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Young Friends of Employment Connection
Are you 25-35 years old and a resident of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, or St. Clair County? If so, apply to serve a two-year term with Employment Connection's Young Friends Board! We’re soliciting applications through 9/13.
Attend bi-monthly meetings with a group of passionate professionals
Plan and attend various networking and social events
Learn about non-profit governance and operations, strategic planning, budgeting, program implementation, fundraising and event planning
Apply at www.employmentstl.org/youngfriends
Edward Jones Suit Drive
Thanks to our friends at Edward Jones and United Way of Greater St. Louis for putting together a suit drive for us in August! Edward Jones employees donated over 250 work outfits (suits, dresses, skirts, jackets, slacks, shoes, ties), which will help 150 to 200 of our clients look and feel their best during upcoming job interviews!
Neighborhood Beautification Service Program
Employment Connection was recently selected by the Dutchtown Main Streets Committee to launch a new neighborhood beautification initiative funded by the Dutchtown Community Improvement District. This new program will entail the emptying of trash cans, litter and debris along the Virginia Ave., Meramec Street and South Grand Blvd corridor and we have hired 3 local individuals to staff our new team!
Pictured above are Employment Connection career specialists Shantel and Umi along with two of our beautification workers.
Cure Violence Update
The City of St. Louis Health Department recently released a status report about the Cure Violence program and its efficacy in the (3) neighborhood catchment areas where it has initially been implemented. We are pleased to report that homicides, aggravated assaults and robberies have been greatly reduced in our 2 assigned catchment areas as of May 21, 2021 when compared to the full calendar years of 2017-2020. Our teams in Wells-Goodfellow/Hamilton Heights and Dutchtown are not resting on their laurels however, and have increased their community outreach, conflict mediation and case management efforts this Summer.
$100,000 Grant to Address Gun Violence
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund today announced that Employment Connection has been awarded a $100,000 support grant as part of the first round of grant funding from the Everytown Community Safety Fund, a new initiative dedicated to supporting community-based violence intervention programs.
“Our team is working day and night to prevent gun violence, and we’re facing serious challenges as the pandemic’s effects continue to play out,” said Sal F. Martinez, Chief Executive Officer of Employment Connection. “We are so grateful to Everytown’s Community Safety Fund for this support, which will boost our continued efforts to keep our community safe.”
“As cities continue to grapple with persistent gun violence, it’s crucial that local violence intervention groups have the resources they need to sustain and scale their life-saving work,” said Michael-Sean Spence, director of community safety initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. “The pandemic has exacerbated the underlying drivers of gun violence, and St. Louis has community-based organizations with local expertise that are working tirelessly to reduce the gun violence impacting their city. Now is the time to double down and sustain the promising work of groups like Employment Connection!”
“The need for proven, locally led community violence interventions is greater now than it’s been in years,” said Anthony Smith, executive director of Cities United, which supports a national network of mayors and community leaders who are committed to reducing the epidemic of homicides and shootings of young Black men and boys. “These investments will provide crucial support to groups working to reduce gun violence from within communities hit hardest by it, and they could hardly come at a better time. It is my hope that Everytown’s support will spark more investments into these life saving strategies.”
“Communities closest to the problem are closest to the solution, and that's especially true for a public health crisis like gun violence,” said St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones. “The Missouri legislature has stripped our city of our ability to enact our own commonsense gun laws, so we are looking at every tool in our toolbox to keep people safe. Everytown’s support for Employment Connection is a positive development for the City of St. Louis.”
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