The Rotary Club of Springfield South Foundation awarded grants to local nonprofit organizations at the Club's meeting on May 22, 2025. Carl Affrunti (left), President of the Club's Foundation, poses for a picture with Fritz Pfister (right) from the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight. They were one of nine local organizations that received funding from our 2025 grantmaking process.
During what is always one of the most fun meetings of the year on May 22nd, 2025, the Rotary Club of Springfield South Foundation awarded nine $1,000 grants to Springfield-area nonprofit organizations. The meeting marked the culmination of the Club's annual fundraising and grantmaking processes which is one of the major ways members make a local impact. These grants are made possible through ongoing fundraising efforts including Rotary's Annual Citrus Sale, our Bunn Gourmet Beef Raffle, and Wreaths Across America.
The 2025 Rotary Club of Springfield South Foundation's grant recipients include:
- Abraham Lincoln Council - Scouting America - Funds to support the transportation and operational costs associated with bringing their STEM bus to District 186 and other Springfield Schools.
- Compass for Kids - Funds to help purchase four new tires for a 12-passenger van used regularly by their Club Compass and Youth Leadership Development programs.
- Girls on the Run of Central Illinois - Funds to provide scholarships for their Jane Addams and Hazel Dell sites. Through the scholarship program, they are able to provide girls who may need it the most with positive messages, a safe environment, and relationships with role models.
- Land of Lincoln Honor Flight - Funds for two Veterans' flights from Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport to Washington, D.C. to visit their memorials. This one day trip includes air and ground transportation, meals and snacks, a t-shirt and cap, and other items provided completely free of charge to the veteran in honor of his or her service to our country.
- Lincoln Land Community College Foundation -Funding for the annual Karen and Kelly Grant scholarship.
- Made Wright Inc. - Funds to provide meals, family friendly entertainment, and resource bags filled with wellness tools and educational materials in support of their Mental Health and Me Day.
- Senior Services of Central Illinois - Funds to support SSCI's efforts to combat hunger among the senior population in the area by providing home-delivered meals.
- Sojourn Shelter and Services - Funds to purchase food for their shelter clients. Sojourn currently supplies over 26,000 meals per year to those residing in the shelter at a critical time in their lives.
- St. John's Lutheran Preschool - Funds to purchase My Big World Scholastic magazine along with monthly class sets of books for their four year-old classes.