Last Updated on September 12, 2023 by Luke Feldbrugge
The Missouri Nurses Foundation is committed to funding, supporting, and implementing innovative initiatives to advance the nursing profession, and promote the health of Missourians. They primarily do this by supporting opportunities for the development, maintenance, and enhancement of high-quality professional nursing in Missouri.
The Missouri Nurses Foundation will be receiving a matching grant from the Homes for Heroes Foundation to match the funds raised through the 100 for $100 campaign. Donations to assist in reaching their goal are appreciated.
If the Missouri Nurses Foundation successfully raises enough to reach its $10,000 goal, the Homes for Heroes Foundation will generously match that amount with an additional $10,000 grant. This will help to significantly bolster the foundation’s ability to fulfill its mission and provide support to nurses, who have been working tirelessly on the frontlines to ensure the health and well-being of Missouri communities.
Missouri Nurses Foundation Check Presentation with Jay Flynn
Jay Flynn, Hero Outreach Coordinator with Homes for Heroes, gathers with Jill Kliethermes, Missouri Nurses Association Executive Director; Matt Younger, Missouri Nurses Foundation President; Brandy Dudenhoeffer, Homes for Heroes Real Estate Specialist; and the 2022 Nurse Innovator Award recipient, Margaret Mata; to briefly discuss the Missouri Nurses Foundation and how the funds received from the Homes for Heroes Foundation grant will assist their initiatives.
You can watch the full interview here or read the transcript of the interview below.
Jay: Hello and thanks for joining us today. I’m Jay Flynn, Homes for Heroes Hero Outreach Coordinator, and I’m joined today by the Executive Director of the Missouri Nurses Association, Jill Kliethermes. And I also have the Missouri Nurses Foundation President, Matt Younger. And then I have Brandy Dudenhoeffer, who is a Home for Heroes real estate specialist here in Missouri. And we’re also honored to have the 2022 Nurse Innovator Award recipient, Margaret Mata joining us today as well. Thanks, guys.
So as part of the Homes Heroes Circle of Giving, the Home for Heroes Foundation supports nonprofits nationwide whose missions are to support our heroes. So Jill and Matt; Brandy and I are so happy to present this $7,000 matching grant to the Missouri Nurses Foundation from the Homes for Heroes Foundation.
Now, a caveat. So they have raised $7,000. Through their 100 for 100 campaign.
We are committed at Homes for Heroes to a total grant of 10,000. You’ll see it’s for $7,000. So now to the end of the year, they’re going to be working really hard to raise an additional $3,000.
And if we’re able to do that, Homes for Heroes and Homes for Heroes Foundation are going to match the other $3,000 for a total of $10,000. I think you guys can do it. What do you think?
All right. So let’s just take a few minutes and talk about the Missouri Nurses Foundation. So Matt, tell us, how did the Nurses Foundation come to be and what’s its mission?
Matt: Well, the Missouri Nurses Foundation came into existence in 1997 as the MONA’s fundraising arm, a philanthropic endeavor to help advance causes that help the profession of nursing.
Jay: Awesome. So, Jill, how do you plan to use these matching funds to support our nursing heroes?
Jill: So it will go toward our Nurse Innovator Fund that we have had for a couple of years, and it’s for nurses who have done something innovative in the nursing field. We want to recognize their achievements and award them with a $1,000 award for that effort. And if they want to use that thousand dollars to further their project or their innovation that they have, that’s certainly something they can use those funds for.
We would like to give out two every year. And Margaret, as you said, was our award winner for 2022.
Jay: Awesome. So Brandy, Homes for Heroes real estate specialist from right here in Missouri, this grant means a lot to you. So tell our audience why this was special.
Brandy: Yes, it’s absolutely super special for me. I actually went to nursing school, so I am an RN. I got a bachelor’s degree in nursing in the late 1990s, and then I got into real estate in the early 2000. So it really means a lot to be able to support our nurses. And over 50% of the heroes that our team serves are healthcare workers.
Jay: Wow. Thank you for what you’re doing. Absolutely wonderful. And that’s an awesome tie into the foundation. That’s great. So, Margaret, thanks for joining us today and congratulations on being the 2022 recipient of the Nurse Innovator Award from the Missouri Nurses Foundation.
Please tell us a little bit about what it meant to you. Tell us about your story and the impact that this had on your life.
Margaret: Well, I’m a nurse and I led a team to develop an assessment tool for high reliability, which really advances quality and patient safety across healthcare organizations. And that tool was used as a pilot and spread across many organizations. So we’re very excited about it, and excited to be recognized for the work.
All: Congratulations.
Margaret: Thank you. I do want to add that recognition of the award is really fantastic because it gives nurses a chance to recognize the opportunity they have to influence big changes in their organization and I really think that we should celebrate that more and encourage it.
Jill: And one of the things that we do to increase that recognition for the awardees, is, we go to their facility where they have implemented their project and recognize them personally with their administration, their leadership, and other nurses to get the word out of what their innovation was, and how they’re contributing to the nursing profession.
We definitely want them to be recognized for all their hard work.
Jay: All right. So, Jill, so what if people want to get more involved in supporting the Missouri Nurses Association and the Nurses Foundation? Where can they go to do that?
Jill: You can go to the Missouri Nurses Foundation website and there’s multiple ways to get involved. We would love to have a conversation with you if you’re interested in what we’re doing. Learn more about our organization and how to give back to the profession of nursing.
Jay: Awesome. Everybody who’s watching, thank you for taking some time out of your day to join us today. Give us a little bit of love; like the video, give us a share, and leave us a comment. That’s always a great thing.
Make sure you tune into future videos to learn more about all the great nonprofits that the Homes for Heroes Foundation are supporting across our nation. And most importantly, take just a second out of your day and thank one of our heroes. Thank you for joining us.
Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving
Grants from the Homes for Heroes Foundation are made possible by the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving and its network of real estate and mortgage professionals. Homes for Heroes, Inc. is committed to providing savings to community heroes; such as firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, military (active duty, reserves and veterans), healthcare professionals and teachers.
To expand its Circle of Giving, Homes for Heroes, Inc., donates a portion of its earnings to the Homes for Heroes Foundation. So, every time a hero buys or sells a home using the Homes for Heroes program, they are helping other heroes across the country facing a housing crisis or who are in need of urgent financial assistance.
If you are interested in learning more about how Homes for Heroes can guide you through the home buying, selling or refinancing process AND save you an average of $3,000 after closing, simply sign up to speak with a member of their team. They will follow up with you to answer all of your questions. When you tell them you’re feeling ready to speak with their local specialists in your area about home buying, selling, or refinancing, they will connect you with their local specialists to begin the process.
Simply visit the Homes for Heroes Foundation page if you’re interested in learning more about where it has awarded recent grants to hero organizations throughout the country, how much they’ve awarded to date, and how it all works.
If you’re interested in supporting and donating to the Homes for Heroes Foundation to assist heroes in need, please visit their donation page to submit your contribution via PayPal. And, thank you for your interest and support.
Thank you for watching another Homes for Heroes Foundation grant video about the impact it is making nationally and in local hero communities, along with hero supporting nonprofits who use the grant dollars they receive to assist the heroes they serve.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Homes for Heroes YouTube channel to get notified of the new hero grants awarded by the Homes for Heroes foundation.
