Brightli nature therapy program awarded $10,000 Community Foundation of the Ozarks grant

Photo: From left, Community Foundation of the Ozarks President and CEO Winter Kinne, Brightli Foundation grants manager Kevin Douglas, Brightli Foundation annual giving manager Jennifer Sickinger, 37 North Expeditions Program Director Allison Osredker and 37 North Expeditions Founder Danny Collins.

The Brightli Foundation received a grant for $10,000 from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks' Everyone Outdoors Grant programs to help expand Brightli’s nature therapy program in southwest Missouri. 

The Everyone Outdoors grant award came down Jan. 7, at a ceremony at the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks offices on Valley Water Mill Pond in Springfield. 

The nature therapy program launched with a youth trip to Ha Ha Tonka State Park at Lake of the Ozarks in May 2022. Burrell Behavioral Health and Preferred Family Healthcare clients go on excursions through a partnership with 37 North Expeditions, a Springfield-based nature guide and experience service. Each excursion includes Burrell Behavioral Health care providers and 37 North Expeditions expert guides, with a 3:1 client-to-staff ratio. A total of 177 clients from Greene County took part in nature excursions in 2024.

“Nature Therapy has been shown to reduce stress, relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression, enhance self-esteem, inspire increased physical activity and more,” Brightli Foundation Executive Director Kristen Weaver said. “We are filled with gratitude that this grant will more than double our nature therapy program trips and the number of clients who can participate while in substance use and mental health services at Burrell Behavioral Health and Preferred Family Healthcare.”

The twice monthly trips into nature are free for Burrell Behavioral Health clients. Care providers can tailor the experiences to the abilities and needs of each group. Activities include hiking, fishing, topography, survival skill training, camp site preparation, nature art and so much more.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is the southwest Missouri region’s largest public charitable foundation serving donors, nonprofit partners and 55 regional affiliate foundations with assets totaling $494 million as of June 30, 2024. The CFO’s mission is to improve the quality of life for everyone in central and southern Missouri through resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration and public leadership.

About Brightli Foundation:
We are the philanthropic arm of Brightli, the parent company for Burrell Behavioral Health (and subsidiary Comprehensive Mental Health Services), Preferred Family Healthcare, Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health, Firefly, Adult & Child Health, and Places for People. Our mission is to support the Brightli system to increase access to high quality community-based healthcare across the Midwest through cultivating collaborative funder relationships.   

About Burrell Behavioral Health:
Burrell Behavioral Health is part of Brightli, an organization that employs more than 5,000 people. Burrell Behavioral Health serves 18 Missouri counties and provides behavioral health, substance-use treatment, case management, crisis, developmental disability, and employment services. Learn more at burrellcenter.com

About Preferred Family Healthcare: 

For 38 years, Preferred Family Healthcare has stayed committed to improving the health and wellness of the communities we serve by offering a full continuum of integrated health services. PFH has locations throughout Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma. PFH strives to serve the whole person by focusing on emotional and physical health and wellness, as well as addressing needs that may present barriers to success. Learn more at www.pfh.org.