SBC awards grants to two Springfield organizations

Discovery Center of Springfield and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce are the beneficiaries of $25,000 in grants from the SBC Foundation the philanthropic arm of SBC Communications Inc. SBC Missouri President Cynthia Brinkley was in town Nov. 4 at the Discovery Center to announce the grants.

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, through the Springfield Development and Business Corporation, used a $15,000 grant to update the chamber's video teleconferencing center. The chamber now offers ISDN or IP connections with clearer presentation capabilities, a chamber news release said.

The Discovery Center will use its $10,000 grant to purchase a point-of-sale system. Discovery Center CEO Emily Fox said the educational facility hand tallies every guest that walks through its doors.

"This will help us, not only with keeping track of our visitors, but also our membership and fundraising efforts," Fox said. "We will be able to know exactly what kind of numbers we have coming in the door and how many at-risk children we are reaching."

The grants are available through The SBC Foundation's Excelerator program, a competitive technology grants program launched in 2002. SBC Excelerator has allocated $19 million since then with $9 million awarded in 2003. A total of $460,000 has been awarded to 37 Missouri communities this year.

"I think this is a great example of how a public-private partnership can work so well," Brinkley said.

Missouri Sen. Norma Champion was among the constituents on hand for the announcement.

"We certainly do appreciate SBC for their community awareness and community support," Champion said.

Others in attendance were Missouri Rep. Larry Morris, Springfield Mayor Tom Carlson, City Manager Tom Finnie and several Springfield council members.

The SBC Excelerator grants are available to nonprofit organizations focused on education, community development, health and human services, or arts and culture. The SBC Foundation decides grant winners through an application process.