The Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation presented grants to 18 agencies — including one in Texas County — that operate senior centers in rural communities.
Cabool Senior Center received $8,561 to purchase higher-quality seating, add a security system and improve the welcome area.
It was among $261,777 received from the Coover Regional Senior Center Support Grant Program.
The grants were presented during an April 19 ceremony at Commerce Trust Company in Springfield. The CFO administers grantmaking for the Coover Charitable Foundation, which is managed by Commerce Trust Company.
This year, the annual Coover Regional grant program focused on proposals to improve senior centers after the COVID-19 pandemic led many to close for significant periods of time or drastically shift their services. That left the centers with deferred maintenance and ongoing changes to the way they provide services and respond to needs.
“Grantmaking from the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation is intentionally flexible to meet the emerging needs of our region,” said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust Company. “By serving as a social hub and offering nutritious meals, senior centers play such an important role in rural communities. We’re so glad to help these centers better serve the people who depend on them.”
Julia Dorothy Coover, a 30-year Commerce employee, founded the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation in 1992 to honor her husband’s memory. Since then, the Coover Charitable Foundation has awarded more than $7 million in grants to nonprofit agencies and rural schools across the Ozarks.