O’Reillys donate $1.5M to Breast Cancer Foundation

Last edited 1:28 p.m., Aug. 20, 2015

Charlie and Mary Beth O’Reilly yesterday presented a $1.5 million donation to Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.

During a ceremony at Hilton Garden Inn, the gift goes toward meeting the nonprofit’s $25 million Legacy of Hope Society endowment. Through the Charlie & Mary Beth O'Reilly Family Foundation - built, in part, from O’Reilly Automotive Inc. wealth - the O’Reillys previously contributed $1.35 million to the endowment, according to a news release.

“With the help of other passionate Legacy of Hope members, we are now only $7.5 million away from reaching our $25 million by 2020 goal,” said Dan Cobb, committee chairman of the Legacy of Hope Society, in the release.

The endowment is designed to provide financial assistance to local women and families affected by breast cancer, and none of the funding is earmarked for administrative or overhead expenses. The organization provides assistance in the forms of rent and mortgage payments, utilities, car repairs, gas cards and car payments. The endowment is managed by Community Foundation of the Ozarks, the Calhoun Group at Merrill Lynch and the DeLong Group at Morgan Stanley, said BCFO Executive Director Crystal Webster.

Mary Beth O’Reilly, who founded BCFO in 1999, said the donation is intended to keep the nonprofit operating for future generations.

"We have lived and worked in the region for many years and wanted to give back to a community we love in a way that best helps BCFO’s mission well into the future,” she said in the release.