Hands-On Service Opportunities

Rotary is a service organization. Our club strives to help people in Springfield and Greene County through our Community Grants and Hands-On Service Projects. We have several nonprofit groups represented by our members, and we’re giving them the chance to publicize opportunities for Hands-on Service. We’ll post those opportunities here, along with their contact information, for anyone who is looking for a way to serve others.

Here are projects we have scheduled for this spring:

May 17 (Saturday): Hands-on Service Opportunity, Ozarks Counseling Center Landscape Cleanup, 9:00 - 11:00, 614 South Avenue, Springfield, MO 65806. Join us for round 2 of our landscape cleanup efforts. Bring gloves and garden tools and help spruce up the property! Some of the tasks are: pulling weeks, running a weed eater, removing leaves and other debris, removing limbs, trimming bushes and shrubs, moving rocks, and a general outdoor spruce-up. Registration Link: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/se-ozarks-counseling-center-2

If you'd like to volunteer on your own, or with a group from your work, church, or family, here is information submitted by members of Springfield Southeast Rotary Club who work with nonprofit agencies.

Good Dads

The Good Dads Strong Schools program also is looking for volunteers for two or three other schools. One is Watson Elementary, a Title 1 school with lots of diversity, on the northwest side of the city. The second is Weaver Elementary on West Division Street. It's possible Sequiota School on the southeast side of the city may soon be part of the program. A contingent of 4-6 Rotarians one day each month could make an impact at each school.

Make a big impact in a small amount of time.  The volunteer opportunity is as follows:

1)      Arrive at the school between 6:45 - 7:00 a.m.
2)      Assist at check-in table (greet dads and kids, give out stickers and raffle tickets, help people to feel welcome)
3)      Assist with distributing supplies for activity
4)      Assist with any clean-up, which should be minimal

Total time: Less than one hour.  The day of the month is determined by the school. We have several from which to choose.

To learn more: Contact Jennifer Baker (jennifer@gooddads.com)  https://gooddads.com/strong-schools/

Hands-on Service: Pittman Elementary School's Good Dads Program

Four Springfield Southeast Rotarians helped with the Good Dads program at Pittman Elementary School on Feb. 7, 2025. The volunteers are Dan Emrie, Kyle John, and Doug McNeal. President-elect Jennifer Baker, founder and director of Goods Dads, also was there.

Dan, Kyle, and Doug helped with the program by greeting dads and kids, handing out raffle tickets, putting on stickers and generally helped people feel welcome. They also handed out supplies, helped serve breakfast (coffee and donuts), and did a little cleanup.

Our volunteers plan to return to Pittman at the next Good Dads program there on April 11. We hope to recruit three or four more Rotarians who could help from 7:00 - 8:00 that day.

(Photos by Dan Emrie. Click on a photo to enlarge it.)

Ozarks Counseling Center

Contact Andrea Bishop: 417-869-9011 or 417-838-7585 andrea@ozarkscounselingcenter.org

We have a gorgeous old house on South Street that we use for our offices and it has beautiful gardens that never really get the attention they need.
We have a couple of areas that completely need to be revamped that could be good one-day projects.
We could also use a freshening-up day in both the spring and fall
Sometimes we need a little painting and the like, but mostly it is help with the landscaping that would be most beneficial.

Drew Lewis Foundation

Contact Amy Blansit or Zack Wilson: 417-200-2223 or 417-880-5001 amyblansit@gmail.com zack@drewlewis.org

Serve and clean up community dinners on Thursday nights at The Fairbanks
Spring cleanup projects
House Demolition and cleanup projects
We utilize a platform called GivePulse on a number of projects. https://www.givepulse.com/group/115007-Drew-Lewis-Foundation-The-Fairbanks
Assist with repainting some old duplexes in the Grant Beach neighborhood to help spruce up the neighborhood

Community Blood Center of the Ozarks

Contact Stacey Connell, 417-227-5313 or 417-840-1852 connells@cbco.org
We could use some help from garden & plant lovers to maintain our front flower garden. If there is interest, we would love to have a group or person come once a month to weed the flower garden, pull plants coming up between the bricks on our sidewalk, and sweep the entrance areas.

Victory Mission

Contact Jason Hynson, 417-864-2216 or 417-576-6929 jason@victorymission.com
Multiple opportunities are available, with flexible scheduling
We have things posted on the website: www.victorymission.com. We also can customize experiences around food, shelter, clothing, relationships, and mentoring.

Ronald McDonald House Charities

Contact Bonnie Keller, 417-875-3503 or 417-766-8782 bonnie.keller@rmhcozarks.org
For our Meals from the Heart Program, a small group of Rotarians can sign up to provide and serve a meal at one of our Ronald McDonald Houses. Here is a link with information about the program. https://rmhcozarks.org/volunteers/meals-from-the-heart/

Convoy of Hope

Contact Marilyn Lopez, 417-823-8998 or 412-680-4227 mlo.cofo@gmail.com
Convoy of Hope has volunteer opportunities every Tuesday and Thursday night from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Here is our page and the email to register a group is volunteer@convoyofhope.org.
Location: World Distribution Center: 1 Convoy Drive Springfield, MO 65802
Directions: From Highway MM, turn onto West Carnahan Street. Follow the road (approximately half a mile. You will find parking to the left of the building. Enter through the glass doors that face James River Freeway.
• Doors open at 6 p.m., and walk-ins are accepted up to capacity until 6:30 p.m.
• The warehouse is locked at 6:30 p.m. as a safety requirement.
• Events may be canceled due to inclement weather.
• Groups of 10 or more should email to register in advance.
• Spots for guests are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Volunteers can text “HOPE” to 688-28 for up-to-the-minute Hands of Hope news and volunteer opportunities.

Hands-on Service: Ozarks Counseling Center yard work

Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast conducted a Hands-on Service Project on Saturday, Oct. 12. Club volunteers and family members spent the morning doing yard work at the Ozarks Counseling Center.

The much needed work gave the center a visual overhaul and improved the already beautiful setting for visitors as they enter the building. The improved yard will also provide a jumping-off point for more landscape improvements in the spring.

It was a morning of hard work but the results and fellowship were well worth the effort! Participants were Andrea Bishop, Dan Emrie, Rex Johnson, Ray and Isabel Lampert, Joe and Tracy Piatchek and their children, and Mark Long.

Click on each photo to enlarge it. (Photos by Dan Emrie)