ASHLAND, OREGON – May 5, 2016 – PLEXIS Healthcare Systems announced that it recently increased its support for the Native American youth mentorship program, NativeVision. For the past six years the PLEXIS corporate leadership team has donated their time to support NativeVision, an exemplary humanitarian organization operated by the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. This year PLEXIS leveraged corporate gamification to inspire greater employee wellness while generating significant monetary support for NativeVision.
“We are deeply grateful to the PLEXIS team for their generous support for NativeVision,” said Allison Barlow, Associate Director, Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health and co-founder, NativeVision. “This unique sports and life skills program for American Indian youth depends on charitable contributions and sponsorships to operate, and PLEXIS’ contribution is greatly appreciated. Together we will help create a brighter future for the First Americans.”
NativeVision is a partnership operated by Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health and the National Football League Players Association, mobilizing NFL players and other professional athletes as mentors for Native youth. NativeVision seeks to cultivate the core strengths, values, and positive relationships for American Indian youth that will make them resilient to prevailing risks and help them transition to healthy, productive, and fulfilling adulthood.
Plexicans Stepping for NativeVision
PLEXIS employees, called Plexicans, competed in the fitness challenge by wearing a fitness device (Fitbit, Garmin, Jawbone, etc.) to log steps while walking, jogging, or running. The more steps they logged the more money PLEXIS pledged to give NativeVision, and the participants also increased their chances at winning the grand prize of an all-expense-paid trip to the 2016 NativeVision Sports and Life Skills camp in Okmulgee, OK.
“The results were impressive,” said Hollewijn. “During the 81-day competition Plexicans logged a total of over 26 million steps! That’s over 12,000 miles from only 54 employees.”
PLEXIS’ employee fitness challenge follows in the footsteps of a long tradition of progressive employee wellness initiatives. For the past two decades employees have enjoyed numerous wellness opportunities such as walking meetings to pursue personal wellbeing while simultaneously engaging in highly productive work. This unique fitness challenge enabled Plexicans to improve their fitness while giving back to the Native American community.
“Giving back to the Native American community is very important for us in our work here at PLEXIS and is personally quite meaningful to me,” said Jorge Yant, founder and CEO. “PLEXIS has a rich tradition of expressing our gratitude through compassionate philanthropy. We greatly appreciate the wisdom and leadership of the Native American community as they have utilized our platform solution for tribal healthcare for nearly our entire 20 years as an organization.”
More on NativeVision
Since its inception in 1996, NativeVision has served more than 40,000 Native youth and tribal community members. Tribes from across the country attend each year’s NativeVision camp for numerous workshops and traditional feasts, games, dance, and singing. Professional and collegiate athletes volunteer to mentor Native youth through the vehicle of sports to promote healthy lifestyles, fitness, and education. Other workshops emphasize empowerment through positive mentorship in parenting, nutrition, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
The 2016 NativeVision camp will be held on June 9-11, 2016, in Okmulgee, OK, the capitol city of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.