Ameren Missouri donates 800 air conditioners and energy assistance funds

Ameren Missouri donates 800 air conditioners and energy assistance funds to Cooldownstlouis.org

On June 16, Ameren Missouri donated $165,000 to Cooldownstlouis.org and Cooldownmissouri.org to support the most vulnerable customers in St. Louis and eastern Missouri. The company also donated 800 Energy Star rated window air conditioners and 800 four-packs of LED lightbulbs for distribution throughout Missouri. On average, the energy-efficient air conditioners cost less than a dollar a day to operate.

“We want to ensure that our customers stay safe and healthy as temperatures start to rise with the summer heat,” said Marty Lyons, chairman and president of Ameren Missouri. “Our partnership with Cooldownstlouis. org and Cooldownmissouri.org is a key part of that effort, particularly for seniors and those with medical conditions.”

This year’s air conditioner donation marks the 21st anniversary of Cooldownstlouis.org and Cooldownmissouri.org’s “Save our Seniors” (S.O.S) Cooling Summer Project. It is the 16th year of participation by Ameren Missouri, resulting in more than 9,000 window air conditioning units delivered to qualified seniors and people with disabilities across the region.

“Some seniors and neighbors with disabilities are still sheltered in their homes due to COVID-19, and it’s important that they stay cool. Many will do so because of the generosity of Ameren Missouri and the hard work of Cooldownstlouis.org, Cooldownmissouri.org and its partnering agencies,” said Missouri State Senator Karla May, a new Cooldownmissouri.org board member also representing the state of Missouri.

“St. Louis summers have been known to be extremely hot, humid and often deadly,” said Tishaura Jones, the first African-American mayor of St. Louis and honorary chair of Cooldownstlouis.org. “Today, Ameren Missouri, a good corporate citizen, is donating 800 brand new energy efficient air conditioners to Cool Down St. Louis. We encourage our most vulnerable to turn on the air and stay safe this summer.

Many volunteers prepared donated units for statewide distribution to an already large waiting list of qualified seniors and clients with disabilities. Joining Lyons were Ameren Missouri volunteers, Cool Down board members Missouri State Senator Karla May; St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones; Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson, Greater St. Louis Area Fire Chiefs Association; Michael P. McMillan, president and CEO, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Inc.; Corporate Treasurer Reverend Earl E. Nance Jr.; Linda Fritz, NECAC program director; and Cora Faith Walker, St. Louis County Chief Policy Officer and popular St. Louis television meteorologists.

“When Ameren and Cool Down St. Louis team up, the community significantly benefits. That’s because Ameren takes a leadership role in charitable partnerships. They bring the financial resources, and Cool Down St. Louis has the drive; and passion to help keep our elderly neighbors safe each summer. The Urban League has been affiliated with Cool Down for 21 years, and they are good neighbors,” said Michael P. McMillan, president/CEO, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. and a Cool Down executive board member.

Ameren Missouri resources are available for seniors and those with medical concerns. Customers and their families are encouraged to visit AmerenMissouri.com/HealthAndSafety for information on Medical Equipment Registry (MER), the Caring Contact Program and energy assistance options including the Keeping Cool Program and low-income weatherization assistance.

Older adults and people with disabilities, as well as low- to moderate-income families, are encouraged to apply for the energy assistance funds by visiting Cooldownstlouis.org and Cooldownmissouri.org or by calling 314.241.0001 or 314.657.1599, which are their hotlines for seniors and people with disabilities only.

The Cooldownstlouis.org S.O.S. Summer Project encourages area residents to check on their elderly neighbors to make sure their air conditioners are on and working. Cooldownstlouis. org and Cooldownmissouri.org will also be distributing 150,000 cooling cards with helpful summer tips, along with Ameren Missouri’s contact information, to connect customers with available resources.

