SIUE East St. Louis Center to Participate in Give STL Day on May 3
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center (SIUE ESLC) is participating in Give STL Day on Tuesday, May 3. Give STL Day is part of a national fundraising event called Give Local America (GLA). During the 24-hour nationwide crowd funding event, individuals can make online donations in support of the SIUE ESLC and hundreds of other nonprofits by visiting givestlday.org.
“Giving to the SIUE East St. Louis Center on Give STL Day is an opportunity to support success from birth to young adult,” said Jesse Dixon, executive director of the SIUE ESLC. “Monies raised will have a significant impact as they are pooled with other donors, and in some cases matched and leveraged.”
The SIUE ESLC is the second largest youth service provider in the City of East St. Louis – second only to the school district. It improves the quality of life for individuals and families in the areas of education, health, social services and the arts.
SIUE ESLC programs prepare more than 2,000 youth in grades Pre-K-12 each year for successful futures. The unique programming demonstrates a measureable impact:
- Project Success is the only after-school and summer program dedicated to children in Department of Children and Family Services protective care in East St. Louis
- A full 80 percent of Head Start participants show master in five out of six kindergarten readiness standards in the Teaching Strategies Gold Assessment
- A notable 95-100 percent of Upward Bound students graduate from high school and are accepted into two or four year colleges
According to Dixon, donations made on Give STL Day will help the SIUE ESLC meet certain goals, including:
- Offering scholarships to youth
- Expanding opportunities for youth to participate in the performing arts program
- Serving parents of youth in Head Start to help them access post-secondary education and training
- Collaborating to offer a kindergarten readiness summer camp for youth who have never attended a preschool program
The SIUE ESLC also brings important partnerships to the community in order to connect people to critical resources and services. Partnerships include the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School, SIUE WE CARE Clinic, SIU Dental Clinic, UMSL Optometry Clinic, East St. Louis Community College Center, SIUE Student Nurse Achievement Program, SIUE Institute for Urban Research and SIUE Small Business Development Center.
According to its website, GLA is driven by the idea that every person and company has the ability to “be a philanthropist for a day,” and contribute toward the improvement of their community. It’s a grassroots effort that connects local community partners, community foundations, business and donors with the power of social media to multiply the impact of every donation. In 2015, the community-driven giving day raised $68 million for 9,000 nonprofits across the country.
St. Louis’ participation in GLA is being sponsored by the Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation.
To donate to the SIUE ESLC on May 3, visit givestlday.org.
Photo: Jesse Dixon, executive director of the SIUE East St. Louis Center.
