Heard on the Street

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANTS

Twelve area nonprofit organizations received a combined total of $52,341.87 in discretionary grant funding from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, the foundation's board of directors announced Dec. 17. The grants ranged from $1,000 to $10,000. "This round of grant awards included projects in both the human services and community betterment categories," said Jan Horton, president and chief executive officer of the foundation. "In the human services area, for example, a $10,000 grant to the Springfield Public Schools Foundation will help fund a Teen Truancy Court Project. This approach to addressing the root causes of truancy has been enormously successful in other areas of the state such as St. Louis County." Other grants were awarded as follows: Council of Churches' home repair for the handicapped and disabled, $10,000; Ozark Greenways' Tree Keeper project, $5,000; Visually Impaired Children Services, for a Braille embosser, Braille books and stimulating material, $4,000; The Kitchen, for a program facilitator for Joseph's Workshop, $3,960; American Red Cross baby-sitter training course, $2,500; Legal Services of Southern Missouri, to provide guardian ad litems for children's legal needs, $4,000; Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks start-up costs, $2,000; MidTown Neighborhood Association, to secure National Historic Register designation, $1,500; Pet Therapy of the Ozarks program expansion and recruitment campaign to attract pet owners, $1,000; Missouri Baptist Children's Home to expand counseling center program, $5,000; Lost and Found, start-up funds for a group coordinator, $3,381.87.

CONSUMER CREDIT GRANTS

Consumer Credit Counseling Service, with branches in Springfield, Joplin and West Plains, will give $10,000 to local organizations in Joplin, according to Mike Cherry, president and chief executive officer of the company. The Boys and Girls Club will receive $2,500, as will the Franklin Technical School Scholarship Fund. The Joplin Free Clinic will be awarded $5,000. "We work every day to help people with financial problems try to get their lives back together, so we are excited about the opportunity to help other organizations that work for the same goal," Cherry said of his not-for-profit corporation.

COLLABORATION FOR LEARNING

The Discovery Center has been awarded a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for "Virtual Technology and the Web." In partnership with the Springfield-Greene County Library, the Discovery Center will expand the joint educational resources centers through technology for schools, children, teachers and parents. Starting in January 2002, the Discovery Center will have a 10-station computer lab and a virtual link to the Library Center. Hours for use at the Discovery Center are 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday through Saturday. The link allows interaction with a live Web site at the library which is designed to provide specific content and challenging activities to the online user.

FAMILY IN NEED RECEIVES CAR

For the second year in a row, Lipscomb Mitsubishi-Suzuki gave a car to a family featured in the Missouri Division of Family Services' "Share Your Christmas" project. The recipient, Kristy Rut-ledge, was presented a 1995 Buick Skylark on Dec. 21 at the dealership at 3154 S. Camp-bell. And to top it off, Lipscomb em-ployees filled the back seat of the car with gifts for Rut-ledge's children.