$214K in grants awarded to address Community Focus Report issues

Myriad organizations involved in collaborative projects designed to address Community Focus Report issues recently received grant funding through Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc.

Eight projects got the nod for a combined $214,000 in funding through the annual Jewell Schweitzer Collective Impact Grant Program, according to a news release. CFO presented the grants March 13 at Council of Churches of the Ozarks.

The projects are as follows:
• Child Advocacy Center, in partnership with Springfield Police Department, Greene County Sheriff’s Office and Greene County Juvenile Office, $28,178 to train court-certified interpreters for criminal cases involving children
• Council of Churches of the Ozarks, in partnership with Lighthouse Family Resource Center, Messiah Lutheran Church and Seminole Baptist Church, $15,000 to conduct a feasibility study and development a business plant for a Seminole Baptist Church child care center, with support from Anne E. and Mac McGregor in honor of Jack Herschend
• Drew Lewis Foundation, in partnership with Community Partnership of the Ozarks, Consumer Credit Counseling of the Heartland and Central Bank, $30,000 to renovate a fire-damaged home to provide housing for a low-income family through the Blue House Project, with support from the John and Beth Raidel Charitable Fund
• Drury University, in partnership with Springfield Public Schools, Ozarks Technical Community College and Republic Public Schools, $30,000 to assist student-teachers with living and professional learning expenses, with support from Anne E. and Mac McGregor in honor of Peter Herschend and from the Kenny J. DeForest Memorial Charitable Fund
• Legal Services of Southern Missouri, in partnership with Greene County, Community Partnership of the Ozarks, Greene County Family Justice Center and the city of Springfield’s Workforce Development Department, $28,322 to expand services at the Access Justice center, with support from the Thomas H. and Josephine Baird Memorial Fund
• Missouri Empowerment Project, in partnership with Greene County Juvenile Office, Greene County Children’s Division and Family Therapy of the Ozarks, $30,000 to support the Bio Parent Advocacy Program
• Ozarks Film Foundry, in partnership with Gillioz Theatre, Plotline, SATO48, Springfield Improv, Mosaic Arts Collective and Roberts Industrial Properties, $22,500 to renovate classrooms, equipment storage and a theater, with support from the Kenny J. DeForest Memorial Charitable Fund
• Renew Missouri Advocates, in partnership with Ozarks Area Community Action Corp. and Drew Lewis Foundation, $30,000 to provide weatherization kits for low-income members of the community, with support from anonymous donors

The Jewell Schweitzer Collective Impact Grant Program looks at challenges, referred to as red flags, and successes, or blue ribbons, presented in the Community Focus Report. The 20th anniversary edition of the report, released last fall, also signaled the turnover of the report to Missouri State University's Ozarks Public Health Institute, according to past reporting.

This afternoon, CFO additionally is hosting a grant presentation through which the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation and Commerce Trust Co. will present $250,000 for area school districts, according to a separate news release.