Community Links
With the following mission: To enhance a child’s self esteem and outlook for the future by:
- facilitating a one to one relationship with an adult role model: and
- providing financial assistance for personal and scholastic needs.
Since its inception in 1983, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks has added a satellite office in Branson, Missouri to serve the children of Stone and Taney counties. Through five unique one-to-one mentoring programs Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks now serves more than 800 at-risk children each year.
Convoy of Hope provides resources to local organizations to meet physical and spiritual needs for the purpose of making communities a better place.
Convoy of Hope, a 501 ( c ) (3) nonprofit organization, serves in the United States and around the world providing disaster relief, building supply lines and sponsoring outreaches to the poor and hurting in communities.
During a Convoy Of Hope outreach, free groceries are distributed, job and health fairs are organized and activities for children are provided.
Families for Children meets the needs of abused and neglected children through recruitment, retention and support of foster families. The project has referred over 100 families for foster parent training and served over 50 children in warm, loving environments.
New clothing and personal items from The Kids' Clothes Closet and Pack-A-Bag-With-Love supports foster families.
Relay for Life - American Cancer Society
Relay For Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day, cancer will be eliminated.
Sign up today to become a part of the Relay phenomenon. It’s a life-altering experience... emotionally compelling and camaraderie at its best. Whatever Relay means to you, every person involved helps bring us one step closer to eliminating cancer.
Ozarks Food Harvest is the only local food bank in the Ozarks. It serves 29 counties in Southwest Missouri recovering safe food that would otherwise be discarded and distributing it to shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers, pantries and daycares that serve poverty stricken children, the working poor, and the elderly. In addition to food
distribution, OFH offers direct relief through the Kids Cafe, Food for Thought, Club F.U.N., Full Circle Garden and Mobile Food Pantry.
Ozarks Food Harvest is supported through individual donations and support from foundations and community partners. Many local and regional producers, growers, distributors and retailers donate to Ozarks Food Harvest as well as a host of local community groups which hold food drives to collect the food. Out of every dollar donated to Ozarks Food Harvest, 95 cents goes directly to feeding hungry people. Every dollar donated can provide 7 meals to the hungry right here in the Ozarks.
Over 50,000 adults in Greene County do not have high school diplomas; that's 21% of the adult population. The goal of the Ozarks Literacy Council is to increase literacy in Southwest Missouri by providing free tutoring and learning services to those unable to read, write or compute at levels necessary to function fully and contribute successfully on the job, in their communities and in society.
Last year the Ozarks Literacy Council served 400 adults and over 7,000 children. Ozark Literacy Council partners with the Springfield Public Schools and many local children's agencies and programs, including the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Salvation Army Summer Children's Program, and the Family Violence Center.
Everyday in America 9,000 children are reported as abused or neglected, 500,000 children are in foster care or institutions and 3 children die from child abuse. Each year in the United States, millions of children are abused, neglected or abandoned by their families. They are removed from their homes and placed in some form of foster care. Our local CASA program is constantly challenged to meet the needs of those who cannot speak for themselves. Currently more than 900 children are in foster care in Greene County. Because of the shortage of foster homes here our children are placed in 59 counties and 12 different states.
Eventually the children end up in court. It is up to a judge to decide their future. Should they remain in foster care, be reunited with their parents, or be adopted? That’s where CASA comes in…
Guaranty Bank is very proud to support the community through working with those in need. Guaranty Bank is a sponsor of Isabel’s House, the crisis nursery of the Ozarks, which provides 24/7 residential care for kids when there is trouble at home. Isabel’s House was a direct response to research showing that the child abuse rates in Greene County far exceeded the state average. Crisis Nurseries are proven child abuse prevention tools for communities in need.
