shriner’s Hospitals, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Magdalene House, and Smile Train. But there’s something extra special about delivering a truckload of toys to sick kids.

“At the end of the day, when we’re all together at the company Christmas party with our spouses, the toy donation is still all the buzz, separate from the awards and the other traditions of the event,” Taylor said. “It’s the best team-building exercise we’ve ever done.”

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