Since 2011, the Glennon Card has offered shoppers a chance to give back while patronizing some of their favorite stores. The Alpine Shop is one local retailer that has been involved since the beginning. The $50 shopping card allows for some pretty rare discounts at the outdoor sporting goods store, according to its marketing director, Todd Oswald. “Our customers are getting the best deals on equipment and apparel during the 10-day period,” he says. “It’s not the type of discount we offer very often—maybe one or two other times a year.”
Beyond the practical benefit to customers, Alpine Shop strongly believes in giving back to the community it serves. According to Oswald, it’s something owners Russell and Lisa Hollenbeck stress to employees. “The Glennon Card is one way for us to support an organization that is helping kids in St. Louis,” he says. But it’s not the only way Alpine Shop shows support for SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. On Sept. 14, the store hosted a Pint Night to raise funds for the hospital. “This year’s event was successful thanks to a couple local businesses,” Oswald says. “North Face sponsored the event with us and also provided custom pint glasses, and Schlafly provided beer.
We ended up raising about $2,000, and 100 percent of the donations went to Cardinal Glennon.” Oswald attributes the company’s fundraising success to Alpine Shop’s employees. He estimates that the store has raised about $50,000 for local organizations through Pint Nights and other events, but the staff holds Cardinal Glennon in special regard. “The biggest helpers with the Glennon Card program are our staff and outfitters who have really gotten behind it,” he says. “They are very passionate about selling and promoting the card as much as possible.”
This commitment is extra gratifying for Oswald because of his personal connection to the cause. His daughter is a Cardinal Glennon patient. “Katy is an extremely rare case,” he explains. “She has a deletion of chromosome six, meaning part of the chromosome was lost during DNA replication. The condition doesn’t have a name, and there are only a couple other known cases in the world.” It causes birth defects, developmental delay and learning problems.
While he knows his daughter is not the typical patient and there is no cure, Oswald is grateful for the support she receives at the hospital. “We started going to doctors when she was an infant,” he notes. “Now in addition to her local care, she has doctors across the nation and in international programs, but Cardinal Glennon is where we first felt like we were making progress. When we went there at the beginning of the process, they made us feel like we had someone to talk to. It felt like the doctors truly wanted to understand our concerns as parents and learn how they could help our little girl.”
The involvement of his company is a point of pride for Oswald and the entire Alpine Shop staff. “Personally, I’m extremely grateful to work for a company that goes over and above what is necessary to make this a success for Cardinal Glennon,” he says.
