Community Foundation of the Ozarks

Bridget Dierks, left, will have a cherry blossom tree named in her honor at the Thomas W. Finnie Government Plaza in honor of her leadership on the Tree City USA Committee.

Bridget Dierks, the CFO’s Director of Non-Profit Services, was honored at today’s Choose Environmental Excellence luncheon for her outstanding service on the Tree City USA Committee.

She served on the committee for several years, including one as chair, and was instrumental in starting the Tree Tag Project to show the dollar value trees contribute to moderating temperatures (and utility costs), stormwater management and other factors. She also started the “This Tree Pays” website.

The annual luncheon took place at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce as part of Springfield’s Earth Day activities. Tree City USA was one of 11 groups to present awards. Tree City also honored retired forester Jerry Monterastelli for his efforts to help re-forest the city after the 2007 ice storm.

Habitat staff and volunteers, project sponsors and members of the Springfield Chamber's ambassadors group cut the ribbon on Habitat for Humanity Springfield's new ReCycle for Homes recycling center.

Tuesday afternoon was a cause for celebration at Habitat for Humanity Springfield’s ReStore on South Scenic Avenue. The long process of establishing the non-profit’s new recycling center is now complete, and they invited the public and key supporters to share in the ribbon cutting.

CFO helped with the establishment of the ReCycle for Homes recycling center with a $10,000 grant as part of the 2009-10 Metro Springfield Community Grantmaking Program. Other contributors included the BKD Foundation and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Solid Waste Management division.

The ReCycle for Homes recycling center will take cardboard, newspaper, plastics, aluminum and scrap metal from the general public, and serves as a welcome addition to the Springfield recycling scene since the closure of the city’s College Street facility.

Enhancing the appeal: All proceeds from the sale of the recyclable materials will go straight to Habitat’s mission of building homes for those who cannot afford them.While other national Habitat chapters do recycling projects, this is the first to directly benefit Habitat’s core mission with proceeds going directly to new homes, says Kristi Nelson, the Springfield Habitat marketing director. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which opened 13 years ago and shares land with the recycling center, funds the chapter’s overhead.

The ReCycle for Homes recycling center will be open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and expects to keep 113 tons of aluminum and scrap metal and 71 tons of cardboard out of local landfills. Drop-off is free, though donations are accepted. The center does not accept glass, brush or yard waste at this time.

The center and ReStore are located at 2410 S. Scenic Ave. in Springfield.

Click here for Habitat for Humanity Springfield’s full press release on the grand opening

Click here for a gallery of photos from the ribbon cutting from the Springfield News-Leader.

Suzette Huntress, Vice President of Operations, Clark Community Mental Health Center, presents the $3,000 grant award to Don Tuck, Big Brothers Big Sisters Monett Site Coordinator for the Monett School Based Program. Behind them are MACF board members Don Weber, Jeff Scott, Regina Bowsher, Mike Brownsberger, Phyllis Garrett, Jane Sinclair, Robin Walker, John Jungmann, and Mike Gollhofer.

The Monett Area Community Foundation has awarded a $3,000 grant to Big Brothers Big Sisters Monett to increase the size and scope of its After School Mentoring program at two Monett schools. The funds are distributed from the Tom and Mary Del Clark Fund, a component fund of the MACF, which is an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.

The Clark Community Mental Health Center, which was established and substantially funded by the estate of Tom and Mary Del Clark, will track the grant project’s progress. Its mission is community outreach for child advocacy, drug and alcohol abuse, and adult and child mental health.

This year’s grant recipient, Big Brothers Big Sisters Monett, plans to use the funds to grow its After School Mentoring program at Monett Middle School and expand into Monett Intermediate School. The organization currently serves 14 at-risk youth at Monett Middle School, with a goal to serve at least 30 children between the two facilities beginning with the fall 2012 semester. The grant funds will help provide site supervision, background checks, supplies, activities and snacks for the 40 children and their matching “Bigs.”’

“We believe, and data seems to support, the positive influence that is provided to these at-risk students will have a lasting effect on their behavior and future success,” said Don Tuck, Site Coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters Monett.

The Tom and Mary Del Clark Fund was established at the couple’s direction through their estate, as Tom and Mary Del were killed in a motorcycle accident in 1989 while on a touring vacation in Switzerland. The estate transferred grantmaking authority to the Monett Area Community Foundation which awards grants on a semi-annual basis to area organizations.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is a regional public foundation established in 1973 with assets of about $185 million in more than 2,000 funds. Its network includes 44 affiliate foundations, including the Monett Area Community Foundation, which was established in 1998 and now has assets of more than $1.26 million in 41 funds. The MACF has distributed more than $1 million back into area communities since its inception.