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1818 Community Engagement Grant Winners Selected

10/11/2019

The recipients of Saint Louis University’s 2019-2020 1818 Community Engagement Grants have been selected, and this year’s projects range from efforts to promote gardening and healthy eating to vision exams and providing eyeglasses to those experiencing homelessness.

1818 astronomy class project

The first class of 1818 Community Engagement Grants included an astronomy class for men transitioning into new lives post-prison among other projects. Submitted photo

Launched in 2018 as part of the University’s bicentennial celebrations, the 1818 Community Engagement Grant Program celebrates the 200-year history of SLU giving back to the St. Louis community.

The 2019-2020 Grant Winners

Art for All
  • Project: "A New Way to See Art "
  • Project's Purpose: Bring together a tactile art exhibit that is accessible to people with visual impairments, a first in the St. Louis area.
  • Community Partners: Lighthouse for the Blind; Delta Gamma Center; Paraquad; STL Society for the Visually Impaired
Billiken Bee Lab
 
  • Project: "Healing and Meditation Garden Park"
  • Project's Purpose: Create a “horticultural therapeutic nature-scaping project" and bee pollinator garden in 18th Ward in the City of St. Louis.
  • Community Partners: Veteran Women of Influence; Gateway Greening
Caribbean and Latin American Student Association (CALSA)
  • Project: "Searching for Dignidad: Latino/a/x Immigration in St. Louis "
  • Project's Purpose: Provide educational programming and advocacy skills related to immigration and border issues.
  • Community Partners: Interfaith Committee on Latin America; American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri; St. Francis Community Services
College for Public Health and Social Justice – Office Public Health Practice
  • Project: "Black Girls Do STEM After School Programming"
  • Project's Purpose: Increase the number of Black women in STEM fields through hands-on workshops and career exploration.
  • Community Partners: Black Girls Do STEM; Brittany Woods Middle School; Thomas Dunn Learning Center
Cross Cultural Center and the Department of Aviation Science
 
  • Project: "High School Aviation Immersion Program"
  • Project's Purpose: Program that will educate high school youth of color on aviation science and potential careers.
  • Community Partners: Innovations High School; Ferguson Youth Initiative
 Labre Ministries with the Homeless
 
  • Project: "The Labre and Friends Community Dinner"
  • Project's Purpose: Community dinner and resource fair to be held on campus for SLU students and those experiencing homelessness.
  • Community Partners: PotBangerz – Feed the Body Mission
 Nourish STL
 
  • Project: "Nourish STL: Cultivating Health in the Community through Food and Education"
  • Project's Purpose: Establish nutrition services at SLU’s Health Resource Center that promote healthy living and disease prevention.
  • Community Partners: Nourish STL; Health Resource Center; STL MetroMarket Food Bus
 Overground Railroad to Literacy
 
  • Project: "Trauma Training Initiative"
  • Project's Purpose: Trauma education and response training for SLU students volunteering at various St. Louis Public Schools.
  • Community Partners: Sparlin Mental Health; St. Louis Public Schools
 Physical Therapy Student Association
 
  • Project: "Building Bridges for the Future"
  • Project's Purpose: Educate youth on science and its bridge to health professions such as physical therapy, athletic training and nutrition.
  • Community Partners: Unleashing Potential Early Childhood Program; Hodgen Elementary School
 Rotaract 
 
  • Project: "College Prep Care Package"
  • Project's Purpose: Create care packages for local high school youth that includes ACT prep materials, application fee waivers and other aspects of the college preparation process.
  • Community Partners: Metro Academic and Classical High School and other St. Louis Public high schools
Saint Louis University School of Education - ACT Prep Academy
 
  • Project: "SLU Local Urban Schools ACT Academy"
  • Project's Purpose: Work with local high school youth on ACT and other college preparatory tutoring/support.
  • Community Partners: Cardinal Ritter College Prep
 SLU African Students Association
 
  • Project: "CFNA and SLU ASA Afterschool Program"
  • Project's Purpose: Provide ad after-school program for immigrant and refugee children through Christian Friends of New Americans.
  • Community Partners: Christian Friends of New Americans
 SLU Global Brigades 
 
  • Project: "Global Brigades Local Initiatives with LifeWise STL"
  • Project's Purpose: Education program to bridge global and local issues for SLU students through service and fellowship.
  • Community Partners: LifeWise STL
 SLU Lions Club
 
  • Project: "Eyeglasses for Everyone: Bridging the Healthcare Gap"
  • Project's Purpose: Provide vision screenings and eyeglasses for people at various homeless shelters in St. Louis.
  • Community Partners: Gateway 180; Covenant House Missouri; St. Patrick Center
SLU Special Olympics and the Cross-Cultural Center
 
  • Project: "SLU Special Olympics and Wellness Fair" 
  • Project's Purpose: Swim meet and wellness fair on campus for people with developmental disabilities and their families.
  • Community Partners: Special Olympics; Paraquad; United Cerebral Palsy; Office for Developmental Disability
 StudentsCare SLU 
 
  • Project: "Putting the Care in Healthcare: Providing Psychosocial Support to Pediatric Patients"
  • Project's Purpose: Pairs SLU students w/ youth in long-term care at hospitals to provide respite for caregivers and companionship to kids.
  • Community Partners: St. Louis Children’s Hospital; World Pediatric Project; Ronald McDonald House
 The Cabbage Patch Garden
 
  • Project: "Cabbage Patch Garden - “Native Garden” Project"
  • Project's Purpose: Create a community garden in the WellsGoodfellow area to provide produce and educate youth on the food system.
  • Community Partners: St. Louis Public Schools; Missouri Conservation Heritage; Gateway Greening
 With Open Arms 
 
  • Project: "With Open Arms"
  • Project's Purpose: Educate and empower teen mothers to strive for personal and economic selfsufficiency.
  • Community Partners: With Open Arms STL

Under the program, 18 grants of $1,800 each are given to selected applicants to make a positive impact in the community in partnership with a local non-profit organization.

Last year’s 1818 grant winners included an astronomy program from men transitioning into new lives post-incarceration and workshops for children with disabilities run by SLU’s chapter of Movement Exchange, a dance and movement student group.

The grant winning groups will present on their projects’ community impact at a showcase in April 2020. As part of the grants’ requirements, all projects will also submit a final report detailing their work.

Learn About the Impact of the First 1818 Grants Class

Visit the Center for Service and Community Engagement to learn more.