Bank of America selected Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club as a 2017 Neighborhood Builder, 1 of 62 organizations named nationwide. The bank recognized the North St. Louis institution for its work to ensure youth are engaged in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle, which in turn, contributes to economic and social progress.
Through Neighborhood Builders, the bank provides nonprofits with a combination of $200,000 in flexible funding, leadership development (for the executive director and a developing leader in the organization), a network of peer organizations across the U.S., and the opportunity to access capital in order to expand their impact.
The leadership development will be devoted to Wendell Covington, president and CEO of Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club, and Sheleia Phillips, the club’s Health & Outcomes coordinator.
“Through the grant and leadership development training provided by this award, our organization can provide greater support to our programs and positively impact more youth in St. Louis by stimulating their pursuit of knowledge, attainment of a healthier life and the skills for greatness,” Wendell Covington said.
Mathews-Dickey’s mission is to produce physically active, well-educated and hopeful youth. The agency works to identify gaps in predominately minority school districts in St. Louis, many of which have eliminated or substantially reduced athletic and arts programming, and targets these districts to promote youth and community-development activities. It uses athletics and team building as its foundation to teach youth and target the pervasive academic achievement gap to reengage students into the educational process.
The funds will help the organization realize its capacity-building priorities, including the formation of collective impact alliances with fellow non-profits, scaling up to engage more St. Louis youth and leveraging data to implement more impactful, replicable programs. Specifically, the club aims to formally develop Community Action Network partnerships focused on Scholarship, Athleticism and Character, double its membership from 3,000 to 6,000 over the next three years, and formalize its model for replication and implementation through guidebooks, program management and curriculum.
“Organizations like Mathews-Dickey are key to addressing critical community needs and strengthening the economic health of St. Louis,” said Michael Lawrence, St. Louis Market president, Bank of America.
“Neighborhood Builders is just one example of how we deploy capital in communities and build partnerships in order to advance economic and social progress – specifically, helping our youth realize their full potential – as part of our approach to responsible growth.”
Since 2004, through Neighborhood Builders, Bank of America has helped nonprofits in St. Louis scale and improve services and programs serving the community. These partnerships are part of the broader program, through which the bank has invested $220 million in nearly 1,000 nonprofits and nearly 2,000 nonprofit leaders across 45 U.S. communities.
The awardees are selected by a local market selection committee with representation by local community leaders from diverse sectors.
Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club is located at 4245 North Kingshighway Blvd. For more information, call (314) 382-5952 or visit http://mathews-dickey.com/.
