Funds will help 15 non-profits address critical operational issues

 The Staenberg Family Foundation announces that 15 local Jewish organizations will be recipients of its Anything Grants, aimed at helping agencies and programs raise funds for a variety of needs. Although the Foundation originally planned on allocating $50,000 in grants, because of the quality of applications and projects, it ended up awarding more than $60,000. The funds will enable the recipients to address issues that are critical to their operations, such as building repairs, equipment and program development.

Thirty-eight eligible applications were received by an advisory committee of young leaders who reviewed the applications and made recommendations to the Foundation board. “We were impressed by the quality of programs and found it hard to choose the recipients,” says Michael Staenberg, who started the Foundation with his wife, Carol. “Because organizations must raise matching funds for their projects from other sources, more than $160,000 will be infused into our community. We are thrilled that we can support so many important community projects.”

As a leading developer, civic leader and philanthropist, Staenberg is aware how vital improvements in infrastructure can be to the survival of agencies. “While day-to-day operations and building improvements aren’t the most exciting things that we could fund, they can make all the difference to an organization’s livelihood,” he says. “The Staenberg Family Foundation has been and continues to be committed to supporting the St. Louis Jewish community. The Anything Grants will help ensure that these organizations have the ability to make crucial improvements, and we hope it will inspire others to invest in projects that will help our community thrive.”

The recipients of the Staenberg Family Foundation Anything Grants include:

  • Young Israel HVAC Control System Upgrade—Replace the control system for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to reduce energy usage and lower operating costs.
  • Yeshivat Kadimah High School Science Laboratory—Provide chemistry and biology physical laboratory equipment for science students.
  • Handicap Accessibility at Traditional Congregation—Provide full handicap accessibility to Torah reading table and Synagogue Bima and Aron Kodesh.
  • An Ark for the Torah—Provide an ark for the Torah of Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Community, which holds its services at the JCCA Arts and Education building of the Staenberg Family Complex.
  • Mirowitz Sports Team Seed Initiative—Enable Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School to initiate sports teams in each grade level.
  • St. Louis Jewish Community Library Joint Catalog Project—Develop an online joint library catalog with Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library and the major synagogue, temple and day school libraries.
  • St. Louis Wedding Dresses G”mach—Provide a suitable site for the St. Louis Wedding Dresses G”mach, which loans gowns to brides in the community free of charge.
  • Relocating Office for St. Louis Council of NA’AMAT USA—Provide moving expenses.
  • JF&CS Food Pantry Exhaust Fans—Provide exhaust fans for The Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry, which is housed in a warehouse that is not air conditioned.
  • Regional Summer Camp Retreat for Friends of Israel Scouts, Inc.–Tzofim—Bring together scouts from the Midwest and South to enhance their Zionist identity and see themselves as part of a larger movement, strengthen the Israel Scouting program for youth who do not live on either the East or West Coasts, and create a leadership opportunity for the high school youth from both regions to work together.
  • Esther Miller Bais Yaakov’s Crucial Technology Amelioration Project—Repair, upgrade, and/or replace the Orthodox Jewish girls’ high school’s eight- to 12-year-old computers and software.
  • Epstein Hebrew Academy Mobile Technology Lab—Implement mobile technology through Google Chromebooks in elementary and middle school classrooms, to facilitate personalized learning by students both at school and at home.
  • Entrance Accessibility at Congregation B’nai Amoona—Add power door openers for two of the entrances to the sanctuary building to facilitate easier access to the building for all people, including those using a wheelchair or walker or pushing a stroller.
  • Project Noach—In an effort to meet the growing needs of the U. City Shul, replace plumbing fixtures in the men’s bathroom that have been in place for 60 years and are no longer repairable.
  • Israeli Hebrew School Curriculum Development—Hire qualified educators to develop curricula for Bais Abraham Congregation’s previously underserved populations of Hebrew-speaking, secular Israeli families permanently or semi-permanently living in St. Louis and Orthodox-affiliated families living in St. Louis with children who attend non-Jewish primary schools.