Invest STL

📢 Our CEO, Dara Eskridge, and Policy Design + Activation Lead, Michelle Witthaus, will speak at the 2026 Cityscapes Summit taking place on May 18-20 in New Orleans.

💬 Dara will join a mainstage session on “Innovations, Investment and Impact: The SMC Blueprint” and Michelle’s panel will talk about “Equity and the Intersection of Wealth Building”.

ℹ️ Hosted by the New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN), Cityscapes is a national biennial conference that brings together leaders from across the country to explore new approaches to community-centered economic growth in small and midsized cities.

🔗 Visit www.newgrowth.org/cityscapes for more details.

📢 Opportunity alert! SHED STL and Cornerstone STL are two of several nonprofit host sites for the Serve the Lou AmeriCorps program this year.

ℹ️ The AmeriCorps VISTA program brings individuals and organizations together to eliminate poverty and build stronger communities. The program’s Summer Associates commit to an eight-week service term with a St. Louis nonprofit. Applicants must be 18 or older.

🔗 For more details on the Summer Associate VISTA position at SHED and Cornerstone, visit:

Sustainable Housing and Equitable Development (SHED): bit.ly/SHEDSummerAssociateVISTA2026

Cornerstone: bit.ly/CornerstoneSummerAssociateVISTA2026

SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Join us for the world premiere of Transforming Our Legacy: A St. Louis Story — a short film created with .world that traces the forces that have shaped St. Louis throughout the lifetime and lifetimes of
generations before Kelly McGowan, Executive Director of Transform 314.

Through family memory and lifelong friendship, Transforming Our Legacy connects decades of
Black persistence in St. Louis, encouraging St. Louisians to know the city’s history and steer it towards a more equitable future.

RSVP for the premiere at transform314.org/register

Watch the trailer at the link in our bio!

📢 Applications for the Neighborhood Storytelling Practice (NSTP) are still open — get yours in today!

ℹ️ Purpose
The NSTP invites residents to explore their stories, neighborhood histories, and creative expression — and to help others do the same — in a supportive, healing-centered environment. Participants will be supported as storytellers (sharing their own experiences) and story conductors (helping others uncover and express their own).

📌 Who’s Eligible?
The 9-month pilot cohort is open to residents living in or deeply connected to Greater Ville, Kingsway East, and The Ville.
No storytelling or artistic experience is required. Eligible applicants must be 18 years of age or older.

📅 The NSTP application deadline is early April. This practice begins in May 2026 and ends in January 2027.

🔗 For more details and to apply, visit bit.ly/NSTPcohort.

🩵 Together, we can memorialize the past, magnify the present, and manifest the future!