St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund
Metro Theater Company’s Say Something, Do Something program. Photo by Jennifer A. Lin.
This year, Metro Theater Company begins an exciting new chapter in partnership with St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund. As part of CSF’s Core Funding Opportunity, MTC will be one of 72 organizations that provide mental and behavioral health services to children and families in St. Louis County to share in $150 million in funding over a three-year period. MTC is the only arts-based organization in this three year funding cycle. We look forward to the remarkable impact this award will provide in serving our region’s young people.
From Joe Gfaller, MTC Managing Director
“St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund’s three-year commitment to MTC’s Building Community Through Drama and Say Something, Do Something programs is, in a word, transformative. Through MTC’s ten year Every Child Initiative, MTC has made a commitment to each every child in the region at least once in their childhood through educational or theatrical programming. CSF’s three-year commitment enables these anchor school-based education programs to reach every 4th grade child in at least the Ferguson-Florissant, Hazelwood, and University City school districts – helping MTC leverage arts-based learning through a series of six-week residencies to begin to address the public health crisis of violence that faces so many of our region’s young people at some point in their childhood. By teaching conflict resolution skills, a deeper appreciation of difference, and a foundation for how each young person can become an upstander instead of a bystander during difficult situations, these programs will not only transform MTC’s impact and reach in our region, but also positively impact the lives of the young people we will now be able to meaningfully reach. We are deeply grateful for the trust in our programs to make this impact from St. Louis County government.”
From Karen Bain, MTC Education Director
”I am beyond thrilled and excited by this amazing opportunity! Thanks to the incredibly generous support from St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund, we are able to significantly expand our education programs to directly support students and teachers. It has been a strategic goal to expand our flagship program: Building Community through Drama, and our interactive performance: Say Something, Do Something for a long time. CSF’s wonderful support of our work is truly a game changer. This is a very special opportunity to deepen partnerships, collaborate and co-learn with students and teachers as we dig into this work, and grow our teaching artist team to make this happen. I can’t wait to get started!”
To learn more about St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund and the other selected organizations for three years of funding, read the full announcement here.
