Imagine being able to touch the lives of people you'll never know 10 years... 50 years...even 100 years after your death. That is precisely what Jeannette L. Musgrave did with the formation of her Foundation in 1984. From its inception, to date in 2008, the Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $8,000,000 to selected charities in the Springfield, Missouri area.
Born in 1901 in Fort Scott, Kansas, Jeannette L. Musgrave would later marry Edward F. Musgrave and become his assistant in his Springfield dental practice beginning a lifelong love of nursing and health care.
Dr. Musgrave inherited a sizable sum from his family's oil leases in Oklahoma and Texas, which passed to Mrs. Musgrave upon his death in 1970. Having no children, Mrs. Musgrave formed her Foundation in the later years of her life.
Those who knew Jeannette say there were three primary areas that she felt deeply committed to:- Under-privileged children
- Helping people with scholarships (particularly young women entering nursing)
- Providing economic assistance to the elderly
Mrs. Musgrave believed in providing a "hand up, not a hand out."
View Our Video
In the News - Help for Area Hungry
In recognition of the record-setting applications for food assistance from area organizations, the Musgrave Foundation recently provided $100,000 toward feeding the hungry in Greene County. The gift, announced in January, 2009, was distributed in equal amounts of $20,000 to five local non-profits.
Those receiving the funds were: Council of Churches/Crosslines, Salvation Army of Springfield, The Kitchen, Springfield Victory Mission and Convoy of Hope. The $100,000 gift helped stock the food pantries of these organizations during a time when the need is great following the holiday season.
This distribution from the Musgrave Foundation was in addition to its ongoing support of these and other area non-profit agencies, (Combined distributions since the Foundation's inception total nearly $8 million.) The Musgrave Board hopes this additional gift will encourage the giving of others in the community.
Funds recipients have been busy putting the money to work for those in need. Here are some of their reports:
The Hope Connection, a one-day one-stop-shop for the homeless to come in and receive services, was held March 29. This event was a first for Springfield, and it was considered a great success.
A total of 235 consumers attended the Hope Connection event. Approximately 600 bus passes and 470 bags of food were distributed.Each consumer was paired with a volunteer called a "guide." These guides created a one-on-one relationship with the homeless person and helped them navigate to the services they needed. There were 91 volunteers guides at the Hope Connection event, plus an additional 50 volunteers who worked in other areas.
The Hope Connection collaboration team was able to bring in 33 different providers. On average 34 consumers were helped per provider, but one provider was able to assist 125 consumers that day.
Additionally, in March an extra 8,000 bags of groceries were distributed through 13 different churches and ministries.
Submitted by Gary Stoner, Convoy of Hope
In the first two months of 2009, the Crosslines food pantry has provided emergency food assistance to 2,041 households; an average of 57 families each day. This is an increase from 46 families daily in 2008. Thus far in 2009, the number one reason given by Crosslines clients requesting food assistance is "less hours at work" and "just lost job": another sign of our current economy.
The Council of Churches of the Ozarks and Crosslines appreciate the enduring partnership of the Musgrave Foundation as we partner with area churches to staff and stock the busiest food pantry in the Ozarks.
Submitted by Rev. Mark Struckhoff
Director of Advancement
Council of Churches of the Ozarks
This grant is proving to be very helpful to many families, including Heather Dinwiddie and her family (see photos). Her husband's work hours have been recently cut to only 20 hours per week and she has three teenage children at home to feed.
Thanks to these funds and the redesign of our Food Pantry assistance program, more people are being helped. We made the changes to our program and started using these funds February 1, 2009. As of that date families could visit The Salvation Army for monthly food assistance rather than the quarterly assistance offered in the past.
In February we saw a 12% increase in assistance, and in March we are seeing a 20% increase in assistance over February.
Submitted by Norman Grainger,
Major
Salvation Army
Springfield, MO Corps