Mercy doles out grants to area nonprofits

Mercy Health Foundation Springfield and Mercy Children's Hospital yesterday presented $35,000 in checks to local nonprofits to support health efforts in the Ozarks, according to a news release from the health system.

Grant recipients, in alphabetical order, are:

• Champion Athletes of the Ozarks, $1,500 to provide educational reading, math, basic money, storm preparedness and wellness programs;
• Christian Action Ministries, $5,000 to support the nonprofit's food pantries and outreach programs in Taney County;
• The Doula Foundation, $5,000 to buy materials and education and collateral materials;
• Giggleboxes, $2,500 to purchase toys;
• Girls on the Run, $2,000 to fund scholarships for girls in its program;
• Hope Foundation, $2,500 to provide financial assistance to families dealing with pediatric emergencies or who have an ill or injured child;
• Harmony House, $2,500 to provide services for its clients, including medical and hygiene needs, transportation, legal documentation, housing supplies and educational brochures;
• Lost and Found Grief Center, $2,500 to provide additional education and resources for families and to expand its resource library;
• National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southwest Missouri, $500 to create a resource guide in collaboration with Ozarks Counseling Center. The center accepted a $500 check to assist with the production costs of the guide;
• Nova Center of the Ozarks, $2,500 to provide preventative dental care and other dental services;
• Pregnancy Care Center, $5,000 to aid its Healthy Families and Babies program;
• Regional Girls Shelter/Children's Foundation of Mid-America, $2,000 to create a fund to pay for medical needs and over-the-counter medications not covered by insurance; and
• Victim Center, $1,000 to fund therapy, advocacy and court support and crisis intervention for children.

Mercy's Injury Prevention Center also received a $45,155 grant from Kohl's to support injury prevention efforts, according to the release.