CFO, Musgrave Foundation award $580,000 to 47 Ozarks nonprofits. Here are some highlights.

Susan Szuch, Springfield News-Leader

Forty-seven nonprofits received $580,000 in grants from the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation, U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks on Thursday afternoon at the Council of Churches of the Ozarks.

Of those grants, $200,000 were part of the 2023 Jerry Redfern Grants, which are named in memory of the Musgrave Foundation’s longtime manager. Those grants support operating expenses for organizations like the Drew Lewis Foundation, GLO Center, Ozarks Food Harvest and Women's Medical Respite.

Here are some highlights from the presentation.

CPO receives final installment of commitment supporting O'Reilly Center for Hope

Community Partnership of the Ozarks received the final $30,000 installment of a three-year commitment to support operating expenses for the O’Reilly Center for Hope. The O'Reilly Center for Hope is CPO’s community hub for homeless and affordable housing services in north Springfield.

OTC Foundation receives $100,000

OTC Foundation received $100,000 for its new Wingspan Initiative at Ozarks Technical Community College, which will support 10 single parents, primarily single mothers, with up to $10,000 per year for living expenses during their time as full-time students at OTC.

The Wingspan Initiative goes beyond tuition assistance and helps cover living and child care expenses that could otherwise prevent parents from graduating on schedule.

More: Here's where Ozarks Technical Community College plans to add more parking

Amy Bacon, executive director of the OTC foundation, explained that the college always had a small fund for student emergencies, just enough to cover a gas card or a flat tire repair. The Wingspan Initiative aims to help students before they are in crisis.

"We've always had this dream that eventually we'll be able to not just help with these little bitty things, but we'll be able to be holistic in our approach to supporting our students when they need it," Bacon said. "We're not going to wait until they're in crisis and they're on their way to class and they've been at five different gas stations putting air in that tire because they can't afford to replace it. We're going to get in front of it and we're going to support them."

The Wingspan Initiative has the potential to receive an additional $200,000 from the Musgrave Foundation over the course of three years.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield receives $100,000

Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield received $100,000 to support the Risdal Family Center for Great Futures, its new facility for middle and high school students.

The center will be a will be a "one-stop-shop" for teens in the community, with spaces such as a gym, game room health clinic, mental health office, dance and fitness studio, outdoor classrooms, innovation space, art room, teaching kitchen and needs store.

The center will be built at 810 W. Catalpa St., just north of Parkview High School’s JFK Stadium, and is expected to open in early 2025.

More: Springfield organizations partner to make learning English easier for refugee parents

Five Ozarks institutions receive $30,000 each for students on nursing education path

Through the 2023 University Nursing Scholarship program, five institutions each received $30,000 to provide scholarships to students in the nursing education path:

  • Cox College;

  • Drury University;

  • OTC Foundation;

  • Missouri State University Foundation;

  • Southwest Baptist University.

In about half of Missouri's counties, lack of acute care hospitals and adequate transportation go hand-in-hand with poor health outcomes. Only 11% of physicians practice in rural areas, leaving nurse practitioners to fill the gap, explained Dr. Melissa Penkalski, graduate program director for MSU.

She shared letters from students in the program who are going to benefit from the support of the scholarships.

"Jeanette Musgrave's legacy is the best medicine," Penkalski said.

Susan Szuch reports on health and food for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: CFO, Musgrave Foundation grants recognize education, health care

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