Springfield businessman and philanthropist Jim D. Morris has established the Jim D. Morris Endowed Fund for Children at Boys & Girls Town of Missouri in Springfield.
Boys & Girls Town Communications Director Annie Meagle said Morris has requested that the endowment amount be kept private, but she said it was "very significant and impactful."
In honor of the endowment, the Boys & Girls Town is renaming its 1212 W. Lombard St. campus as the Jim D. Morris Campus of Boys & Girls Town of Missouri.
The change was made in direct response both to the endowment fund and continued support Morris has shown the nonprofit through the years, Meagle said.
"This is not the first year he has given to us. I think the culmination of that was the endowment fund," she said, noting that charities nationwide are struggling. "It's a very humbling feeling to know that people out there still care."
The endowment fund will allow Boys & Girls Town to keep its financial security and stability, Meagle said. The nonprofit's 2010 operating income is $6 million, according to Springfield Business Journal nonprofit research.
In 1989, Boys & Girls Town purchased from the city the eight-acre Springfield Children's Home. The campus has residences for 69 children, a gym, a recreation complex, an outdoor swimming pool, on-site classrooms and administrative offices providing community service, according to a news release. The nonprofit focuses on life improvement and rehabilitation of children with emotional and behavioral problems.
Morris also has been involved in
Care to Learn and was named
SBJ's Lifetime Achievement Award honoree in 2008.
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