1818 Community Engagement Grant Winners Announced
The Center for Social Action has announced the awardees for the 2025-2026 cycle of the 1818 Community Engagement Grant Program. Applications were reviewed by a committee of students, faculty and staff.
Awardees will present on the impact of their project at the Community Engagement Showcase on from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, 2026, in the Center for Global Citizenship.
The 1818 Community Engagement Grant Program celebrates the over 200-year history of SLU giving back to the St. Louis community. Eighteen grants of $1,800 each are given to selected applicants to make a positive impact in the community in partnership with a local nonprofit organization.
To date, the 1818 grant program has impacted over 12,000 underserved individuals in St. Louis through the hard work and dedication of 200 non-profits and over 1,500 faculty, staff, and student participants.
1818 Community Engagement Grant Winners – 25-26 Cycle
BrightRoots Project: Finding Our Stories
- Provides preventative social-emotional wellness strategies to at-risk youth.
- Community Partners: Doorways Housing and Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (K.E.E.N.)
- Campus Lead: Jathin Kollarapu, College of Arts and Sciences student
Bridging the Language Gap in Ovarian Cancer Awareness in Immigrant Communities: A Prototype for Multilingual Health Literacy
- Aims to increase ovarian cancer awareness and promote early detection and screening among underserved immigrant communities.
- Community Partners: St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Awareness, Immigrant & Refugee Ministry, Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA), and Casa de Salud
- Campus Leads: Students and faculty from: Department of Communication, Behavioral Science and Health Equity Program, and Department of Languages, Literature, and Cultures
CuddleRex: Comfort Companions for Pediatric Care
- Child-friendly medical accessory project designed to bring comfort and joy to pediatric patients during hospital stays.
- Community Partner: SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital
- Campus Lead: Aarti Sahai, School of Medicine student
Days for Girls: Empowering Survivors and Menstruators in The Women’s Safe House
- Provide education, advocacy and menstrual hygiene kits to domestic violence survivors.
- Community Partner: The Women’s Safe House
- Campus Lead: Days for Girls SLU
Fruit Truck Fridays
- Addresses the food deserts surrounding children in East St. Louis school district 189, providing fresh fruit each week.
- Community Partners: Pearls of Power, Eckert’s Farms, Dierbergs
- Campus Lead: Kimberly Yates, School of Nursing student
Good Neighbor Arts Engagement
- Design and implement culturally accessible activities specifically targeting underserved communities in CAM's immediate neighborhood.
- Community Partners: Contemporary Art Museum, CovenantBlu Neighborhood Association, and Brickline North Community Development Corporation
- Campus Lead: Bradley Bailey, Ph.D., Visual and Performing Arts
Immigrant Health Outreach Collective (IHOC)
- Aims to address healthcare access challenges faced by immigrant communities in St. Louis through flu vaccines, breast cancer screenings, and more.
- Community Partners: iFM Community Medicine and Resurrection of Our Lord Church
- Campus Lead: SLU Asian-Pacific American Medical Student Association
Love Shouldn't Hurt
- Raise community awareness around domestic violence, specifically for queer/LGBTQ+ relationships, and provide resources to victims.
- Community Partner: ALIVE STL
- Campus Lead: Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Students
Making Meaning
- Empower Latinx immigrants to share their experiences with friends, family, and community through art therapy.
- Community Partner: LifeWise STL
- Campus Lead: Dixie Meyer, Ph.D., Medical Family Therapy
May Book Project: St. Louis Book Drop
- Provide books with AANHPI cultural themes to young readers in order to increase literacy and to facilitate belonging.
- Community Partner: Very Asian Foundation
- Campus Lead: Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Students
Playground Project for Gateway 180
- Refurbishing the playground that is currently unusable at Gateway 180, a shelter that provides support for unhoused families.
- Community Partner: Gateway 180
- Campus Lead: Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Students
Project R.I.S.E. (Rebuilding in Saint Louis for Equity): A Partnership for Tornado Recovery and Housing Justice
- Increase SLU’s direct community engagement with North St. Louis neighborhoods impacted by the May 15 tornado through a structured program of build days, neighborhood cleanups and on-campus advocacy events.
- Community Partner: Habitat For Humanity St. Louis
- Campus Lead: SLU Habitat For Humanity with support from Department of Earth, Environmental, & Geospatial Science.
Project Transcend
- Provide a comprehensive GED prep program for Black transgender clients of the Community Wellness Project.
- Community Partners: Community Wellness Project and the Metro Trans Umbrella Group.
- Campus Leads: Whitney Linsenmeyer, Ph.D., Nutrition and Dietetics, and the Transgender Health Collaborative at SLU
Seeds of Growth: Outdoor Learning & Wellness Program
- Provides an outdoor learning and wellness program to low-income students at Halls Ferry Elementary through hands-on activities and education.
- Community Partners: Halls Ferry Elementary School and the Ferguson-Florissant School District
- Campus Lead: Micah Program Students and SLU Hopeful Horizons
SLU - City Sewing Room Denim Day 2026: "Standing Up Against Sexual Violence"
- Engage in outreach to survivors of sexual violence, providing them with information about services available on campus and in the community, as well as the chance to connect through sewing and other crafts.
- Community Partners: City Sewing Room and Safe Connections
- Campus Leads: Department of Women and Gender Studies, the SLU Sexual Assault Support & Advocacy Group, and Una: A Feminist Voice at SLU
StayWell Kits: Empowering Communities Through At-Home Health Monitoring
- Provides under-served elderly individuals and refugee families with essential at-home medical monitoring equipment and educational materials to improve daily health management and literacy.
- Community Partners: Restore St. Louis and Christian Friends of New Americans
- Campus Lead: Shruti Chakrapani, College of Arts and Sciences student
The Coalition
- Coordinated effort formed in response to the St. Louis City tornado, uniting legal professionals, realtors, insurance experts, and allied community organizations to provide education, direct legal and claims assistance, and essential resources to families impacted by the disaster.
- Community Partners: Mound City Bar Association, the Ville Neighborhood, WashU Law BLSA, Realtist of Metropolitan St. Louis, and the National African American Insurance Association.
- Campus Lead: SLU Black Law Student Association, with support from the Doerr Center for Social Justice in the School of Social Work
Wrongful Conviction Review Collaborative Expansion
- Continue reducing the backlog of wrongful conviction cases in St. Louis by auditing and preparing records in partnership with the Midwest Innocence Project.
- Community Partner: Midwest Innocence Project
- Campus Lead: Kenya Brumfield-Young, Criminology and Criminal Justice