Over the past few months there have been numerous requests from many sources for donations to help those in need during the coronavirus pandemic. On a local level, your contributions have been put to good use. Here are reports from the CWE Farm, Storied House face mask project, and the CWE North CID’s meals program.
When Nancy and Arthur Culbert celebrated the CWE Farm’s 10th anniversary with an effort to raise $10,000 for 3 area food pantries, the response from the community was overwhelming. Their letter of gratitude (below) follows some recent photos of the farm at 5057 Waterman, just west of Kingshighway. (Arthur Culbert and Lee Cagle, one of the new farm managers, are shown with Lee’s daughter Aiko, below right.)
CWEnder Suzanne Miller Farrell was overwhelmed with orders for face masks following my April 16th post on sources for face coverings found in the neighborhood. Miller Farrell has a production team in the U.S. that was making masks using fabrics culled from her home accessories line, The Storied House. She also decided she would allocate a portion of sales to create masks at no charge for those who could not afford them.
Miller Farrell recently emailed an update about that effort:
“The $$ I raised from mask sales have provided nearly 1,000 masks to frontlinters here and in Ireland, and to 800 school children in South Africa. YAY!”
In addition, shortly after the stay-at-home orders went into effect in the City of St. Louis, this tireless entrepreneur started an online 10-day Creativity Challenge. That proved to be such a success that she recently launched The Creative Courant, a weekly good news (remember that?) journal. Each Friday, Farrell emails well-researched and inspiring stories as well as fun links to entertain both you and your families. You’d be wise to subscribe.
News from the CWE North Community Improvement District:
Finally, you may remember seeing an opportunity to contribute to the CWE North Community Improvement District’s program to fund meals prepared by neighborhood restaurants for delivery to healthcare workers at BJC and to City Hope STL, a homeless shelter.
Under this initiative, local restaurants were paid $15 for each meal they provided to the program, which offered a supplemental source of revenue while they navigated uncharted waters.
The CID’s Executive Director Kate Haher reported that $32,700 has gone into funding this effort, $7,425 of which has come from contributions from the community.
Thank you to neighbors here and afar for what you have done for these organizations and many others. As the saying goes—and it’s so true—we’re in this together.