Energy assistance is available to Ameren Missouri customers who need help paying their bills. Visit AmerenMissouri.com/EnergyAssistance to learn about various support options, including federally funded COVID-19 relief programs. Select programs are offering increased income eligibility, allowing more Missourians to receive help even if they didn’t qualify previously.

www.siteman.wustl.edu

www.mycnews.com • Community News – St. Louis County • June 30, 2021 Senior Living 5

JFS St. Louis receives $25,000 grant for senior services

Jewish Family Services (JFS), which provides mental health and social services for all St. Louisans, recently received a $25,000 grant from the JCA Charitable Foundation. Proceeds from the grant will support educational programming and health care services that directly benefit the area’s Jewish elderly population. JFS assists the Jewish senior community, which includes Holocaust survivors. Part of the JCA Charitable Foundation grant will fund a portion of a new JFS case manager’s time devoted to helping Holocaust survivors navigate specific application processes and client assessments needed to stay healthy and safely age in place. The JFS Senior Services team currently assists nearly 150 Holocaust survivors in applying for benefits from the Claims Conference, which designates funds for in-home support services and The Blue Card program, which contributes funds for minor medical services. JFS’ Senior Services supports nearly 2,000 older adults annually in the St. Louis City and County with care management and in-home services. The program includes resource and program referrals, subsidized homemaker services, falls and hospital readmission prevention services, and emotional and spiritual support through friendly visits and counseling.

Still In This Together:

By Vicki Bahr

The future lies in the imagination

I can’t for the life of me figure out when my grandmother found time to read, with all the never-ending cooking and cleaning and caretaking she did, but she was a reader. Her younger daughter, my Aunt Betty, used to quiz me on dictionary words as we sat on the front porch of their brick home on Geraldine Avenue. Only when I reached the magic number of correct spellings for the day would we play catch or hopscotch on the front sidewalk until dinner.

From my earliest memories, there were books, and stories, and adventures just waiting to be shared at every birthday and Christmas, without fail. The inscriptions were beautifully written in cursive letters with fountain pens, ‘To Vicki on her eighth birthday from Grandma and Grandpa’, and I treasured each hardbound classic, even though I had to grow into quite a few of them. Of course, my grandmother was also the one who told me to always read the last page of the book first, to see if I was going to like the ending before I decided to read it, a bad habit I admit to harboring to this day. Maye her time was at such a premium that reading the last page first helped her to choose what would be most worthy of her attention. I smile even now just thinking about her dubious advice.

My Mom was also a reader, and her father, my maternal grandfather, hand-made her a long, beautiful bookcase at some point, staining it a deep, dark mahogany and curving the edges of the shelves just so, to give it a feminine look. Fridays were the day she dusted the books and rubbed the wood of her bookshelves with lemon Pledge, and I remember finding her many Friday afternoons when I got home from school, sitting on the bedroom floor with an open book in her hand, having lost all sense of time.

What a wonderfully luxurious history to be born into, when books were cherished and stories were encouraged. The first time I was introduced to John’s parents, his Dad had a large print Louis L’amour volume in his lap, and his eyes were still far away in the old west when he looked up and smiled at me. We were kindred spirits from that moment forward.

I was an English major in college, and often felt that I was cheating because I enjoyed the work so much. My advisor and favorite professor just smiled and nodded when I shared my confession with him. “Exactly as it should be,” he said.

Our children were read to and surrounded by storybooks from before they were born. I remember on rainy afternoons laying all the Little Golden Books end to end and using them as stepping stones to travel from room to room through the house. Symbolic, looking back on it: stepping stones to so very much…

Grandparents supplied books with favorite subjects for them, from Christopher’s hot air balloons to Adam’s motorcycles, Katie’s weather phenomenon to Becca’s Babysitter Club Little Sisters. This was all in pre-computer and pre-Amazon days, when bookstores needed to be searched and phone calls made to find just the perfect gifts.

And I’m proud to say the tradition continues. From the time our grandchildren were tiny, familiar voices were reading to them, videos were being sent by cell phone of their favorite bedtime stories as pages were turned and pictures were giggled over. Even when COVID kept us physically apart, there were Zoom calls, and the same Frog and Toad stories that were read to their Mom were shared with the youngest of our grandkids.

Each of the grandkids loved the Richard Scarry story “Watch Your Step Mr. Rabbit,” and the older ones read it to the eighteen-month-old twins now.

Last week, their five-year-old big brother called me to share the exciting news that the libraries would be opening again very soon. He was so happy that “his babies” would be able to go to story time like he did when he was little.

“And Grandma,” he whispered. “We’ll be able to smell all the books again.”

Bravo, Adler!

Just promise me you won’t read the last page first.

Vicki Bahr is an inveterate word lover and story sharer, a published author in magazine, newspaper and blog forms. As a mom of four, grandma of nine, and wife of one for nearly 49 years, she finds that inspiration and wonder are everywhere.

The opinions expressed in this column are the columnist’s alone and do not reflect the opinion of the owners or staff of Community News. www.SeniorsHelpingSeniors.com/StLouisCentral

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