As Springfield’s Crisis Cold Weather Shelters struggle to find volunteers, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Jeannette L. Musgrave Foundation are making emergency grants totaling $24,500 to help provide staffing.
The grants, made to Community Partnership of the Ozarks, will provide temporary part-time staff through an agreement with Penmac Staffing. They also will support operations of the cold-weather shelter hub at Grace United Methodist Church.
“When need suddenly arises, we’re grateful to have such a close relationship with the Musgrave Foundation to be able to respond with coordinated funding,” Brian Fogle, Community Foundation of the Ozarks president and CEO, said in a press release. “We recognize that these grants are a short-term solution and encourage anyone who has a passion for helping others to seek out volunteer opportunities at cold-weather shelters.”
The Musgrave Foundation granted $10,000, while CFO granted $8,500 from its emergency grantmaking fund and an additional $5,000 from the Thomas H. and Josephine Baird Memorial Fund.
CPO serves as Springfield’s coordinator for shelters and works with a number of churches and other nonprofit agencies that provide facilities to house unsheltered individuals and families when overnight temperatures fall below 32 degrees.
More information about Springfield’s Crisis Cold Weather Shelters, including how to volunteer, can be found at the Community Partnership of the Ozarks website. Secure online donations to the CFO’s Emergency Grants Fund can be made at cfozarks.org/donate.
