Clinic gets boost from donated services

Jeremy Elwood

Posted online July 23, 2006 | 11:00 pm

The Kitchen is in the midst of a remodeling project on its medical and dental clinic.

But the not-for-profit organization couldn’t have done it without a lot of help.

Twenty local construction-related companies are supplying labor and/or materials for free or at a reduced cost, to the project at 1630 N. Jefferson Ave. Phase I was completed June 19 and Phase II is under way, with an expected completion date in mid-September.

Renovations include new exam rooms, a new pharmacy, a larger waiting area and a play area for children.

Most of the $300,000 cost of the project is coming from a three-year grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health.

Martee Robinson, The Kitchen’s grant manager for the project, said the project would probably cost about $450,000 without donations and assistance from the companies.

The project is intended to meet the growing needs of the facility.

Robinson said when the grant was written in 2004, the clinic saw about 200 medical patients a month. Now that number is close to 500, plus 40 to 50 dental patients monthly.

“All of these people are what we would call the working poor,” Robinson said. “They have minimum-wage jobs, and they don’t have any insurance, Medicaid or Medicare. These are truly the people in the community who can’t get services elsewhere.”

Ireland & Associates is the architect for the project while DeWitt & Associates is the general contractor.

Stephanie Ireland, principal architect for Ireland & Associates, said her firm’s work, valued at $25,000, is being donated.

Ireland & Associates is no stranger to designing for the health care industry, having worked closely with St. John’s Hospital on numerous projects.

Luckily, for The Kitchen, Ireland’s giving spirit is contagious – because, according to CEO Bill Stalnaker, without that, the project “would have never gotten off the ground.”

“They spearheaded the philanthropic part of it, asking each contractor if there was something they could do to help – something they could donate,” Stalnaker said. “We were able to get a lot more done than we had money for. Without them, we would have never been able to reach this level of completion.”

Rebecca Adair, one of the project managers from DeWitt, estimated all the donations for the project reduced the cost by at least 25 percent.

Helping hands

The Kitchen clinic project is just one example of companies coming together to help a nonprofit.

MoDoCo Inc. has donated services for several area projects, including the Big Brothers Big Sisters facility on West Battlefield Road and the Developmental Center of the Ozarks on East Pythian. Company owner Morris Dock estimated that his company raised $250,000 worth of donations for the DCO project.

Those donations were crucial, because as with most nonprofit building projects, Dock said money is always one of many issues.

“Every project has a limited budget, so it’s a challenge to start with,” he said. “A lot of time there’s another challenge because at the locations, you have to deal with stronger security and be on top of things a little more.”

Dock said that, though there obviously are moral reasons for helping area charities and not-for-profits, many such projects come with tax credits that can help make the work even more worthwhile.

He mentioned a sidewalk replacement project for Habitat for Humanity on West Chestnut Expressway – the sidewalk had initially been installed incorrectly, and the city later said it had to be replaced for safety reasons.

MoDoCo gathered several subcontractors to tear out the sidewalk and replace it. But Donna Jones, then the executive director of the Springfield organization, was able to return the favor.

“She had leftover tax credits, and she said if I would send her invoices she could get them for us,” Dock said.

“It was out of the kindness of their heart that the contractors did it, and Donna said, ‘Let me do this for you.’”

Tax write-offs don’t come with every project, though.

Architect Ireland said her company is getting no tax breaks for its services for The Kitchen. She added that tax incentives weren’t the reason she got involved.

“It’s really just the right thing to do,” she said. “We have been involved with the community for many years doing projects, and it was just time to give back.”

Helping Handiwork

Companies that donated part or all of their services to The Kitchen project:

Acme Brick Co.

Britt Masonry

Builders Glass &

Products Inc.

Contractors Glass & Materials Co.

Custom Interiors

DeLong Plumbing Two Inc.

DeWitt & Associates Inc.

Edge Supply Co.

Engineers Reprographics & Supply Co. Inc.