The Orthopedic Center of Illinois Foundation (OCIF) has announced that Compass for Kids was selected to receive a $20,000 grant as the beneficiary of the 21st Annual OCIF Open: Chip in fore Charity. The grant will be funded through proceeds from the OCIF annual golf outing scheduled for Monday, September 23rd at Panther Creek Country Club and will assist Compass for Kids in providing academic and social-emotional support to empower children and families underserved by our community.

“This year marks the OCI Foundation’s 21st annual golf outing and we’re so glad that it continues to be a success,” said OCIF Board President Tim VanFleet, MD. “We are proud to once again contribute $20,000 to such a worthy organization in our community.”

Compass for Kids was founded in 2011 by Molly Berendt as a ministry of Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church, thanks to encouragement from Reverend Julia Melgreen. It was the first program in Springfield to specifically target homeless students and remove barriers to their participation (such as cost, transportation, burdensome paperwork).

Compass for Kids currently operates three programs: Club Compass: a free, out-of-school time program focused on social-emotional learning; Camp Compass: a free, summer learning program focused on academics, enrichment, and social-emotional learning; and the Youth Leadership Development Program: a free, out-of-school time program focused on college and career readiness.

“We at Compass for Kids are ecstatic to be the 2024 beneficiary of OCIF’s Chip in Fore Charity golf outing. The funds raised will go towards scaling up our newest program for middle and high school youth. The Youth Leadership Development Program had a successful pilot year, and we are doubling the number of participants in the 2024-25 school year,” said Molly Berendt, Compass for Kids Founder and CEO. “At Compass for Kids, we believe that all children deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential. Thanks to the generosity of OCIF and their golf outing sponsors, more underserved youth in our community will have the opportunity to graduate from high school and be prepared for their postsecondary endeavors.”

This year marks the 21st Chip in fore Charity and to date, OCIF has granted over $420,000 to Springfield area organizations. The most recent grant recipients include Hope (2023), Central Illinois Fellowship of Christian Athletes (2022), Lincoln Land Community College Foundation (2021), Springfield Zoological Society (2020), YMCA of Springfield (2019), and Girl Scouts of Central Illinois (2018).

For more information on the OCI Foundation or to be a sponsor at this year’s event, please visit the OCIF
website: www.ocif.net or call (217) 547-9100.