YouthBridge & The Magic House: Play Changes Lives

One Gift. Layered Impact.

When you give through YouthBridge, your generosity reaches further than you may realize.

Whether you establish a Donor Advised Fund, Endowment, Designated Fund, or another charitable giving vehicle, you are making a meaningful investment in the causes you care about. But this is only part of the story.

The administrative fees that support your Fund do not leave our community—they come right back to it.

Every dollar collected in Fund Fees is reinvested into YouthBridge’s Discretionary Grantmaking, providing critical support to carefully vetted nonprofits serving children and families throughout the St. Louis region—nonprofits like our featured Think Big for Kids Grantee The Magic House. Through the Think Big for Kids Grant, YouthBridge champions bold, imaginative projects that spark lasting change and open new possibilities for children across the community. The Magic House brings that vision to life through its Play Together Project.

Play Changes Everything

Beth Fitzgerald, President of The Magic House, says the museum helps children learn through hands-on experiences that spark imagination, curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving. The Magic House lives that mission by listening to educators, parents, and research. Then it responds to what children need most.

Today, screen time is crowding out free play. Many children are missing the everyday moments that teach them how to play. Those moments matter. Through play, children learn to collaborate, show respect, practice patience, think creatively, and solve problems. When children lose chances to play, they lose key building blocks for school readiness and well-being.

With support from the two-year Think Big for Kids Grant, The Magic House will implement the Play Together Project by strengthening parental engagement, expanding school partnerships, and advancing advocacy for play-based learning. The project will invite families to engage in joyful, interactive play through thoughtfully designed exhibits, equip educators with expanded professional development opportunities, and bring hands-on, play-based learning experiences directly into classrooms.

Building Momentum

Beth shared that YouthBridge’s support of the Play Together Project was “like getting a stamp of approval—a gold star.”

Trust and credibility are at the heart of everything YouthBridge does. We carefully vet the nonprofits and programs we support, giving Donors and Financial Advisors confidence that their charitable dollars are making a meaningful difference. Through Grant Programs like Think Big for Kids—and because we reinvest Fund Fees directly into community grantmaking—your philanthropy creates impact on multiple levels.

To experience philanthropy with a multiplier effect—where your generosity supports the causes closest to your heart while helping strengthen countless others, please contact Director of Philanthropy Andranique Joe.