Who We Are
MISSION: To enhance the professional skills and life-long
service ethic of those who serve; to respond to critical unmet needs in the areas of emergency response and environmental conservation; to leverage service of volunteers; and to build the capacity for our partnering agencies and communities we serve
Our Vision: To be a purveyor of skill, a beacon of hope, and a model of public stewardship. AmeriCorps St. Louis serves to protect people and places through service to our local, state, and national community in emergency response and environmental stewardship. We focus our service on vulnerable populations, striving to address needs of those least served, last served, and never served.
About our Organization
About Us. AmeriCorps St. Louis is a nonprofit based in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Originally founded as “Partnership for Youth Inc.” (which we still go by as legally), our program as adapted over the years to meet community needs. Our Emergency Response Team (ERT) was one of the first AmeriCorps programs to exist, since the inception of AmeriCorps National Service, and has been operational every year since 1994. Our ERT program has three areas of focus: Disaster Response, Environmental Stewardship, and Wildland Fire. Responding to natural disasters when we are called is our first priority, while conservation projects are a constant part of the year.
Our Focus. AmeriCorps St. Louis focuses on the training and development of the next generation of public service leaders while building the capacity of partner agencies to achieve impactful community results. AmeriCorps Members serve within a 42-Member Corps for 11-month terms, earning a monthly living stipend and an AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful completion of their term. Through training and partnerships with conservation and emergency management agencies, Members gain the personal and professional skills needed to carry out a variety of environmental stewardship and disaster relief projects. More importantly, Members gain skills needed to become economically and socially self-sufficient, benefit their communities, and recognize that they can make a positive difference.
Other Services. In addition to our AmeriCorps National Service program, AmeriCorps St. Louis also operates a Winter Warming Shelter from December - March each year. The emergency Winter Warming Shelter at AmeriCorps St. Louis opened its doors in 2009 at the urgent request of the St. Louis City Department of Human Services due to a shortage of shelters in the city. When disasters arise nationally, AmeriCorps St. Louis is highly regarded for its skills setting up Emergency Operations Centers, organizing and engaging spontaneous volunteers, and managing donations. The organization had the skills to open an emergency Winter Warming Shelter based on this experience. Through our partnership with St. Louis Winter Outreach, we are able to provide shelter and other outreach services to the unhoused community in St. Louis.
About AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps St. Louis is proud to be part of the greater network of National Service. By joining our team, Members adopt all of the benefits, responsibilities, and respect that come with getting things done for America through AmeriCorps.
“AmeriCorps programs do more than move communities forward; they serve their Members by creating jobs and providing pathways to opportunity as they enter the workforce. AmeriCorps places thousands of people into intensive service positions where they learn valuable skills, earn money for education, and develop a strong sense of civic responsibility.”