Boys & Girls Town of Missouri Receives over $25,000 Grant
from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks
Springfield, Mo. (October 15, 2007) – Boys & Girls Town of Missouri was awarded over $25,000 through a grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks for abused and neglected youth of Greene County.
The grant will enable Greene County youth at Boys & Girls Town to participate in the agency’s-successful Adventure Therapy programming at the Meramec Wilderness Learning Ranch. The program will help local youth develop character and integrity and build stronger families and communities through outdoor and wilderness experiences. These experiences include: backpacking trips, climbing, caving, rappelling, wilderness trips, low and high ropes courses, camping, and outdoor education programs. The activities serve as a catalyst for the deeper changes that occur in both the individuals and the groups being treated.
With assistance from the grant, Boys & Girls Town of Missouri has partnered with the Recreation and Leisure and the Social Work Departments of Missouri State University. Dr. Hugh Gibson, an assistant professor in Recreation and Leisure, will assist with staff training and work to develop challenging and impacting adventure therapy activities. Dr. Joan C. McClennen, an associate professor at the School of Social Work, will research and evaluate the program for Greene County youth. Practicum students at the School of Social Work and Recreation and Leisure Studies departments will have an opportunity to participate in the program.
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