Mayor Terry Epps improves Pine Lawn community through collaboration

Mayor Epps at Narcan box outside Pine Lawn City Hall.

According to data from the 2020 U.S. census, the City of Pine Lawn, Mo., in north St. Louis County has over 2,700 residents, a median income of just over $23,000, and the median age is 24.5 years. For the past seven years as mayor, Terry Epps has worked to undo Pine Lawn’s history of local […]

Eye Thrive provides wraparound vision services to children, a view of a better future

Eye Thrive visits Carondelet Library in south St. Louis.

One out of every four children will have or need glasses by the time they enter kindergarten, according to a 2018 report by the American Optometric Association. The non-profit Eye Thrive helps children in underserved areas who need glasses have them as early as possible through free vision services, including a mobile clinic where kids […]

Nine PBS celebrates Black and Brown kids through its multimedia literacy initiative Drawn In

How do you do community engagement well? You listen to the community, partner with them in the creation process, support their needs, evaluate, and repeat. Local public media station Nine PBS has always focused on early childhood education and being a free and engaging resource for teachers and families. It values the voice of its […]

The Empowerment Network promotes prostate cancer testing and supports survivors

The Empowerment Network (TEN) has provided brotherhood and fellowship to prostate cancer survivors and their loved ones at 6000 West Florissant Ave. in North St. Louis city for nearly 15 years. Although primarily African American men meet there, its virtual reach extends as far as Ireland. TEN exists today because of a promise to God […]

Positive multicultural representation fills the shelves of EyeSeeMe bookstore

Pamela Blair

Pamela Blair taught her children at an early age about the positive, and often hard-to-find, stories and histories of African Americans. When she noticed how other parents and teachers were struggling to find representation, she decided to open her own multicultural bookstore in University City—no business plan, just a hundred books and a passion. History […]

Beyond Housing invests in transformation of communities

A sign from Beyond Housing asks about location plans.

Beyond Housing is a staple in the Pagedale area. A foreclosure crisis and subsequent decline of a school district left the community struggling to survive. President and CEO Chris Krehmeyer says, “Our job with community folks is to rebuild the fabric of that place. To do that is not just one thing. It has to […]

Girls on the Run focuses on building strong, confident, courageous girls

Medals for GOTR 5K participation

Widespread research suggests that most girls stop feeling good about themselves by their teens.  Girls on the Run (GOTR) works to counteract this through evidence-based programming that marries social and emotional learning with physical activity. The international organization strives to create positive experiences for girls in grades 3-8. While the pronouns “she” and “her” will […]

Share has open arms for parents who grieve the loss of a baby and want to honor its life

Share staff (l to r) Patti Budnick, Sarah Purcell, Rose Carlson, Cindy Swain and Sarah Lawrenz

October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month as well as National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month. It’s also one of the busiest months of the year for Share Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support. A birth from loss In 1977, Sister Jane Marie Lamb began Share after listening to a bereaved family’s cry […]

VOYCE advocates for long-term care residents

Your aging mother has been feeling mistreated at a long-term care facility and you aren’t able to be there. You would like to install a camera in her room. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program of St. Louis, now known as VOYCE, has volunteers ready to visit with her and advocate for your mother at no […]