On Saturday, October 3, Ameren Corporation announced it will provide the St. Louis community with $2.5 million to support “signature priorities” outlined in the Ferguson Commission report, including programs for child well-being, education and job readiness.
Hundreds of Ameren employees and community leaders gathered at Ameren headquarters, 1901 Chouteau, for the company’s “diversity inclusion” festival, where the announcement was made.
“This multi-year Ameren Cares program really targets those in need, not just in St. Louis, but in North St. Louis County,” said Warner Baxter, CEO and chairman, Ameren Corporation.
The program will provide $1 million in funding for education, $500,000 for economic development opportunity and $1 million to energy assistance.
Baxter said the Ameren program aligns with a number of “signature priorities” identified by the Ferguson Commission, a task force appointed by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, and was developed through input from Ameren employees and other community leaders.
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Heat-Up St. Louis, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis Community College, Child Care Aware, Wyman Center, United Way of Greater St. Louis and several other organizations helped collaborate with Ameren on the program.
Mike McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, said after the Ferguson unrest he spoke to executives from Ameren about getting involved. Ameren helped contribute to Urban League’s Save Our Sons program, an initiative to help provide job training to young African-American males in North County.
“We have graduated five classes since we started the program and over 100 men have jobs today as a result,” said McMillan. “We will continue you to make sure that it is successful and the program is being duplicated in Urban Leagues across the country.”
Ameren also contributed to the new Urban League Empowerment center that is being built at the site of the burned down Quik Trip in Ferguson. McMillan said the Urban League’s partnership with Ameren is the “ideal one you’ll want with any company.”
“Dr. King once said the time is always right to do what is right, and Ameren does just that,” said McMillan.
Rich McClure, co-chairman of the Ferguson Commission, also spoke at Ameren on Saturday.
“Creating a better St. Louis depends on all of us,” said McClure. “It depends on collaborations between the business community and the non-profit community. It is our hope and prayer that the Ferguson Commission’s report on racial equity can guide us toward that collaboration.”
For Baxter, there he is a personal connection. He grew up in St. Louis County and graduated from UMSL, just a few miles from Ferguson Ground Zero.
“This community has not only given me the education, but it’s given me the hope and the opportunity and the absolute great privilege to lead this great company and for that, I’ll be forever grateful,” said Baxter.
Baxter said now is the time for the business community to come together in order to make a difference in the wake of the Ferguson Commission report and its call for action to promote racial equity. “Not just through financial support,” said Baxter, “but through volunteerism to try to help the young and those in need every day.”
As part of Ameren’s new education commitment, its employees will mentor Wyman Center students as part of a program that expands the organization’s existing services from high school to career.
Wyman Center President Dave Hilliard said that students “from circumstances where they haven’t had a lot of supports and opportunities” often get into college but then choose “majors and courses of study that really wouldn’t take them as far as they could possibly go.”
New Ameren funding
$1 million for education
• University of Missouri St. Louis for scholarships to underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and math and to help students transition to college ($500,000)
• Wyman Center to expand it college-readiness mentorship program into the college years ($375,000)
• Child Care Aware to train early childhood teachers ($100,000)
Another $100,000 for education (program not yet designated).
$500,000 for job training
• Urban League Save Our Sons program to help black men increase their marketable skills ($250,000)
• Concordance Academy of Leadership to help parolees find jobs ($150,000)
• St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley for its energy industry pre-apprenticeship program ($100,000)
$1 million for energy assistance
• Ameren’s Dollar More Assistance Program
• Heat Up St. Louis, which helps pay utility bills and provides air conditioners
This story is published as part of a partnership between The Huffington Post and The St. Louis American.
