PEOS IN THE COMMUNITY: OMS GROUP BRINGS THE HOLIDAY CHEER TO LAKELAND

Not long after co-founding OMS Group in 1997, Partner Bob Cleghorn decided that giving back during the holiday season would be a key component of the Florida PEO.

The company decided that a joint annual fundraiser to support one local charity during Christmas would be a good way to build camaraderie, and more importantly, benefit and strengthen ties with the Lakeland community. They landed on Volunteers in Service to the Elderly (VISTE), a nonprofit helping Lakeland-area seniors remain safe and independent in their own homes through meals and medical services.

Ownership matched the cans of food and other resources donated by employees, who embraced the giving opportunity. Following up on the initial success, OMS Group decided in the coming years to add a second beneficiary charity, Parker Street Ministries, a nonprofit that provides academic, housing, food, and supplies assistance to impoverished families in Lakeland’s Parker Street neighborhood— into its annual Season of Giving Challenge.

That second charity became a third —Lighthouse Ministries, which provides residential programs, feeding, and shelter to the homeless, as well as outreach centers to help low-income and at-risk families in West Central Florida — and fast-forward 26 years, OMS Group has spearheaded a three-pronged approach to charitable holiday endeavors in Lakeland.

“Since these are three different segments with no overlap, we said, ‘let’s do all three. And then it really took off,’” Cleghorn said.

Thanks to OMS Group, the Lakeland community sees a trifecta of groups benefit during the holiday season: seniors through VISTE receive canned foods; children through Parker Street Ministries receive toys; and impoverished families through Lighthouse Ministries receive personal care products.

From November 10 to December 10, OMS Group employees purchase these needed items for the three nonprofits. Staff who participate receive a $25 gift card to locally headquartered supermarket chain Publix and see their donation matched and delivered by the PEO. Jorgeanne Carpenter, who runs marketing for OMS Group, says that there is now a roughly 90 percent participation rate.

It’s a win-win for both employees and clients, as well as Publix, the well-known grocery chain whose corporate headquarters is a ten-minute drive across town. Carpenter said the grocer’s executive staff, including the founding family, shares the same generous spirit that her PEO does.

“There are a lot of charities and a lot of good work going on here,” Carpenter said. “We’re so happy to be a part of it.”

It’s an approach that’s helped the once-upstart PEO spread the holiday cheer and give back locally to missions that are meaningful to employees. Two of the three annual Christmas beneficiaries are clients of OMS Group whom they assist with claims and other business needs, while one of OMS Group’s founders has made separately supporting the Lakeland Symphony Orchestra his charitable pet project. This holistic approach, combined with other endeavors, brings a sense of community investment rather than charities chosen at random, said Payroll Manager Holly Barnett.

And as OMS Group’s volunteering program has become more built out, so has its reach across Lakeland.

To mark its 25th anniversary last year, OMS Group donated ten checks of $2,500 each to ten Lakeland nonprofits, including Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine.

Last year, to mark its 25th anniversary, OMS Group decided to celebrate in grand charitable fashion.

The team joked that it would be clever to give away a car—as Barnett put it, “or something obnoxious since our owners are so generous”— before settling on perhaps a more fitting way to mark the milestone: a $25,000 donation to the Lakeland community. But instead of this sum all going to one beneficiary, it was doled out in ten increments of $2,500, allowing for greater reach in the local community.

Employees floated local nonprofits that they wanted to see the money go to, which ran the gamut from faith-based organizations to personal passions like music and fitness nonprofits. It gave everyone a chance to advocate for a cause meaningful to them.

OMS Group employees donate personal care products, toys, and canned food during its annual December Season of Giving Challenge. Company leadership matches all gifts donated by staff.

From these poignant and compelling testimonials, Barnett said there were “tearjerkers,” which made it hard to select the finalists. Eventually, the firm settled on ten: Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine, Lakeland Symphony Orchestra, Lighthouse Ministries, VISTE, Parker Street Ministries, Linking Community Now, Idols Aside Ministries, Gospel Inc., the Boys & Girls Clubs of Polk County, and Noah’s Ark of Central Florida. Over the course of the holiday month, employees brought these checks to the ten recipients, a heartfelt process the company said was fulfilling for both the givers and the receivers.

Fast forward a year, and OMS Group is back in the swing of providing toys, food, and personal care essentials to the those in need. It’s a tradition a quarter-century in the making, one that Cleghorn says will continue for holiday seasons to come.

“We’ve had such a positive response, and everybody has really enjoyed it,” Cleghorn said. “It really has brought us together.”