Community Partnerships

On September 28, 2022, U.S. Bank Foundation, Metro Theater Company, and Rosie Willis, founder of Fresh Starts Community Garden, an award-winning community garden in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood, visited Gateway MST Elementary in St. Louis to meet with 4th and 5th grade students. U.S. Bank team members distributed seed packets to students; Rosie Willis of Fresh Starts Community Garden talked to students about the value and importance of community gardening; and Metro Theater Company Managing Director Joe Gfaller shared highlights of MTC’s production of Seedfolks.

U.S. Bank Foundation has partnered with Metro Theater Company to sponsor MTC’s production of Seedfolks, which runs at the Grandel Theatre October 9 – November 6. Also, as part of the U.S. Bank Foundation’s commitment to close the gaps between people and possibility, it is underwriting tickets for Gateway MST Elementary 4th and 5th grade students to experience MTC’s upcoming production Seedfolks.

Seedfolks tells the story of a neighborhood that is reborn, as a community garden in a vacant lot brings together people of all backgrounds for a common shared purpose. At the center of the story is a young immigrant who plants a few lima bean seeds to connect with the memory of a lost father, launching a community renewal. The St. Louis region is filled with many stories just like these – including the story of Fresh Starts Community Garden in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood. The visit by MTC, Fresh Starts, and U.S. Bank to Gateway MST Elementary School (located just a few blocks from Fresh Starts) helped connect young people in the community to the ideas in Seedfolks.

Photography by Jon Gitchoff