For the seventh consecutive year, the National Council of Jewish Women of St. Louis (NCJWSTL) and the Assistance League of St. Louis (ALSTL) are partnering to stock “the closets” for students in the St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS). But this year they are each receiving a big boost, to the sum of $20,000 each.

The two organizations each submitted a a collaborative grant request to the Dana Brown Charitable Trust, which provides St Louis nonprofits with grant funding for animal welfare and children’s welfare in the St. Louis area.

“The process of working collaboratively with another organization is how NCJWSTL works in our community,” said Ellen Alper, CEO of NCJWSTL. “We find the best partners we can to make sure we provide services to a broad spectrum of individuals, and we are so grateful for the leadership of the Dana Brown Charitable Trust. They have been a long-time partner and supporter of our work.”

Since 2018 the two organizations have partnered to provide children year-round access to much-needed school clothing, shoes, coats and hygiene products. The items are available in closets at 12 SLPS locations that the organizations share and stock together.

The closets are an integral part of ALSTL’s Operation School Bell program, which last year helped ensure student success across five area school districts by distributing items in 44 schools and supporting 36 AL’s closets. At NCJWSTL, the closets are run by the Kids Community Closet program, which operates 29 closets in 33 schools.

For those interested in learning more about this initiative or contributing to support their work, further information is available at the following links:

• Dana Brown Charitable Trust: https://www.danabrowncharitabletrust.org/
• Assistance League of St. Louis: https://alstl.org/
• National Council of Jewish Women of St. Louis: https://ncjwstl.org/

For inquiries regarding collaboration or donations, please reach out to Renee Sigel-Hearst, director of community impact, at [email protected] or 314-993-5181.

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