The Philanthropic Society of the Joplin Regional Community Foundation announced the recipients of three grants totaling $130,000 through its latest high-impact grant round on Tuesday, May 14. The grants were presented during the Philanthropic Society’s annual grant luncheon at Missouri Southern State University’s Ron Richard Athletic Center.
The three recipients of these grants are:
Joplin Police Department: $50,000 to provide the first-year salary of an embedded social worker within the Joplin Police Department. The ESW will assist by responding with the JPD to situations requiring de-escalation and providing ongoing care for residents in need of a more holistic approach than what patrol officers can provide. Training, equipment and office space will be provided by the JPD.
Creative Learning Alliance: $30,000 to support programming, supplies, equipment rental, and STEAMagination events and exhibits, to align with the CLA’s mission to create a place of lifelong learning where people of all ages embrace science as a way of knowing about themselves and their world.
Watered Gardens: $50,000 to help support a family-unit expansion at the Washington Family Hope Center — a shelter for mothers with young children in crisis or chronic homelessness, allowing them to stay together while working toward a better life. The expansion will allow physical separation for those families working in a longer-term program from those in crisis situations.
Following an application process, the winners were chosen from a group of six finalists by a committee made up of members of the Philanthropic Society. The program is open each year to 501(c)3 nonprofits and agencies with similar tax-exempt status like schools, government entities and faith-based organizations.
