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Members of the Bolivar Area Community Foundation and Making a Difference for their community. Mike Smith has the story.
(Sound of home construction...hammering, skill saw, front end loader...)
There's a lot going on in the Bolivar area. Home and real estate values, construction, population and household income are all on the rise in the Polk County town, as is charitable giving. Bolivar is rich with civic minded citizens and organizations volunteering time, resources and effort to improve the quality of life there. Among them, the Bolivar Area Community Foundation, a regional affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks since April 2003.
According to its Mission statement, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks seeks to "Enhance the Quality of life for our citizens, now and for future generations by building community endowments, meeting needs through grantmaking, providing leadership and promoting collaboration on community issues." It's a simple concept really. Regional affiliates raise and the distribute funds to groups and individuals whose efforts, projects, programs or events are making their communities a better place. For example, the 41 regional affiliates of the CFO will provide and scholarships for area students, and needed funding for libraries, museums, sheltered workshops, Meals on Wheels, parks and parades.
Julie Leeth, Vice President of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks says "Every community is unique and the Bolivar's (Community Foundation) web of influence is through a broad range of different funds that address a lot of different needs in the Bolivar area, in all of Polk County". Including the Bolivar Optimists Club Fund for support of youth oriented projects; the Family Institute of the Ozarks Fund, which provides for mental health treatment to the citizens of Polk County, and the James A York Fund in support of sheltered workshops in Bolivar. There are around 40 active established funds, scholarships and grants from individuals and organizations who for the most part, specify exactly how and where those funds should be put to use.
The aforementioned "simple concept" of raising and distributing funds for community betterment really means a lot of hard work for the Bolivar Area Community Foundation whose 11 member board is led by longtime Bolivar barber Don Wollard. As we heard at 7:30 this morning, Wollard's work ethic for the board is summed up in 3 words: "Give, (money) Get, (money) or Work". CFO VP Julie Leeth says "That sounds like Don! I think he has truly embraced the idea of give, get and work because we have found that the most successful regional foundations are those whose board members are givers because if your's going to go out to the community to ask others to participate in a community foundation, then the first question might be is everyone on you board a donor. The answer to that question should be yes."
Among those in Bolivar who lead by example is Dorothy Callaway Isdell, who established the Derald Isdell Memorial Fund in support of the Polk County Fair Association. The original funds of the memorial were at first in another account, but Dorothy Isdell transferred the money to the CFO because "Their return is much, much better, and I could have control of where the funds go." Dorothy and Derald Isdell were married for 45 years and had as long a history of giving back to the Bolivar Area. Dorothy Isdell says "When you live in a community, you need to be a part of it, and we felt very strongly about that. About giving back our time to pay for the privilege of being here and to share the good fortune God gave us."
Support for Making a Difference Where you Live, comes from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. For information: cfozarks.org. For KSMU, I'm Mike Smith.
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