Community Collaboratives
Council of Collaboratives
Ashley Krug, Chair
The Council of Collaboratives is comprised of leadership of each Collaborative and works to provide paths for cross-collaboration over a broad range of community issues. The Collaboratives had 143 separate organizations engaged and 1,256 volunteers gave 1,405 hours of their time this year.
The Collaboratives adapted quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many groups met more frequently to discuss issues that were rapidly emerging in the community.
Child Abuse and Neglect Collaborative
Dan Patterson, Chair; Nancy Hoeman, Vice-Chair
The Child Abuse & Neglect Collaborative works to prevent child abuse and neglect in our community. They held two Drug Endangered Children trainings with approximately 60 people in attendance. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they monitored child abuse and neglect hotline call numbers and worked to encourage the community to continue looking for signs of abuse while meeting with families virtually.
Environmental Collaborative
Ronda Burnett and Doug Neidigh, Co-Chairs
The Environmental Collaborative and its subcommittee, the Ozarks Clean Air Alliance, raise community awareness and encourage practices and values that support a healthy natural environment. OCAA held an electric vehicle rally promoting the benefits of driving electric cars and the Speaker’s Bureau educated the community about local air quality. The Environmental Collaborative held quarterly meetings bringing in speakers to talk about environmental topics.
Housing Collaborative
Shelby Butler, Chair; Isabelle Walker, Vice-Chair
The Housing Collaborative advances knowledge on issues related to safe, decent and affordable housing, from homelessness to home ownership. They coordinated free landlord trainings and partnered with the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association to offer training on evictions related to COVID-19 for landlords, as well as a session on tenant rights related to COVID-19 for service providers. They are currently developing a tenant education program.
Let’s Go Smart: Transportation Collaborative
Derrick Estell and Natasha Longpine, Co-Chairs
This collaborative fosters a culture of multimodalism that facilitates accessible connections between people, jobs and community in Springfield, including the Grant Avenue Parkway project.
The Food Collaborative
Ashley Krug, Chair; Mary Ellison, Vice-Chair
The Food Collaborative seeks to take the community to where we have a healthy, local food system and has continued to support food security and other food system-related projects. During COVID-19, this group shifted to provide collaborative updates related to food security and resources in our community.
Early Care and Education
Jennifer Crouch, Co-Chair; Nicole Piper, Co-Chair; Anitera Jackson, Chair Elect
The Early Care & Education Collaborative has continued to cross-promote large community events like Community Wide Play Day and Big Rig Night. They continued work on the Passport to Readiness app and a focus on Conscious Discipline across our community.