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Around Town
AroundTown
Major milestone Christian Extended Care & Rehabilitation Resident celebrates 106th birthday
Jessie Trice O’Bryant, a resident at Christian Extended Care & Rehabilitation (CECR), is turning 106-years-old and her family organized a drive-by birthday parade in celebration at Christian Extended Care & Rehabilitation at 11160 Village North Drive on July 18. “Miss Jessie” was seated in the circle drive outside of CECR. Her family and others who have known her through the years drove by in their decorated vehicles sending their congratulatory birthday wishes at a safe social distance.
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Blues at the Arch Gateway Arch Park Foundation to hold Virtual Blues at the Arch Concert Series
The Gateway Arch Park Foundation concert series Blues at the Arch, presented by Emerson, returns for its fifth anniversary year – this time as a series of online events, with new performances every Friday in August. This popular end-of-summer celebration pays tribute to St. Louis’ storied blues history and showcases the talents of our hometown artists. Blues at the Arch, produced by the Gateway Arch Park Foundation in partnership with the National Blues Museum and the National Park Service, will stream free of charge on the Gateway Arch Park Foundation website, archpark.org, and @gatewayarchpark Facebook page.
Blues at the Arch begins Aug. 7. The entertainment schedule includes: • Aug. 7: Uvee Hayes • Aug. 14: Little Dylan • Aug. 21: Kingdom Brothers • Aug. 28: Carolyn Mason
“Emerson is proud to call St. Louis home and to continue to support Blues at the Arch in celebration of the music that makes this city so special,” said Dave Rabe, vice president of corporate social responsibility at Emerson. “Although this year’s event will take a different form, we at Emerson, along with the Gateway Arch Park Foundation and the National Blues Museum, are dedicated to bringing the community together virtually to enjoy the best of St. Louis blues music.”
“Blues at the Arch has become a beloved event for us each year, where we invite folks to relax and picnic in Gateway Arch National Park,” said Ryan McClure, executive director of Gateway Arch Park Foundation. “While we wish we could gather in the same way this year, we look forward to sharing the love and experience of blues music with our community in a new way.”
For more information about Blues at the Arch, visit archpark.org/ bluesatthearch.
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Improving parks Creve Coeur City Council approves ballot measure to fund parks and stormwater
Creve Coeur City Council approved an ordinance at its July 27 meeting to place a proposition on the Nov. 3 ballot for voter consideration. The ballot will read as follows:
“Shall the City of Creve Coeur impose a sales tax of one-half of one percent for the purpose of providing funding for local parks and stormwater control for the City of Creve Coeur?”
If approved by a majority of voters, the half-cent sales tax revenue will be used to improve and maintain local parks and stormwater infrastructure in Creve Coeur.
Adopted in 2019, the Creve Coeur Parks and Recreation Master Plan is a community-driven guide that identifies needed improvements in city parks and includes recommendations for new amenities and renovations, trail system expansion and new recreation facilities. The sales tax would provide funding to implement this plan.
“We know from the recent Parks Master Plan assessment that amenities in our parks urgently need attention to be safe and provide the expected value,” said Dave McCoy, Chair of the Creve Coeur Parks & Historic Preservation Committee. “Even though the city receives grants to supplement the Capital Improvement Program, they are not sufficient and predictable to support the current infrastructure and the future vision of the Parks Master Plan.”
The Stormwater Master Plan, adopted in 2012, identifies problem areas within Creve Coeur where excess runoff causes flooding, erosion and potential damage to properties.
“The city’s Capital Improvement Program identifies approximately $13 million in stormwater-related improvements as ‘future projects’—projects for which no funding or schedule have been identified,” said Richard Koch, Chair of the Creve Coeur Stormwater Committee. “Many of these projects – to address erosion, flooding, and stormwater infrastructure – will not be addressed in the foreseeable future without a significant increase in funding.”
The city’s Finance Committee joined the Parks and Historic Preservation Committee and Stormwater Committee in recommending the measure be placed on the ballot.
