Lift Up Springfield, Rebound Foundation among those honored at nonprofit awards

Correction: Some photos included in an earlier version of this story were from last year’s ceremony, not this year’s. In addition, a photo of Garrett Litherland was misidentified as this year’s winner of the Youth Leader of the Year by an event organizer.

Dr. Tricia Derges, founder of the Lift Up Springfield mission clinic, was named the 2019 CEO/Executive Director of the Year at the Southwest Missouri Nonprofit Excellence Awards Tuesday night at the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center.

Derges founded the mission health and dental clinic in January  2016 in a strip mall in northeast Springfield. Since then, the clinic has served more than 20,000 needy individuals.

BKD CPAs & Advisors, in conjunction with Drury University, hosted the awards. The event is "an evening to recognize passionate, dedicated individuals and organizations that strive to make our community a better place to live, work and play."

Dan Prater, senior managing consultant of nonprofit excellence at BKD CPAs & Advisors and the founder of Drury University’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership, spoke with the News-Leader about Derges and some of the other winners.

"Talk about selflessness," Prater said of Derges. "She went to medical school later in life. And instead of jumping in to make as much money as she could, she took her passion and education and used it to help needy people. That is what makes Springfield a great community."

Seth Cote was named Youth Leader of the Year. Cote builds ramps, handrails and walker steps so people with disabilities can gain access in and out of their home. He has given almost 500 hours and helped coordinate nearly 200 projects.

Prater said organizers realized there were so many young people doing good work in the community and wanted to honor them. 

"You don't have to wait till you are in your 40s or 50s to become involved in your community," Prater said. "It's so heartwarming to hear the stories of these kids. They are going to be our community leaders someday."

The Rebound Foundation, which runs transitional homes for women and children leaving domestic violence shelters, was named the Nonprofit Startup of the Year. There is currently one home in Springfield and another in Chicago.

The Rebound Foundation was founded less than a year ago by Christina Ford, wife of Missouri State head men's basketball coach Dana Ford.

Prater talked about how the Rebound Foundation partners with Harmony House, Greene County's only shelter for victims of domestic violence, but doesn't duplicate services.

"There is a need for women and children who are transitioning out of places like Harmony House, but who aren't quite ready to live on their own," Prater said. "They offer this really beautiful program where women can live in a home and get acclimated back into society."

The Nonprofit Excellence Awards were created last year in an effort to shine a light on the nonprofit community. 

Prater called it the "Emmy Awards of the nonprofit industry."

"The work of nonprofits can be really hard and heavy," Prater said. "It's not often we get to celebrate and we need that. We all need a night of honoring our work and the people who do it."

Other winners:

The information below was provided by the Nonprofit Excellence Awards' organizers.

Revel With a Cause Award: The winner of the 2019 Revel With a Cause Award and a $5,000 marketing package from Revel Advertising is the Ozarks Literacy Council. This award is given to an organization that is making a significant impact on the community but is still faced with a lack of public awareness.

For more than 50 years, the Ozarks Literacy Council has provided free programs to low-income adults and youths in southwest Missouri, helping them improve their reading skills and their job readiness.

Public Awareness Award: Safe Kids Springfield has been instrumental in making the region healthier and safer by providing critical education and resources for children and families, such as car seats for kids, bike/pedestrian safety and poison prevention.

Safe Kids Springfield has been instrumental in the reduction of Missouri’s childhood deaths by 42% since 1987.

The Arvest Bank Communitarian Corporate Citizenship Award: ESC Consulting Engineers has made generosity and civic involvement core values for some 30 years. With an attitude of humility and servanthood, they donate countless hours of free labor and even pay their employees for community service to dozens of charitable groups in this region. Incredibly, the company gives more than 10 percent of its profits to help make others’ lives better.

Excellence in Innovation Award: Big Brothers Big Sisters' Think Big Foundation used out-of-the-box thinking to create a unique system to collect, process, and ship the unusable goods received by various other nonprofits and provide a sustainable funding source through fair and equal revenue sharing. Through their creative operation, over 1.2 million pounds of textile waste has been diverted from the Springfield landfills. 

Emerging Leader of the Year: Rob Blevins, executive director of the Discovery Center, was named Emerging Leader of the Year. Blevins has already become an established leader, accepting roles in local civic groups. And Blevins has demonstrated true leadership at the organization through hard work and creative problem-solving.

Nonprofit Board Member of the Year: Chris Shaefer from CASA of Southwest Missouri was named Nonprofit Board Member of the Year. According to information from the awards ceremony, Shaefer "has gone far above and beyond the typical role of a board member. Through his vision and leadership, he was instrumental in expanding the services of this organization into a new, much-needed region to serve more children than ever before."

Nonprofit of the Year (small): Friends of Springfield-Greene County Library was called a "quiet, but vital source of support for one of this region’s important services."

Through their activities, thousands of children are read to and receive books. In addition, this group coordinates an event that excites nearly all book lovers — the annual book sale.

Nonprofit of the Year (medium): The Pregnancy Care Center was described as a "premier organization," helping more than 3,000 clients.

"Through services and educational programs, the center uses a faith-based approach to provide nonjudgmental help to women and men facing unplanned pregnancies."

Nonprofit of the Year (large): The winner in this category has a well-known reputation for serving the poor through outreaches, services and programs: Convoy of Hope.

"Even though its reach now extends worldwide, they have developed an incredible impact and reputation as a trusted source of help here in the Ozarks as well."