St. Louis area business groups pledge $900,000 to support at-risk youth, related programs
Leaders in St. Louis’ business, public safety and administrative sectors on Wednesday announced a $900,000 contribution to local organizations working to promote public safety, generate economic opportunities and provide social and educational services in north St. Louis.
The money is mainly going to support initiatives in neighborhoods with some of the city’s highest violent crime rates — an area roughly bounded by Vandeventer Avenue, Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, Goodfellow Boulevard and West Florissant Avenue.
“Those funds will be used in neighborhoods here near where we are today. In neighborhoods that are important, but that are also under a great deal of stress,” said John Stupp Jr., president and CEO of Stupp Bros. Inc. and chairman of the Regional Business Council, a group founded in 2000 that represents large St. Louis area employers.
“That stress is felt by families, especially young people and the elderly,” Stupp said at the news conference, which was held at Martin Luther King Head Start Center at 1437 Laurel Street
The contribution was made by more than 100 area business leaders, represented by both the Regional Business Council and Civic Progress, a group of heavy hitters formed in 1953.
The unrest in the St. Louis region after the 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer, in part, sparked the organizations’ interest in funding public safety initiatives.
Programs that will receive funding include the Urban League’s Save our Sonsprogram, which provides job training and education opportunities to at-risk young men; STL Youth Jobs, which teaches skills and connects high school students to summer employment opportunities; and the North Side Community School on North Euclid Avenue.
“By equipping young people with the skills, the opportunities, and the support they need to succeed, we will see new generations of St. Louis flourish,” said St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. Joining Krewson at the announcement were her two top public safety officials: Police Chief John Hayden and Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards.
At one point, graduates of some of the programs receiving funding in attendance were invited to stand up. One of them, Will Donlow, took the podium.
“Through your funding, through your time, talent and treasures, we created the Save our Sons program. I was able to graduate from this program. I was able to help rebuild the empowerment center, do the wiring as an electrician, and I’m now working at Emerson Electric,” Donlow said to applause.
Jamie Dennis, who has served as director of Save our Sons since 2014, described it as a “wraparound service” that offers members several different services. He said he has helped over 400 men through the program in his time there.
“The Urban League has many programs. The basic needs are covered, whether you’re hungry, whether you need clothing, whether you need transportation,” Dennis said. “We have counseling referral programs where if a person comes in and has conditions, we can actually send them to the place they need help.”
Dennis said that Save our Sons has grown since he joined, and that the increased involvement by the city would have a positive effect on the program.
“It’s a place-based strategy, where the community, we’re bringing it up though economics,” Dennis said. He said that in the program’s early days, there was an intense grass-roots campaign to educate the public about the program. “Now, we have more promotion. We’ve become a household name. And great companies like RBC and Civic Progress are helping us experience that.”
Published May 16, 2018
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