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A Man With a Plan

Springfield’s giving tradition moves mayor Jim O’Neal, and he wants to help it continue.

Have you recently been of a mind to volunteer in Springfield, but aren’t sure where to start to find the best fit for you?
There’s help coming, straight from the top.

Springfield’s new mayor, Jim O’Neal, is leading the charge to establish a public service “clearinghouse” that would match the needs of local organizations with the skills and passions of local citizens looking to give their time to a worthy cause.

“Volunteer Springfield” is the very-unofficial working title for the program, which would make volunteering easier and more efficient, O’Neal says. “The challenges are to inventory and assess what needs are out there that civic and non-profit organizations want to address, and then to facilitate communication with those who want to volunteer,” he says. Applicants’ background and liability issues would ideally be vetted through the program, the final goal being to get effective people into situations they want to be in, and where they can provide the greatest potential (and longest-term) benefits.

While such administration would no doubt have some cost for an already cash-strapped city, O’Neal says the hope would be to actually ease the financial burden on the city by providing volunteers—where it makes sense—for government agencies as well as private ones. The end goal would be to provide enough support for police and fire agencies that more of those officers and firefighters can get back on the street.

Volunteerism is an area of passion for O’Neal, particularly when it comes to passing on Springfield’s tradition of charitable giving to the new generation of leaders. He calls the amount of goodwill giving in Springfield “disproportionate” to other cities, and says planting the seeds to continue that tradition is a challenge for the Rotary clubs, Kiwanis groups and other civic organizations. The other significant spoke on Springfield’s do-good wheel are faith-based programs, which could also be facilitated through Volunteer Springfield. O’Neal says groups could likely participate “almost without exception.”

O’Neal points to the Christian ideal of tithing as a benchmark for—in his opinion —effective and necessary giving on a personal level. “I think everyone needs to give 10 percent of their time, treasures and talent toward the benefit of others in some fashion,” O’Neal says. “If everyone did that, frankly, we would have less need for government programs, less need in our community.”

City public information officer Louise Whall reiterates that the program is in its infant stages, but that you can hopefully expect news about Volunteer Springfield in coming weeks. For now, if you’re interested in donating time but need some help getting started, contact United Way of the Ozarks at 417-863-7700