All Entries in the "Get Involved" Category
Here’s a “souper” way to help the Metamo4ic
With its former home severely damaged in the Aprill 2011 tornado, Ferguson's Metamo4ic Math Center is looking to re-open at a new location, following some serious fundraising and a "green" renovation.
When a tornado swept through North County last April, leaving a path of destruction from Bridgeton to Bellefontaine Neighbors, it wasn’t just houses that bore the brunt of it. Several churches were hit hard as well, including the First Baptist Church of Ferguson, which had generously donated its entire third floor to the nonprofit Metamo4ic Math Center.
This kid-friendly math museum, which was featured on NOCO back in 2010, is a wonderful labor of love from teacher Vicki Adams, who cashed in her pension to open it and built all of the exhibits herself. Largely destroyed in the tornado, the Metamo4ic had an uncertain future for a while there. But now, thanks to a kind donation from Sportsprint’s Ralph Rockamann, the math center has a new home at 123 S. Florissant Road, the site of the former Ferguson Bowling Lanes.
Of course, there is a bit of a catch. The property needs about $700,000 worth of renovation, which the small nonprofit must raise in order to re-open. But the good news is, YOU CAN HELP!
This Saturday, January 28, the Metamo4ic is hosting a fundraiser at Dick Weber Lanes called the Souper Bowl, in which teams compete for cash prizes in two different contests. The first contest is a mix between crazy bowl and football, and could land your team 300 bucks. The second is a soup competition that yields $100 for the winner.
If you’d like to participate, the cost is $150 per six-person team plus a crockpot full of your best soup. And don’t worry if you can’t pull a whole group together. There’s also a “potluck” team for individuals, at a cost of $25 per person. All are welcome!
To register or get more info, contact Vicki Adams at (314) 807-3290.
The Souper Bowl is January 28, 1-4pm, at Dick Weber Lanes, 4575 Washington, 63031.
FYI: your Christmas candles can be recycled!
With so much going on during the holidays, it can be hard to think ahead. But that’s exactly what the fine kids of the Ferguson Youth Initiative (FYI) are asking you to do.
They’re planning an innovative new fundraiser over the winter, in which they make eco-friendly candles using recycled candle wax. These handcrafted candles will be available for sale in March, but first, the kids need your donations!
If you burn candles this Christmas season, please set aside your leftover wax and then bring it to the next Vine Market on January 21. Chunks of old wax are fine, or you can bring the used container too.
That same day, FYI is also wrapping up its winter coat drive, with all proceeds benefiting needy students in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. So now you have three reasons to attend the Vine Market….fresh local food, candle wax and coats! Please donate if you can.
And if you know a local child who is especially creative, you might want to hear that FYI is holding a mascot contest. The best design for “Fergy,” submitted by January 6 at 4pm, will receive a cash prize! The contest is open to anyone under 18, and submissions can be sent to fyi@fergusoncity.com or FYI Mascot Contest, 110 Church Street, Ferguson, MO 63135.
The Vine Market takes place Saturday, January 21, from 9-11:30am @ St. Stephen’s Church, 33 N. Clay, 63135. For more info about the Ferguson Youth Initiative and how local kids can get involved in the fun, visit the FYI website.
Want to make a difference in your community?
Here's what it looked like when several Pagedale residents came together to improve their neighborhood. What can you achieve in your own corner of NoCo?
In 2003, when my husband and I were going door to door in the August heat, asking our neighbors if they wanted to help start a neighborhood association, we really had no clue what we were doing. Neither of us had experience in community organizing or starting a nonprofit, so we just kind of bumbled along until things fell into place. Looking back now, I can’t imagine how much easier it would’ve been had we only known about the Neighborhood Leadership Academy.
Launched by UMSL in 2002, this intensive continuing education program teaches people how to be proactive leaders in their community, covering topics like project planning, goal setting, communication, and of course fundraising. Spanning ten sessions from February to May, the NLA draws civic-minded folks from all across the region and has produced dozens of graduates who have gone on to make a real impact.
