Happy New Year!
As we begin this journey into 2025, I would like to take a quick look back and share some highlights of the incredible work from our St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund team in 2024.
Last year we welcomed new faces to our team while sadly saying good-bye to two longtime CSF members. We brought our partners together to learn and grow, expanded our special projects and partnerships, uplifted youth voices, continued work on our racial equity initiative, and began community engagement that will drive our organization into the future.
Celebrating and Connecting Our Community
In 2024, we were proud to host several events, bringing together our community of funded providers, youth advocates, and educators. Our year kicked off with A Date With CSF in February, a speed networking event that offered our Core and Grassroots Funded Partners an opportunity to meet, mingle, and learn more about one another.
In May, we brought two St. Louis-area teens and one adult mental health professional center stage for Youth Voices: A Panel on Mental Health as part of Mental Health Awareness Month. Dr. Terry Harris, co-founder of The Collective STL and executive director of The Legacy Center, led the panel discussion with Legacy Jackson, a freshman at Cardinal Ritter College Prep and founder of Little Legacies nonprofit; Alex Zhang, a junior at Francis Howell High School and member of Asian American Civic Scholars; and Ebony Hutchinson, Executive Director of The Community Reach. The teens talked about factors that impact their mental health, how they feel seen and heard, and what they wish adults in their lives knew. A full recording of the panel and shorter clips can be found on our website.
CSF’s funded partners get to know each other at A Date With CSF: A Speed Networking Event.
From left to right, CSF Executive Director Emily Koenig, Ebony Hutchinson, Legacy Jackson, Alex Zhang, and Dr. Terry Harris at Youth Voices: A Panel on Mental Health.
In September, we celebrated the achievements of two incredible mental health professionals by awarding them the Dr. John M. Anderson Excellence in Mental Health awards. Tiffany Lacy Clark, President and CEO of Behavioral Health Response Inc., received the 2024 Excellence in the Field of Mental Health Award while Dr. Leslie Davis, an accomplished relationship therapist, received the 2024 Community Mental Health Provider Award. More information about the Dr. John M. Anderson Mental Health Awards and videos of the 2024 awardees can be found on our website.
Lastly, October brought around our educator appreciation event, which we rebranded in 2024 to RefreshED STL. Nearly 150 educators, administrators, and school personnel joined us at UMSL Millennium Student Center for a full day of wellness sessions, activities, and relaxation.
From left to right, Dr. Lizette Smith, Tiffany Lacy Clark, Dr. Leslie Davis, Yolanda Rodgers-Garvin, and Emily Koenig at the 2024 Excellence in Mental Health Award ceremony.
CSF staff at the 2024 RefreshED event.
Beyond these four events, we placed a focus on being out in community connecting with families and other community partners. We attended several community events throughout St. Louis County sharing resources with over 300 families. We had the pleasure of being invited to the North County Back to School Drive in August, the Out of Darkness Walk in September, and the St. Louis Artworks Trunk or Treat in October. Hosting a table at each event allowed us to share information about the Youth Connection Helpline, Find-A-Service Tool, and other community resources.
Expanding Our Special Project Partnerships
One of the resources we were proud to have expanded this year was the Social Worker Services at the Library. This initiative launched in 2023 at five St. Louis County Library branches and expanded this past year to a sixth branch. Social workers have assisted clients in a myriad of ways – preventing evictions, providing baby supplies, connecting with employment, and much more. Data shows that the highest referral categories are housing, utility assistance, and public benefits. To learn more about the program, or to schedule an appointment, visit our Social Workers in Libraries page.
Another partnership we are excited to announce in 2024 was with the St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Commission. Recognizing the importance of safe and fun spaces for youth, CSF partnered with the St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Commission to expand its Youth Event grants to St. Louis County. The grants of up to $5,000 are intended to give kids who are at high-risk of being involved in violence safe and healthy options to help reduce at-risk behaviors. The grant application has a rolling deadline of the seventh of each month. Learn more and apply. Learn more and apply.
Launching the Impact Framework
In 2024, we focused on expanding our strategic plan. On June 15, our board of directors approved CSF’s first comprehensive impact framework. The impact framework was a central component of our 2020-2023 strategic plan and represents the next evolution of our organization.
Our impact framework emphasizes use of both data and community input to strengthen the system of care we invest in and supports collaboration, responsiveness, and innovation for the benefit of the community we serve. This framework will serve as our guiding light and be central to our work going forward.
In line with our strategic plan, we completed our racial equity assessment in early 2024 and have spent this year focusing on strengthening our internal culture. We also began the first phase of a Collaborative Community Health Needs Assessment with St. Louis Mental Health Board (MHB). Our work with MHB and Simply Strategy focused on compiling existing data on community needs while phase two, set to begin in early 2025 will include focus groups, community meetings, and surveys to compile feedback directly from families, youth, mental health participants, and stakeholders from education, child welfare, healthcare, public safety, and juvenile justice. This needs assessment will help shape the future of behavioral health services in St. Louis County and City.
Welcoming New Team Members and Bidding Others Farewell
In 2024, we also welcomed several new team members – part of our goal to grow our capacity to better serve our funded partners and the residents of St. Louis County. Dr. Amana Nighat Nasir joined our board of directors bringing unique and relevant experience and perspective as a pediatric gastroenterologist. We were also fortunate to work with three practicum students this year – Xiaoyu Huang, Grace Gordon, and Alison Setili. We’re grateful to each of them for supporting our team and sharing their talents with us.
We also added four new full-time staff members to our team – business analyst Nathaniel Hudson, grants managers Kari Bartlett and Bill Bradford, and communications and community outreach coordinator Samantha Minor. Kari and Bill brought our finance team back to full capacity, Nathaniel has bolstered our Salesforce acumen, and Samantha is leading our efforts to prioritize community connection and outreach, all of which will play central roles in our largest initiatives of 2025. Read more about each of them in their bios.
Lastly, we said farewell to our longtime Deputy Director Melissa Jamieson and Board Treasurer Joe Zelle this year. For nearly a decade, Melissa has been a champion of our work, contributing her passion, dedication, and vision to our mission. She has been an advocate for continuous quality and process improvement, led efforts to enhance our IT infrastructure, and grown and supported or capacity to understand and deepen our impact in the community. Joe has served on CSF’s board since 2014, lending us his financial expertise, steadfast leadership, and commitment to the wellbeing of kids and families in St. Louis County. We wish Melissa well in her new role as the inaugural Executive Director for Independent Agencies for the State of Colorado Judicial Branch and Joe relaxation in his retirement.
From left to right, CSF Board Chair Dr. Randall Sterkel, CSF board member Joe Zelle, and CSF Executive Director Emily Koenig.
A Look Into The Year Ahead
As I sign off, I would like to take a moment to share a sneak peek into this next year. It will come as no surprise that we are on the hunt for a new deputy director and hope to share more details soon. We are excited to kick off the third round of the Grassroots Funding Opportunity, which will open in spring 2025. For more information, view the Grassroots Funding Opportunity page on our website.
Lastly, 2025 is the 15th anniversary of CSF’s first funding allocation! We are so proud of the progress we’ve made as an organization and impact we’ve made on our community in 15 years. We’re thrilled to celebrate this milestone with you all as our work would not be possible without the support and guidance of our board and the commitment and passion of our team, and our funded partners.
We wish you all a wonderful start to the new year and look forward to embarking on our 15th year of community commitment.