The mission of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis is to serve, support and celebrate the lives of all individuals with Down syndrome and their families, through every stage of life. The pillar of the organization is family support from the moment that a family receives notice that their unborn child may have Down syndrome through the end of the loved one’s life – and even beyond.
St. Francis Community Services (SFCS), a ministry of Catholic Charities of St. Louis, received a YouthBridge YEP STL! grant the first time they applied. YEP STL!
This spirit of unity and the voices of young people 60 years ago that echo today in the work of Cultural Leadership, a nonprofit dedicated to creating a more just community by training area youth to be the next generation of civil rights leaders. The organization is a 2023 recipient of a YouthBridge YEP STL! grant.
Established in 1984, the Special Education Foundation supports over 24,000 students with disabilities in St. Louis County – along with their families and teachers – in areas not supported by tax dollars. The Foundation is independent of the Special School District and receives no support from the government. A volunteer board of directors guides the organization.
The YEP (Youth Engaged in Philanthropy) STL!, a partnership between YouthBridge and First Bank, was recently recognized with an Innovation in Philanthropy award by the St. Louis Business Journal.
The YouthBridge YEP (Youth Engaged in Philanthropy) STL! program provides a platform for area students to learn about and impact programs or projects serving children and youth. The group annually reviews and awards grants totaling $10,000 to multiple local nonprofits. This month, we highlight YEP STL! grantee North Side Community School.
There’s a stigma attached to the homeless, but not everyone is to blame for their situation. COVID-19 has shown us how tenuous our security can be and how one crisis can become a disaster.
Of the many effects of the Coronavirus crisis, food security has been one of its major victims. In the last few years, we had seen child hunger drop to one in six children in America. With the pandemic, that number has gone back up to one in four.
Paul Spearing admits that he was knocked off his seat the first time he met with the YouthBridge YEP (Youth Engaged in Philanthropy) committee.
“Many parents come to us worried that their dreams for their child will not come true – that they won’t be able to share milestones such as high school graduation, marriage, starting a career,” he says. “But as we’re able to break through to their child, they begin to have hope for the future.”
Each week, hundreds of volunteers experience the adventure of reading with about 10,000 preschoolers across the St. Louis region, as part of Ready Readers’ mission to prepare children entering Kindergarten in low-income communities with the skills to be ready to read.
Evidenced by the name, Angels’ Arms has a deep admiration for foster parents. “They welcome these children with open arms and assure them that this is their home for as long as needed – no matter what,” says Wilfong. “We provide the homes, but they offer the security a displaced child so desperately needs…an angel looking out for them until their forever home.”