My awesome neighbor Heather Robinett went through the program, and she and her husband, Larry, ended up founding the Old Ferguson West Community Garden. I was also honored to be a speaker during last year’s NLA classes, and I heard about countless community projects and neighborhood initiatives that really knocked my socks off.
No doubt about it, if you want to be a successful community leader, this is the way to make it happen.
The next Neighborhood Leadership Academy starts in February, so you still have plenty of time to sign up. But in the mean time, check out this upcoming workshop sponsored by the NLA team. Called “Funding Your Neighborhood Project,” it takes place this Saturday, December 3, from 9am to 1pm. The cost is only $40, and you must register by December 1. If you’re interested, here’s the detailed info…
Join us to learn the tools and techniques to secure funding for your neighborhood project. Learn how to seek out a variety of funding opportunities and sources specific to your project. Become skilled in the art of persuasive writing as a tool for making your funding request successful.
This hands-on workshop is being offered in partnership with the Community Partnership Project’s Neighborhood Leadership Academy. It will provide you with real-world examples and take-aways that will help you get your neighborhood project started or expand an existing one. Whether you’re new to grant writing or fundraising, or a seasoned professional, this workshop is for you.
Grant writing consultant Wendy Dyer is once again sharing her expertise in grant prospecting and grant writing for this one day workshop. To read more about the workshop or Wendy, please visit this website. Light snacks will be provided.
If you have any questions, please call Kara at 314.516.6392 or email at lubischerk@umsl.edu. To register, please call Jennifer at 314.516.5994 or by email at clementecrarenj@umsl.edu.
Volunteers needed for the Confluence Clean-Up
Over the past decade, the nonprofit Missouri River Relief has removed nearly 600 tons of trash from Missouri's waterways. Next up: the Confluence...
FROM THE NEWS WIRE:
The Great Rivers Greenway District is encouraging area residents to join them on Saturday, Oct. 29, and help support Missouri River Relief in its effort to clear trash and debris from the shores of the Missouri River. The Confluence Clean-up, which is the last scheduled event of Missouri River Relief’s month-long, statewide effort to clear litter from the Missouri River, aims to clean up the area near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
Volunteers will be ferried by boat starting at 9 a.m. to different riverbanks and islands along the Missouri River to pick up trash that has washed ashore. Additional volunteers are encouraged to clean up trash along the trails and parking lots of this area.
Volunteers of all ages are needed and will meet at the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area Boat Ramp, located at 801 Strodtman Rd. in Spanish Lake. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m., although volunteers are encouraged to register in advance by visiting www.riverrelief.org.
Participants will be provided with water, lunch, t-shirts, work gloves, trash bags and transportation by boat to the various clean-up sites. Missouri River Relief will also be providing lifejackets, but encourages anyone who brings a child to also bring along a proper-fitting lifejacket to keep each child as safe as possible. Following lunch, additional volunteers will be needed to load trash onto the trash barge.
The Confluence Clean-up is the final event of the Big Muddy Clean Sweep, the keystone project of Missouri River Relief’s 10th anniversary celebration. This month-long endeavor, which began on Sept. 26, has included community-based cleanups along the Missouri River, educational field trips, river festivals, barge tours and celebrations across the state of Missouri from Kansas City to the Confluence in St. Louis. The Big Muddy Clean Sweep spans 170 miles in eight towns on the Missouri River, including Kansas City, Jefferson City, Washington, St. Charles and St. Louis.
“We are excited about the opportunity to support Missouri River Relief in its efforts to clean up the Missouri River,” said Susan Trautman, Executive Director of Great Rivers Greenway. “We want to congratulate Missouri River Relief on a decade devoted to restoring our rivers, and we encourage area residents to join them in their fight to beautify the Missouri River and surrounding areas.”
Volunteers participating in the Oct. 29 Confluence clean-up are encouraged to wear work boots or tennis shoes (no flip flops), work clothes, bug spray, sunglasses, sunscreen and bring refillable water bottles. Trash collected from the event will be hauled on a sand barge and unloaded at terminals on the Mississippi River for recycling or for disposal at landfills. To learn more, visit www.riverrelief.org or call 573.443.0292.
