The “legacy of the late Michael Neidorff” continues to have a historic impact on the region, according to Michael McMillan, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis president and CEO.
On Thursday, McMillan announced that the Centene Corporation, the company that Neidorff moved from Milwaukee to St. Louis and led from a $40-million single healthcare plan to a global healthcare company with revenues of $125 billion, is donating its Ferguson call center to the Urban League.
McMillan said the Urban League’s newest facility will be called the Centene Connected Community Center. It will house Head Start, workforce development, education, housing, and re-entry programs. It will also have a regional food distribution center and Midwest conference center, which can be used for community events.
“This is the single largest item donated to any particular Urban League [affiliate] in its 114-year history,” McMillan said during a press conference prior to his organization’s 106th annual Dinner Meeting at the Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel.
“We have been blessed with a multiple decade relationship with Centene.”
The late Neidorff died at 79 on April 7, 2022. He was an Urban League champion and served as board chair and a board member of the St. Louis affiliate.
He was National Urban League board chair in 2014 and was instrumental in the selection of St. Louis as site of the 2017 National Urban League convention.
“This historic donation will bolster efforts to empower individuals and families, transforming lives and fostering greater equity within the St. Louis community,” McMillan said.
“The exceptionally productive partnership over the years between Centene and the Urban League has yielded significant local and national collaborations aimed at supporting those in need within our neighborhoods.”
Ken Fasola, Centene Corporation president, said the company remains committed to the Urban League and “its mission to create a more inclusive and empowered society.”
“By donating this building, we aim to strengthen the Urban League’s capacity to serve the needs of individuals and families in the north St. Louis County area and beyond,” he said.
McMillan said the 45,000-square-foot facility, which is located at 2900 Pershall Road, is scheduled to open this summer.
The facility was constructed in 2016 at a cost of $25 million. Many of its employees began working from home during and after the pandemic, which led to much of the building being unused.
McMillan said “Centene, our longtime friend and ally, accepted my request to consider a donation of the building.”
He added that the Urban League hopes to add up to 100 employees that will support programs in the new center.