The proposed half-cent sales tax is estimated to generate $2 million annually, to be placed in a special fund dedicated solely to city parks and stormwater control. Creve Coeur is one of a small number of cities in St. Louis County that has not implemented the parks and stormwater sales tax.
More information the Proposition is available at www.crevecoeurmo.gov/PropP-SW.
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Feeding St. Louis
St. Louis Area Foodbank distributes more than 16.7 million meals throughout the bi-state region
The St. Louis Area Foodbank has distributed 16,795,542 meals since March 16 as part of COVID-19 relief efforts, significantly more than the goal of 10 million meals by the end of June announced on April 23.
Prior to the pandemic, there were more than 400,000 people in the 26 counties served by the St. Louis Area Foodbank (14 in
Missouri and 12 in Illinois) struggling to put food on the table. That number has increased due to job losses, furloughs and kids being out of school for an extended period as a result of COVID-19.
“When we set the goal of distributing 10 million meals back in April, none of us knew what the future held,” said St. Louis Area Foodbank President and CEO, Meredith Knopp. “There is no playbook for something like this. Would we run into food supply chain issues? Would people continue to donate if their employment status changed? Would we still be able to utilize volunteers and if so, would they show up? People in this community rising to the challenge time and time again is how we were able to exceed our goal. We are so grateful because we know food is desperately needed by so many people in the bi-state region right now and will continue to be for the foreseeable future,” Knopp concluded.
The foodbank has brought on 70 new food distribution sites since mid-March to address the increasing need in the region. Those 70 sites are in addition to the network of more than 500 community partner agencies that made up the organization’s hunger relief network prior to the pandemic.
Across the foodbank’s service territory in eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois, 552 mobile distributions of food, cleaning supplies, and hygiene items were conducted from March 16 through June 30. For perspective, during the organization’s previous nine-month fiscal year (10/1/18 – 6/30/19), there were 676 similar distributions conducted.
Bringing on new distribution sites and increasing the number of mobile distributions became a necessity as the foodbank saw a 41 percent increase in the amount of product the organization was getting out to the community compared to the same time period in 2019. A big part of that poundage increase was nutritious food the St. Louis Area Foodbank received through the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program (aka the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program or CFAP). Through the end of June, the organization received 3,033,428 pounds of food through this program.
In addition to the food being distributed during the pandemic, Foodbank staff members also helped 363 people in Missouri and 127 people in Illinois complete SNAP applications to help put food on their tables and inject dollars back into the local economy. Those 490 completed SNAP applications represent a 23 percent increase over the same period last year.
Support from the community - in the form of financial donations, food drives, volunteerism, and advocacy - has helped the Foodbank expand pandemic response and recovery efforts and will be needed in the coming weeks, months, and likely years to continue addressing the need in the bi-state region.
More information on the St. Louis Area Foodbank’s COVID-19 relief efforts, where people can go to find food assistance, and ways the public can help feed neighbors in need can be found at https://STLFoodbank.org/Covid19.
Education on the house An opportunity for learning - STLCC invites students to ‘Take a Class on Us’
St. Louis Community College is offering scholarship and grant opportunities to students to help them get closer to graduation, transfer to a four-year college or get a jump-start on a career.
The Take a Class on Us CARES Scholarship opportunity is open to new and current students who enroll in at least nine credit hours during the fall 2020 semester. In alignment with the U.S. Department of Education requirements, students who meet established criteria are eligible to receive a Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act scholarship or grant.
The CARES Act Scholarship and Grant program provides a variety of opportunities for students.
Take a Class on Us Scholarship
STLCC will pay for one three-credit hour class at the in-district rate of $116.50 for the first 6,000 students who meet the program criteria and register for at least nine credit hours in the fall 2020 semester.
Students will automatically receive the three-hour class scholarship credit on their student account without the need to register for the program.
First Time in College (FTIC) Laptop Scholarship Package
STLCC will provide a laptop scholarship package to the first 1,500 FTIC students who are Pell Grant eligible and meet the CARES criteria.
