BCFO receives $13,017 grant for wellness events in Branson, Joplin

The Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks received a $13,017 grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, in partnership with the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation and Commerce Trust, on April 30.
The grant will allow BCFO to partner with Burrell Behavioral Healthโs Be Well Initiatives to provide wellness events for breast cancer survivors and their caregivers in the Branson and Joplin areas.
โThe past couple of years at BCFO, weโve seen more and more need in our clients to not just have the really practical financial support โฆ but more emotional support as well,โ says Megan Garbee, with the BCFO. โIt really helps that healing process when you can connect with someone whoโs been through what youโve been through.โ
A total of $220,000 was granted to 14 nonprofits through the Coover Regional Vibrant Communities Grant Program to address the epidemic of loneliness and social isolation by creating meaningful ways to connect people with their communities. For a complete list of recipients, go to cfozarks.org/coover24.
โWeโre grateful to fund these grants that will bring residents of rural communities closer together,โ said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust and chair of the Coover Foundation grant selection committee. โWe congratulate these agencies for their innovative approaches to building community.โ
Julia Dorothy Coover, a 30-year Commerce employee, founded the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation in 1992 to honor her husbandโs memory. The private foundation, managed by Commerce Trust, has funded about $8 million in grants to benefit rural communities across the CFOโs service area since the partnership began in 2001.
Earlier in April, the Coover Foundation, Commerce Trust and the CFO granted $80,000 to 18 rural school districts in the Coover/Rural Schools Partnership Grant Program.
The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is the regionโs largest public charitable foundation serving donors, nonprofit partners and more than 50 regional affiliate foundations โ including the Community Foundation of Taney County and the Joplin Regional Community Foundation โ with assets totaling $427 million as of June 30, 2023. The CFOโs mission is to improve the quality of life for everyone in central and southern Missouri through resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration and public leadership.