Hammond Mill Camp Inc. receives $24,000 grant from CFO and Coover Charitable Foundation


Hammond Mill Camp board members who accepted a more than $24,000 grant from Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Coover Charitable Trust are, from left, seated: Rex Berry, Rich Mustion, Ann Zimmerman, Pinky Gum and Andy Ingalsbe; standing: Shanda Engelhardt, Zohn Engelgardt, Robin Mustion, Thad White, David Grant, Don Pinckney and Abbie Ingalsbe.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks, in partnership with the Coover Charitable Foundation managed by Commerce Trust, awarded a $24,801 grant to Hammond Mill Camp Inc. in Dora to make improvements to the historic camp's bathhouse and main dining hall building in rural Ozark County.

“We lease our campground to youth groups, churches, family reunions and other community activities. It’s a wonderful place for children to experience nature and enjoy the river and enjoy all the aspects of nature,” says Robin Mustion, a representative of the camp, which was built in the 1930s as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps program. “We are very excited. Our buildings are getting old, and this is going to allow us to put new roofs on a couple of buildings that are really needing it. We’re just so grateful.”

The grant was part of the Coover Regional Celebration of Public Spaces Grant Program, totaling $250,000 to 11 projects across the Ozarks that will improve outdoor public spaces for residents and visitors of rural communities, following renewed interest and activity in outdoor experiences and recreation during the covid-19 pandemic. The presentation of the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation annual grants for rural communities took place during a virtual event on Feb. 2. 

For information on other projects funded by the grant program, go to cfozarks.org/coover23. 

“This year’s focus on improving public spaces is a natural fit for rural Missouri, where the region’s beauty and outdoor experiences rank among our state’s most valued assets,” said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust.

 Julia Dorothy Coover, a 30-year Commerce employee, founded the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation in 1992 to honor her husband’s memory. With these projects, the Coover Charitable Foundation has awarded nearly $8 million in grants to benefit the Ozarks since its partnership with the CFO began in 2001.

 Founded in 1973, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is marking its 50th anniversary in 2023 as the region’s largest public charitable foundation serving a network of donors, 53 regional affiliate foundations — including the Ozark County Community Foundation — and nonprofit partners across central and southern Missouri through its mission of resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration and public leadership.

Ozark County Times

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