Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES— On May 9, seven non-profits in Phelps County will be participating in Give Meramec, a one-day, online fundraising event for agency partners of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. Using the power of the Cause Momentum crowd-funding website, nonprofits from Meramec Region will have the chance to raise funds, compete for matches and prizes and be a part of a one-day, 24-hour period of giving across the state. Give Meramec is from midnight to midnight on May 9.

One of those Phelps County non-profits is the S.A.V.E. New Rolla Animal Shelter.

The Rolla Animal Shelter S.A.V.E. campaign is seeking funds during Give Meramec’s 24-hour day of giving for anew shelter for the animals.

For the past 45 years, the Rolla Animal Shelter staff and volunteers have made the most of an increasingly bad situation. The S.A.V.E. campaign is raising funds to build a new facility at a new location to better serve the Rolla area community. The shelter does not have the capacity to serve the number of stray and abandoned animals. The current facility has minimal space to walk or visit with future pets. It has improper drainage, and the walls of the structure are cracking apart.

The dog kennels are housed outside, exposed to the elements except for a carport-like roof overhead, which has support braces covered in bird nests and bird waste, which falls onto the animals and their food bowls below. The staff has added temporary structures, repaired an out-of-date and inadequate HVAC system, and spent hours cleaning a facility that was designed for fewer animals. Forty-five years later, the inadequacies of the facility can no longer be ignored. The current facility can no longer be patched together and still provide humane surroundings and care.

The Rolla City Council has already purchased a 4.95-acre extension to a two-acre plot of land owned by the city at Lions Club Drive and Highway 72 in Rolla for the new facility. The $1.5 million goal will support the future needs of a growing community’s animal control services.

Making a secure donation is simple. On May 9, donors can log onto givemeramec.giveozarks.org and search for these local nonprofits to complete a basic credit-card donation. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by the IRS.

Over the past two years, the region-wide online giving day, known as Give Ozarks, has raised more than $2 million for more than 150 nonprofits across the region. Thousands of donors made online gifts ranging from $5 to $10,000 to support nonprofits.

Several Phelps County nonprofits will be participating in a live Give Meramec event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on May 9 at the Cedar Street Playhouse. Electronic giving stations will be available, and donations of cash and checks will be accepted. The free event will offer family friendly entertainment including music, dance, improv and more.

Give Meramec nonprofits will be eligible for a number of prizes, based on their success raising funds and also the number of supporters who make online donations on May 9.

Other organizations participating in Give Meramec include ABLE Senior Center, Assistance Association of Missouri Veterans Cemetery, CASA of South Central Missouri, The Community Partnership in Rolla, The Kaleidoscope Discovery Center, Missouri Rock Island Trail, Ozark Actors Theatre, Pulaski County Route 66 Preservation, Riverways Pregnancy Resource Center, Rolla Nutrition Site and Washington County Community Partnership.

For more information about the organizations participating or how to donate, please visit givemeramec.giveozarks.org or call Meramec Regional Planning Commission’s (MRPC) Maria Bancroft at 573-265-2993.

The Meramec Regional Community Foundation (MRCF), chaired by Vicki Nelson, a Belle banker, is promoting Give Meramec. MRCF is an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, which is hosting Give Ozarks, the larger day of giving which was localized to Give Meramec for the MRCF region. The event is sponsored by presenting sponsor BKD Wealth Advisors and platinum sponsors, The Commerce Trust Co./Coover Charitable Foundation, Edward Jones, the Musgrave Foundation and Ron and Janice Penney. The CFO is a regional public charitable foundation, founded in 1973, which includes 49 affiliate foundations and about 600 nonprofit partners and schools.

MRPC started MRCF in 2011 and provides the day-to-day operation. Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 25, directed by the MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.orgor on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.