Gail Brown and Ron Smith are among the inaugural board members of STL Village, a non-profit, grassroots organization that aims to help seniors remain in their homes and stay connected to their community. The STL Village footprint encompasses nine neighborhoods within the borders of Page Boulevard, Vandeventer Avenue, Clayton Avenue and Big Bend Boulevard.
Brown is realtor and president of Brown-Kortkamp Realty, Inc. and Brown-Kortkamp Moving and Storage, Inc. Smith is operations manager for the City of St. Louis assisting the mayor, chief of staff and director of operations.
The inaugural board co-chairs are landscape and graphic designer Sally Nikolajevich and attorney Jennifer Kovar.
“We’re organizing and empowering seniors to remain in their homes comfortably and safely,” said Kovar. “It’s exciting to be a part of bringing this national movement to St. Louis, especially as we begin our membership drive towards the launch next year.”
The other inaugural board members are Arthur Culbert, urban farmer in residence at New City School and former founding president and CEO of Health Literacy Missouri; Gloria Gordon, a psychologist and social activist who initiated the STL Village effort in 2011; Mary Alice Ryan, president and CEO of St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System; and David Weber, operations consultant with the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation.
Last week, the STL Village board approved its first long-term partnership with St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System, a faith-based not-for-profit organization serving older adults in the St. Louis area for 52 years.
St. Andrew’s will offer STL Village guidance on identifying potential grant sources, networking, marketing, clerical/office functions and meeting space and possibly direct services to its members.
“We’re proud to partner with STL Village in shaping this innovative concept of seniors helping each other to stay independent in their neighborhoods,” said Ryan.
Individuals and couples who are 50 or older and live within the geographic area may join STL Village to help them stay in their home and community as they age. As self-governing non-profit organizations run by small staffs and volunteers, villages coordinate affordable services, including transportation, in-home medical care, home repairs and other day-to-day needs for its members.
STL Village is scheduled to officially launch mid-2014. The goal is to launch with at least 75 members. For more information, visit http://stlvillage.org/.
