Prosperity. What is it? If you don’t have it, how can you get it? If you have it, how can you help others prosper?
Questions about prosperity and how to achieve it aren’t new. For a number of years, finding the answers has been the focus of the City of Springfield, the Community Partnership of the Ozarks (CPO), the United Way, and literally hundreds of other local businesses, nonprofits, charities, and faith-based organizations.
In 2015, these partners united to create a community call to action. The action plan focuses on five areas that contribute to prosperity: safe housing; financial and job security; education that develops life skills; good health and fitness; and reliable transportation.
Prosper Springfield, an initiative that began in March 2017, is focused on aligning work in these five areas, reducing duplication and identifying gaps – all to improve pathways to prosperity. Prosper Springfield collaborates with community partners to show how resources could be aligned to make the road to prosperity easier to navigate.
Francine Pratt, the director of Prosper Springfield, understands that many community organizations have already been actively working to help the under-resourced of Springfield. She believes that strengthening lines of communication and collaboration between these organizations will multiply their impact on increasing prosperity.
In her role as director, Pratt works with organizations such as the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, which hosts a series of workshops to educate the community on different legal aspects they may encounter, such as tenants’ rights and home ownership.
Change One Thousand has partnered with local employers and the Missouri Job Center to train 1,000 workers for jobs with starting pay that ranges from $10 to $17 an hour. Those who are looking for better-paying jobs should take advantage of this opportunity and learn about ways to increase skills that will match their potential. Employers who need more skilled workers will benefit from these types of programs for increasing hiring pools with skilled workers.
According to Pratt, “If we can help more families find safe housing, better jobs, continuing education, improving health, and reliable transportation, we can help more families prosper.”
If you would like to help or want to know more, contact Francine Pratt at 417-888-2020 or email fpratt@cpozarks.org.
Sharon Ellard, a Give 5 program graduate, volunteers for Prosper Springfield.