Missouri A+ Book Scholarship
STLCC will provide online course materials for two classes for the first 2,000 Missouri A+ Program students who are registered in at least two online courses for fall 2020.
Continuing Students Grant
STLCC will provide a CARES grant in the amount of $250 for the first 1,500 continuing students who have completed at least 45 credit hours in their current program of study, meet the CARES criteria and are registered in at least nine credit hours in fall 2020.
Students who meet the following criteria will be eligible to receive a CARES Act scholarship or grant: 1. Eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 2. Completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 3. Currently enrolled in a degree or certificate program at STLCC. 4. Register and attend the required number of courses for which the award is granted. 5. Take an online or hybrid course in the fall 2020 semester. 6. One scholarship or grant opportunity per student. 7. Must secure payment for tuition, be on a payment plan or be receiving financial aid.
STLCC’s fall semester begins Aug. 24; 12-week classes begin Sept. 21; and the first day for the second session of eightweek classes is Oct. 19.
For students who are registered by July 31, scholarships will begin to be awarded Aug.1 and paid on their accounts 10 days before the start of the semester.
Fall course adjustments
St. Louis Community College made adjustments to the fall schedule of courses for the health and safety of students, faculty and staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Classes will be offered in different formats, depending on the course content:
Face-to-face – Instruction takes place in-person in a campus classroom. Hybrid – A combination of online and face-to-face learning for students. Live virtual lecture – Class meets online at a specific date and time using a streaming service. Online – Students work with class material and projects on their own schedule in a virtual environment.
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Passport to St. Louis ‘Board, Explore & Win’ campaign launches with the release of the St. Louis Transit Passport
As local communities continue to reopen, Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT), Metro Transit and St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) launched the Board, Explore & Win campaign to reinforce how easy it is to utilize the region’s safe, reliable and robust public transportation system to access hundreds of St. Louis’ hottest attractions.
From July 14, through Aug. 31, individuals visiting St. Louis area destinations via MetroLink or MetroBus can log their trip at www.cmt-stl.org by entering their name, email address, venue visited and route taken. Each trip they track equals an entry to win a weekly prize package for restaurants and other venues accessible via public transit.
To aid in these summer adventures, a St. Louis Transit Passport has been released. It serves as a 2020 guide to exploring some of the top, local tourist destinations and provides instructions on how to get to each via transit. The free passport is available at the MetroStore (801 Pine St. in St. Louis), A Quick Bite at the Belleville Transit Center (718 Scheel Street in Belleville, Illinois) and Citizens for Modern Transit (911 Washington, Ste. 200 in St. Louis). Those interested in having a passport mailed to their attention can email their name and mailing address to info@cmt-stl.org. It is also available for digital download at www.cmt-stl. org. Throughout the campaign, CMT’s (@ CMT_STL) Metro Transit’s (@STLMetro) social media channels will feature informational posts, videos, interviews and other
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Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT), Metro Transit and St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) launched the Board, Explore & Win campaign to reinforce how easy it is to utilize the region’s safe, reliable and robust public transportation system to access hundreds of St. Louis’ hottest attractions.
content highlighting how to use the local transit system to Board, Explore & Win.
“As the region reopens, more and more people are getting out and visiting area attractions,” commented Kimberly Cella, Executive Director of Citizens for Modern Transit. “In doing so, we want to remind people that MetroLink and MetroBus can safely get you were you want to go.”
Metro Transit continues to execute enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols, provide personal protective equipment for front-line team members, and require that all riders wear face masks while riding on Metro Transit vehicles. The transit agency installed 38 hand-washing stations along the system, launched a contactless mobile fare payment via the Transit application, added polycarbonate shields on 425 buses and posted signage to encourage individuals to follow CDC guidelines.
“Ridership on the region’s public transit system was up for the first time in 40 months before COVID-19 hit, and we want to encourage area residents to get back on board,” stated Taulby Roach, President and CEO of Bi-State Development. “A robust plan is in place to keep riders safe, so we encourage them to make plans to take part in the Board, Explore & Win campaign and see all the fun places they can go via public transit.”
