The Heartland of America, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers is home to Deaconess Foundation and our mission. The great Mississippi River unites the east and west, connecting Illinois and Missouri. Since Deaconess Foundation began grantmaking in 1998, our bi-state footprint has included St. Clair, Madison and Monroe Counties in Illinois and St. Louis City, St. Louis, Jefferson, St. Charles and Franklin Counties in Missouri.
In this edition of our eNewsletter, we are highlighting community organizations, leaders and partners in Southern Illinois committed to organizing, mobilizing, and advocating for systems transformation and racial justice and equity.
We are grateful for the wisdom of our partners, neighbors, and trustees who reside in Illinois and inform our work. Together, we are stronger, sharing resources and a community, all for the purpose of the improved health of the community and its people.
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Join Hands - Our Humanity is Tied Together |
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Join Hands ESL has a mission to build personal relationships and walk in solidarity with children and families of the greater East St. Louis, Illinois area as they strive to achieve their full potential and overcome barriers of poverty and racial injustice. Services include youth programming, education advocacy, mentoring programs, and the Ubuntu Center for Peace.
Join Hands ESL utilizes a unique approach to impact the lives of children and families, not only prioritizing education but also providing after-school and weekend activities, resulting in Join Hands ESL being one of the larger out-of-school-time providers in East St. Louis. Partnerships are formed with local churches, organizations, and residents of East St. Louis to strengthen community and services.
In 2016 the Ubuntu Center for Peace (the Center), located within the Orr-Weathers housing complex in East St. Louis, was established as the organization's foundation and home to Join Hands ESL’s administrative offices. The Center is an oasis of peace, resources and welcome in the midst of an often violent neighborhood in East St. Louis. Coffee is on every morning. Yoga, meditation and mornings of reflection are offered as staff and volunteer capacity allows. Legal services are available through a partnership with Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation. There are also plans for the Center to include justice and equity work in the future. The concept of ubuntu means our humanity is tied together; Join Hands ESL believes when there are those among us who are hurting, or not being treated fairly, we have an obligation to speak out, we have an obligation to work for justice and equity.
Deaconess Foundation supports Join Hands ESL with their efforts to expand capacity of and infrastructure for organizing in the East St. Louis community and their movement focused on closing the achievement gap, changing the way children grow up in the toxic stress of urban poverty. Funding supports Join Hands ESL training individuals on the core principles of Kingian Nonviolence, not only as a way of life, but more importantly as an organizing strategy to address injustice and inequity. Since 2018, Join Hands and its Ubuntu Center for Peace has been teaching and spreading Dr. King's philosophy of nonviolence to teens in the East St. Louis area.
Learn more about Join Hands ESL here.
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Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) |
COFI strengthens the power and voice of low-income families in all areas of civic life—from local institutions and communities to state and federal policy arenas.
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East Side Aligned works to strengthen community collaboration and advance strategies to address the symptoms of inequity as well as transform the systems that create and perpetuate inequity. This dual transformation approach aims to meet the needs of young people today while also creating the conditions for a more just and thriving tomorrow.
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United Congregations of Metro East (UCM) |
UCM works to address social, racial, and economic issues in their community by organizing people of faith to be a voice and movement for change and equity in the Metro East. Through organizing people directly impacted by systemic injustices, they strive to amplify their voices and bring about progress toward equity.
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Grand Victoria Foundation:
Illinois Racial Justice & Equity Landscape Study
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Grand Victoria Foundation (GVF) provides grants to organizations in Illinois that ensure a strong, livable, equitable Illinois, where all residents have an opportunity to thrive.
Through meticulous research, the project identifies communities with 30% or more Black population and locates over 1,500 organizations within these communities. It seeks to understand their challenges and uncover opportunities to amplify the efforts of community-led organizations to achieve their desired equity and justice outcomes. The study goes beyond surface-level analysis to comprehend the complex systems and processes that perpetuate racism in its various forms, from individual to structural, and their profound impacts on Illinois’ Black residents. Learn more here.
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East St. Louis committee to discuss reparations for 1917 massacre of Black residents
Lexie Cortez | Belleville News-Democrat | July 3, 2023
East St. Louis community organizations are forming a committee to discuss reparations for descendants of victims in the city’s 1917 massacre, when a white mob set out to kill Black residents and burn their homes down.
The NAACP estimated that between 100 and 200 Black people died, and hundreds more were injured in the attack.
Community activists announced the new East St. Louis Reparations Committee on Saturday during their annual march to mark the anniversary of the massacre. More than 50 people attended the event. Read more.
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City of East St. Louis partners with nonprofit to end illegal dumping
Deion Broxton | KMOV | May 24, 2023
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (KMOV) - The City of East St. Louis has partnered with a Metro East nonprofit to combat illegal dumping.
East St. Louis city officials will work with Empire 13, a nonprofit aimed at ending systemic racism and environmental injustice.
The nonprofit started hosting neighborhood cleanups in 2020 as part of its End Illegal Dumping Campaign. Since the initiative launched, Empire 13 has had meetings with U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth’s office, U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The nonprofit held a cleanup at 17th and Broadway in East St. Louis Wednesday. The City of East St. Louis provided construction vehicles, dumpsters and paid city employees. Read more.
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Join Us for the Launch of our New Strategic Framework |
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We are excited to share a new strategic framework later this summer. Join us as we share the results of our multilayered community-driven approach to seeding, creating, and fostering conditions where liberation is the lived reality within seven generations.
Register to join us! Additional opportunities to learn more about our strategy will be available this fall.
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Upcoming Events
July 25: "Environmental Justice Virtual Action" by United Congregations of Metro East and Metropolitan Congregations United. Register.
July 25: "Family Cafe on Parent Involvement" by Great East St. Louis Early Learning Partnership. Register.
July 26: "Virtual Town Hall: Quality of Life, Health, and Infrastructure Improvements" by Equity Legal Services, Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing & Opportunity Council, and Centreville Citizens for Change. Learn more.
July 28: "Virtual Community Meeting: Chronic Flooding and Sewage Overflows" by United Congregations of Metro East, Equity Legal Services, Natural Resource, Defense Council, and community residents. Learn more.
August 8: "Family Cafe on Parent Involvement" by Great East St. Louis Early Learning Partnership. Register.
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Follow us on social media for continued shared news, opportunities, events, and more. |
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