Joplin Tomorrow donates remaining $700,000 for MSSU medical scholarships

(From Southern News Service)

Joplin Tomorrow has announced that it will transfer its remaining $700,000 in assets to the Missouri Southern Foundation, with the funds to be used – as they become available – for scholarships for future medical students enrolled in the innovative “Yours to Lose - Advanced Medical School Acceptance Program” at Missouri Southern State University.

Joplin Tomorrow was formed following the devastating tornado of May 22, 2011. This non-profit corporation was developed with the backing of Sen. John C. Danforth to accept donations and provide low-interest loans to businesses recovering from the disaster. Approximately $1.6 million was raised from donors across the country, and 24 loans were approved by the Joplin Tomorrow Board of Directors for businesses to rebuild and expand.

As loans were repaid, Joplin Tomorrow began to accumulate assets, said Dwight Douglas, president of the Joplin Tomorrow Board. In 2015, Joplin Tomorrow donated $750,000 to the capital campaign to build the Joplin campus for the Kansas City University School of Medicine and Biosciences (KCU), citing the potential for the new medical school to enhance Joplin’s economic future.

“Now, five years after the tornado, Joplin Tomorrow has completed the work it set out to do,” said Douglas. “The question now became one of how to best utilize the remaining assets.”

The five-member board – which includes Douglas, Glenn Brown, J.D. Seller, Mike Palmer and Mike Pence – voted to transfer the remaining assets to the Missouri Southern Foundation to fund scholarships for students in the “Yours to Lose” program.

“Yours to Lose” is an exclusive partnership between Missouri Southern and KCU that will allow up to 25 students to be admitted into KCU at the same time as they are accepted into the pre-med program at MSSU. Students will earn their bachelor’s degree in biology in three years at MSSU and begin their first year of medical school at the Joplin campus.

“We’re very grateful that Joplin Tomorrow has decided to invest in Missouri Southern students who will participate in the ‘Yours to Lose’ program,” said Dr. Brad Hodson, executive vice president of Missouri Southern. “As future physicians, they will play a role in the economic vitality of the Joplin area. This university continues to strengthen its standing as the health sciences leader in the region, and we are thankful to this organization for their support.”