Managing Director for St. Clair County Transit District Ken Sharkey add, “Southwestern Illinois plays a key role in the economic vitality of the St. Louis region. Public transit provides seamless access to a host of restaurants, attractions and entertainment venues on both sides of the river. We encourage individuals to come see all St. Clair County has to offer during this campaign and throughout the year.”
The Board, Explore & Win campaign provides a valuable opportunity for the partnering organizations to interact with riders, strengthen relationships and reinforce their collective commitment to a safe, world-class, customer-focused transit experience. To learn more, visit www.cmt-stl. org or www.metrostlouis.org.
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Fighting hunger Operation Food Search receives $75,000 grant from MAZON
Operation Food Search (OFS), a nonprofit hunger relief organization, recently received a $75,000 grant to support its policy work from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. MAZON is a national advocacy organization working to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds in the United States and Israel. MAZON funds a strategic grants program – the Emerging Advocacy Fund – to identify, seed and support new anti-hunger advocacy initiatives in the top food insecure states in the nation. MAZON prioritizes organizations in locations with underdeveloped anti-hunger advocacy ecosystems, high food insecurity rates and challenging political and social dynamics concerning the nutrition safety net. “This generous grant enables our agency to dedicate specific resources to anti-hunger advocacy work,” said OFS’s Director of Policy & Innovation Trina Ragain. “MAZON’s partnership allows us to focus on food insecurity and its causes while advancing social and economic justice in the state of Missouri.”
Patients’ journey 42 doors tell story of hope
Last week, 42 doors took on special significance as part of a new art installation series to raise awareness and funding for Hope Lodge St. Louis across the bi-state region. The American Cancer Society’s 42 Doors of Hope showcases local artists’ interpretations of cancer patients’ journeys. Residents can vote for their favorite door throughout the campaign.
“Cancer patients and their caregivers who travel to our city for treatment rely on the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge for a free home away from home,” said Jim Kavanaugh, CEO of World Wide Technology and chair of the society’s capital campaign to renovate the facility. “We are in the midst of a much-needed renovation that will create 42 suites to help connect cancer patients to the care they need. It will take the community’s support to truly make the space a home away from home and maintain open doors to these important services.”
The society has partnered with local artists to create 42 doors, symbolizing the 42 guest suites that will be available at the new facility. Each door is unique, as is each patient’s journey to wellness. At the same time, the doors are part of a collection and community that represents what each guest experiences at Hope Lodge St. Louis. The campaign features art from popular local artists including The Muny scenic artist Andy Cross and high school art teacher Byron Rogers and will be displayed across the metro — from Busch Stadium to Ferguson Brewing Company to the Alton Riverfront.
“A door is a symbol of a journey, a transition or metamorphosis — many of the same feelings cancer patients and their families experience on their quest for wellness,” said Jason McClelland, senior director of regional corporate relations for the American Cancer Society North Region. “42 Doors of Hope brings awareness to the challenges facing cancer patients and their families, while also bringing art to new and unexpected corners of the community.”
Since 1995, Hope Lodge St. Louis has served tens of thousands of people. The facility offered 11,481 nights of free lodging in 2019 alone. Renovations will improve guest and caregiver experiences, keep pace with their needs and provide a better quality of life during their stay.The new facility also includes additional safety measures to protect immunocompromised guests from COVID-19 or other health threats.
A map of the doors is available at 42doorsofhope.org, along with information about each art installation and the artist who brought it to life.
Community members are encouraged to safely visit as many doors as possible and share pictures of themselves with the doors. Community members can also vote for their favorite door and can continue to connect cancer patients to the care they need by making an online donation at 42doorsofhope.org or by texting DOORS to 20222 for a $10 donation through mobile carriers. Funds raised during this campaign will stay in St. Louis to support our Hope Lodge. Money raised will have a direct impact on the care of local guests so they can focus on just one thing: getting well.
To learn more about Hope Lodge St. Louis and the support the facility offers individuals seeking cancer treatment away from home, visit hopeishome.org.
