Orvin Kimbrough and Leorna Lee have at least three things in common.
They both once lived at Annie Malone Children and Family Services Center.
Both are successful, despite their background as orphaned children.
And both are foot soldiers for the center, which is celebrating 121 years of serving the St. Louis community.
Kimbrough has supported and advocated for the center and its mission to enhance the lives of children so much that he is receiving the Making A Difference Award at the Soiree Awards Dinner and Silent Auction at 6 p.m. this Friday at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, which kicks off the 2009 May Day weekend.
The May Day parade is 1 p.m. Sunday, May 17, along Market St. Downtown. The May Day weekend culminates with a gospel concert at 6 p.m. Sunday at Antioch Baptist Church, 2401 Annie Malone Dr.
“I’m honored and flattered, and I think it’s a symbol of the work I do and the journey I’ve taken,” said Kimbrough, who lived in foster care at Annie Malone from the age of eight to 21.
He now is senior vice president of Major Gifts and Planned Giving for United Way of Greater St. Louis.
His helping hand is also being recognized by Voices for Children (formerly CASA), an organization that speaks on behalf of abused and neglected children in the city of St. Louis. Kimbrough is receiving its Hero of the Year Award.
“It’s my life mission to help people see what’s possible,” he said.
Kimbrough said he was a kid many people said wouldn’t go to college and that statistics were stacked against him. But because of his faith and willingness to succeed, he had earned four degrees by age 32 and now sits on the board of the state’s second-largest university, Missouri State University.
“I knew that if I didn’t succeed there would be a high probability that any kids I had would not succeed, because I come from generational poverty, a long line of people that struggled,” he said.
“But when I made my mind up that I wanted to do something different and wanted a different outcome for me and others, I did it. So I’m a symbol of what’s possible when you have the right mindset and attitude.”
Kimbrough has an undergrad degree in social work from the University of Missouri–Columbia, a masters in business administration from UMSL and a masters in theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology.
His position at the United Way, he said, enables him to feed all three of his disciplines – and at their core is relationships.
“I’m a relationship manager,” he said of his work matching the United Way and other charitable organizations with different segments of the community.
Growing up through the foster care system made Kimbrough value relationships. Many were short lived, but Kimbrough said the positive adults in his life – at the center and beyond – were invaluable.
“I define my work as relationships, so when I think of Annie Malone, the single most important thing they can do is to preserve familial relationships,” he said.
Kimbrough also stressed the importance of higher education.
“We are knowledge workers now and one way to break the cycle of poverty is through higher education,” said Kimbrough.
‘They made us feel loved’
Higher education has paid off for Leorna Lee. She is director of Information Systems and Operations at Annie Malone. She majored in broadcasting and computer science and took a minor in sociology, all at Lincoln University.
She lived at Annie Malone for 15 years, beginning at age seven, when her grandmother passed. Her mother had given her grandmother custody because she couldn’t support Lee and her siblings.
Now, Lee is on the other side of family services, and she loves being able to share her story with the children and offer insight.
“Hearing my story gives them hope,” she said.
Lee said she grateful for the things she was able to experience through Annie Malone that she probably wouldn’t have been able to get at home.
She named hot meals, clothing, outings, an education in etiquette and a scholarship.
“I was happy. They made us feel loved as if they were my family and all of the other kids were like brothers and sisters,” Lee said.
“I didn’t have to worry, and things were made available for me as long as I did the right thing.”
For more information on the May Day weekend, call 314-531-0120 or visit
