Thomasville, MO. – The Community Foundation of the Ozarks, in partnership with the Coover Charitable Foundation managed by Commerce Trust, awarded a $25,000 grant to the Eleven Point Valley Community Center Inc. to support the creation of a new playground in Thomasville. Historically the Thomasville School included a playground, with the final pieces of the aged equipment being destroyed by flooding from the nearby Eleven Point River in the spring of 2017.
“We are extremely grateful for this grant,” says Brenda Bell, a representative of the community center. The community center is housed in the building that served as the Thomasville High School from 1940 to 1968. Since then, the community center has served as a location for community events, family reunions, and other social activities. The addition of the playground will truly be an asset.” Activities scheduled at the Community Center for 2023 include the annual meeting of the Center April 9; A Fun Run/Walk June 3rd, the 4th of July Celebration / Rodeo July 1st, and the Christmas Bazaar in November. The playground will be available year-round daily during daylight hours and will include a central unit with a slide and climbing bars, swings, picnic tables, and benches.
The grant was part of the Coover Regional Celebration of Public Spaces Grant Program, totaling $250,000 to 11 projects across the Ozarks that will improve outdoor public spaces for residents and visitors of rural communities.
A 30-year Commerce employee, Julia Dorothy Coover founded the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation in 1992 to honor her husband’s memory. With these projects, the Coover Charitable Foundation has awarded nearly $8 million in grants to benefit the Ozarks since its partnership with the CFO began in 2001.
Founded in 1973, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is marking its 50th anniversary in 2023 as the region’s largest public charitable foundation serving a network of donors through its mission of resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration, and public leadership. For information on other projects funded by the grant program, go to cfozarks.org/coover23
