District 6080

Springfield, Missouri
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Through the years:  Springfield Southeast Rotary Club service projects


Club historian Dan Emrie compiled this list of club projects  between its founding in 1967 up to 2001.  He's working to add projects in more recent years.
 
  • 1971 - Our first hands-on project worked with the Springfield Police Department to create a Neighborhood Watch program.
  • 1975 - $3,600 was given to City of Springfield for restrooms in Phelps Grove Park.
  • 1982 - Our first longtime commitment to a community project was underwriting an animal survival program at Dickerson Park Zoo.
  • 1984 - Funds were donated for remodeling the Golden Lion Tamarian Exhibit at the Zoo.
  • 1985 - Southeast’s first major gift of $10,000 went to help build the Ronald McDonald House near Cox South Hospital.
  • 1987 - Rotary International’s Polio Plus Campaign began and Southeast pledged $62,000.
  • 1988 - Southeast arranged for medical equipment donated by Smith-Glynn-Callaway Clinic to be sent to a university hospital in Honduras.
  • 1988 - The First Rotary Basketball Tournament to benefit Special Olympics was held, raising $500. The tournament eventually raised well more than $100,000 and ended during COVID about 2020.
  • 1988 - Southeast sponsored a new sister club, Springfield Sunrise.  The club has sponsored other new clubs over the years.
  • 1990 - $10,000 seed money was given to Ozark Greenways to start construction.
  • 1992 - $25,000 was committed to build the “Patty Ashley” house in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity.  This was our club's 25th Anniversary project.
  • 1994 - Three drug-sniffing dogs were purchased at a cost of $6,500 each. The club also donated $16,000 to convert an ambulance into a crime scene van.
  • 1996 - A project named ”Super Summers, Springfield” that explained summer opportunities and activities through a guidebook was funded with a cost of $30,000; 17,000 copies were printed.
  • 2000 - Rock ’n' Ribs Festival began at Bass Pro parking lot.  It expanded through the years and moved to the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds, raising money for several nonprofit organizations.
  • 2001 - The club raised $31,000 by holding a raffle for Polio Plus.  Cindy Howell won his/hers Rolex watches.

Here's a list of service projects and organizations we've helped, in alphabetical order, compiled by Past President Michael Wehrenberg.

Local Community Service Projects
Including, but not limited to:
  • 5 K-9 Drug Dogs
  • AIDS Project of the Ozarks
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters
  • Books for Babies
  • Boy Scouts
  • Boys and Girls Club
  • Boys and Girls Town of MO
  • Campfire Boys and Girls
  • Camp Wakonda
  • Centennial Park Project
  • Children's Choir of Southwest Missouri
  • Community Blood Center of the Ozarks
  • Community Partnership of the Ozarks
  • Council of Churches/Therapeutic Riding Program
  • Crosslines
  • Dickerson Park Zoo's Tamarian Exhibit
  • Dickerson Park Zoo Train
  • Discovery Center of the Ozarks
  • Easter Seals
  • Families for Children
  • Festival of Lights
  • Fire Department Smoke Detector Program
  • Flood Relief
  • Friends of the Zoo
  • Girl Scouts
  • Greene County Family Court, Juvenile Division
  • Greene County Sheriff's Memorial
  • Habitat for Humanity House
  • Humane Society of SW Missouri
  • Junior Achievement
  • The Kitchen
  • The Kitchen's Talbot House
  • Leadership Springfield
  • Learning Disabilities Association
  • Long Term Youth Exchange
  • Students
  • May 4, 2003 Tornado Victims
  • Mobile Crime Scene Van
  • Multiple Sclerosis 150 Bike Tour
  • New Hope GYN Cancer Support Group
  • Neighborhood Watch Program
  • OATS
  • Oklahoma and Kansas Tornado Victims
  • Oklahoma City Bombing Victims
  • One Missing Link
  • Ozark Greenways
  • Ozarks Food Harvest
  • Ozarks Literacy Council
  • Polio Plus
  • Rainbow Network
  • Rape Crisis
  • Regional Girls Shelter
  • Rock'n Ribs BBQ Festival
  • Ronald McDonald House
  • Rotaract Club Sponsor
  • Rotary Youth Leadership Awards
  • Scholarships to High School Students
  • Southwest Missouri Office on Aging
  • Special Olympics/Rotary Annual Basketball Tournament
  • Sporting Chance
  • Springfield Family YMCA
  • Prime Time
  • Springfield Police Department's "Let's Go Bikes" Program
  • Springfield Public Schools Foundation
  • Study Middle School Choir
  • Super Summers Resource Books
  • TECHSPO

World Community Service Projects
Including, but not limited to:
 
  • Tuition for a Cuban student
  • United Way Report Breakfasts
  • Visually Impaired Preschool/Children
  • Wonderland Camp
  • Transportation of ultrasonic equipment for a hospital in Honduras
  • Medicine for a clinic in the Amazon
  • Support of a polio hospital in India
  • Support of a rehabilitation center for disabled children in Bolivia
  • Support of an orphanage in Latvia
  • Water Well Project in India
  • Literacy and job training in South Africa
  • Educational equipment for Nicaragua elementary students
  • Tents for Afghanistan refugees / Rainbow Network Housing Project
  • METI Emergency Care Simulator
  • PolioPlus

Rotary Foundation Programs
including but not limited to:
  • Friendship Exchanges
  • Group Study Exchange Teams from other countries
  • Promotes Ambassadorial Scholarship Program
  • Rotary Foundation

 

Community Grants criteria

The community grants committee of the Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast is charged with the responsibility of recommending to the board of directors those charitable contributions made in the club’s name for the Rotary year. (Rotary years begin July 1 and end June 30.) The funds for the year are generated from the service fund assessment.

Organizations are welcome to apply for a community grant; however, all applicants must meet the following minimum criteria:

CHARITABLE. Grants must be used for a charitable purpose by a 501(c)3 organization.

LOCAL. Grants must used within southwest Missouri.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT. Proposals must specify a community benefit. Requests for funds for general operating expenses are discouraged.

RECOGNITION. Proposals must specify how the contribution will be acknowledged in a way that promotes community awareness of the Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast.

Springfield Southeast wishes to utilize community grants to achieve the greatest possible impact across a broad range of projects each year. To do this, we award grants ranging from $500 to $1,000+.

Every year, Springfield Southeast determines its scope of grant interest based on Rotary International’s goals and club goals. Usually, grants are focused on literacy, hunger, and health; however, occasionally, other areas are considered.

Community Grants application process

Applications for grants are reviewed by our community grants committee. Requests for funds come from Southeast member suggestions, mail solicitations, personal solicitations from community organizations, and ideas generated by committee members.

There are two grant cycles every Rotary year, and organizations are encouraged to submit their proposals any time throughout the year to be considered for the next review cycle on the calendar.

The grant process includes two steps:
1) A review of the proposal by the committee
2) An in-person presentation (approximately 10 minutes) by the applying organization to the committee.

After presentations, the committee reviews the proposals and makes a recommendation to the board of directors. After the board of directors approves the grants, the committee notifies applicants.

SUBMISSIONS
Submit your proposal online.