The Bootheel Regional Community Foundation has awarded four grants of $1,200 each to non-profit organizations in Southeast Missouri to support programs with health-related purposes. 

Grant recipients include: Dunklin County Caring Council for its Hygiene for Health Program; SEMO Food Bank for its Build a Better Childhood Mobile Pantry Program; Advance School District R-4 for its Personal Care Cart Program; and the Bootheel Youth Museum for development of an exhibit on Historical Medical Practices of the Bootheel.

This is the first round of grants awarded by the Bootheel Regional Community Foundation, which became the 54th regional affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks in September. Applications were sought earlier this year and were reviewed by a grant committee of BRCF and approved for award by the foundation’s board of directors.

Grant funds must be used within the six counties of the Bootheel Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission—Dunklin, Stoddard, Pemiscot, Mississippi, New Madrid, and Scott. This round of funding was provided to BRCF by the Missouri Foundation for Health for grantmaking to address issues related to public health.

“We are very excited to award our first round of grants and look forward to the role BRCF can play in our region to improve the quality of life for families in the six counties we serve,” said Melissa Combs, chair of the board. “The board was pleased with the applications we received. We anticipate having another round of grants later this year.”

Members of the board are Melissa Combs of Kennett; Jayne Ellen Ray of Charleston; Christi Pipkin of New Madrid; Alisha Trammel of Dexter; Jonathan Douglass of Sikeston; Loyd Rice of Bloomfield; Nick Darter of Malden; Jana Carey Merideth of Caruthersville; Joel Evans of Sikeston; and Jim Grebing, director of the Bootheel Regional Planning Commission.

Community foundations offer a variety of charitable fund options like endowments, scholarships, and donor-advised funds, which are managed for long-term growth. As the funds grow, grants are distributed to eligible nonprofits, including education, faith-based and municipal organizations that work to improve the quality of life in the community.