Focus Areas > Social Justice > Community Against Poverty       

           

CAP Coalition

Mission Statement of CAP

CAP Volunteer Fair

CAP Early Childhood Education Pilot Project

The Community Against Poverty (CAP) coalition was convened by the  Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in early 2008 as an outgrowth of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs “There Shall Be No Needy Among You” initiative.

Mission Statement of CAP:

Community Against Poverty (CAP) is a broad-based coalition of St. Louis area interfaith and civic organizations coordinated by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). The problems of poverty run deep in our nation. Poverty impacts the ability of individuals and families to live their lives with dignity. Poverty impacts the ability of individuals to obtain quality education for their children; to meet basic needs for food, clothing and shelter; to find living wage jobs; to live in a safe and healthy environment; and to access quality, affordable healthcare.

CAP is dedicated to combating poverty through education, advocacy and service.

Currently, the following organizations are members of the CAP Coalition, in addition to the JCRC:

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of St. Louis
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Missouri
International Institute
Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis
Jewish Family & Children’s Service
Missouri Association for Social Welfare|
National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis Section
Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy
Ready Readers
St. Louis Clergy Coalition
Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice

UPCOMING HUNGER-THEMED EVENTS

See “ A Place at the Table” at the Tivoli the week of March 1

For more information and show times, go to http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/St.Louis/St.Louis_Frameset.htm

2013 HUNGER SEDER A SUCCESS

75 people attended the second annual Interfaith Hunger Seder organized by JCRC and Saint Louis University’s Center for Service and Community Engagement. The Seder took place on Tuesday March 19 and was part of a national Hunger Seder Mobilization coordinated by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. The Seder was lead by Rabbi Josef Davidson, Adjunct Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Amoona. Father Paul Stark of SLU gave the invocation. Students from SLU’s Interfaith Alliance presented readings on hunger from different faith traditions. Those attending also wrote postcards to their US Senators asking that funds be restored to the Federal WIC program which helps low-income women and children.

          
2013 Hunger Seder Attendees                                                Fath Paul Stark

                              
Interfaith Readings                                                               Professor Julia Lieberman lights the holiday candles  

CAP HUNGER FORUM A SUCCESS

On Friday January 18, over 60 anti-hunger advocates and direct service providers attended “Where Justice and Charity Meet: Fighting Hunger in Saint Louis.” CAP was a co-sponsor of this program. Those attending heard from keynote speaker Jeanette Mott Oxford, Executive Director of the Missouri Association for Social Welfare (MASW). Mott Oxford emphasized that both individual acts of charity and advocacy for laws that improve the safety net for the hungry are needed. Additional speakers included Josh Protas, Director of Government Relations for MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, Sunny Schaefer, Executive Director of Operation Food Search, Frank Finnegan, Executive Director of the Saint Louis Area Foodbank, and David Sykora, Director of the Saint Louis Area Agency on Aging. The forum concluded with breakout sessions on networking and advocacy.

                                  
     Event Chair and CAP Chair Renee Marver       Keynote Speaker Jeanette Mott Oxford

         
Josh Protas of MAZON                                       Group breakout session on advocacy

Read more about the problem of hunger and the CAP Hunger Forum in the St. Louis Beacon

https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/28912/hunger_poverty_conference?coverpage=2544

Fifth Annual CAP Volunteer Fair A Success

About 150 participants attended the Fifth Annual Community Against Poverty (CAP) Volunteer Fair on Sunday September 23. The program included remarks by Rev. C. Jessel Strong of the Saint Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition and a keynote address by Martin Rafanan, ExecutiveDirector of Gateway 180: Homelessness Reversed. Rafanan urged participants not only to volunteer to help those living in poverty, but to become advocates for public policies that help the poor. Those attending then visited with approximately 30 agencies helping people living in poverty.

Click here for flyer with list of agencies attending.        

                   
Rev. C. Jessel Strong; CAP Chair, Renee Marver                 Potential volunteers meet with Safe
Martin Rafanan; CAP Fair 2012 Co-Chair Martha                 Connections
Scharff

                
Potential volunteers meet with OASIS                               Lisa Kraner and Susan Zuckerman after visiting
                                                                                   with agencies at this year's Fair

Dedication Ceremony for CAP ECE Project Playground
Held August 22, 2012

On August 22, the CAP coalition celebrated the opening of a new toddler playground at Perfect Gift II early childcare center in North Saint Louis City. Perfect Gift II was selected as the site of CAP ‘s ECE pilot project. Funding was received from the Incarnate Word Foundation, the Energizer Trust Fund, the Saint Louis Mental Health Board and individual donations. In-kind assistance was provided by Ibrahim Engineering Corp, Ready Readers and the Children’s Environmental Health Program at the City of Saint Louis Department of Health. Other partners include United4Children and the United Way.

Perfect Gift II was identified as a high performing early childhood center in need of physical improvements to enhance the educational experience of the children enrolled, all of whom are low-income. Funding will also be used to add windows to several of the classrooms.

          

Left: CAP Chair Renee Marver talks about the importance of physical improvements to area childcare centers serving low-income children, such as those CAP has implemented at Perfect Gift II

Right: Left to right—JCRC Domestic Issues Director Gail Wechsler, Zubaida Ibrahim of CAP Coalition member Islamic Foundation of Greater Saint Louis, CAP Chair Renee Marver, JCRC President Phyllis Markus, Perfect Gift II owner LaToya Davis-Hayes

Below: The children of Perfect Gift II, along with Zubaida Ibrahim of the CAP coalition(rear, center) and LaToya Davis-Hayes, owner of Perfect Gift II (rear, right)

Contact the Volunteer Agencies from the 2011 CAP Volunteer Fair

2011 COMMUNITY AGAINST POVERTY VOLUNTEER FAIR AGENCY LISTINGS

NAME OF AGENCY	MISSION	AREAS OF FOCUS	CONTACT INFO.
APPNA Health Clinic	Provides free healthcare services to low-income individuals	Healthcare	Shekani1@gmail.com 314-822-2491
Beyond Housing	Strengthens neighborhoods through housing and support services	Housing,    Economic     Justice,    Education,    Healthcare	www.beyondhousing.org 314-533-0600
Bi-Lingual International Assistant Services	Provides support to the frail & disabled elderly, particularly immigrants, refugees and racial minorities	Education,    Healthcare	http://bilingualstl.org 314-692-9010
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri	Mentoring children in need of an extra role model	Education,    Children	www.bbbsemo.org 314-361-5900
Casa de Salud	Provides health and wellness services for un/underinsured patients,  primarily Latinos	Healthcare	http://casadesaludstl.org 314-762-1251
| Circle of Concern	Provides food and other emergency help to struggling families	Hunger	http://circleofconcern.org 636-861-2623
Doorways	Provides housing and other support services for people living with HIV/AIDS	Housing	www.doorwayshousing.org 314-535-1919
Employment Connection	Provides positive employment outcomes for at-risk populations	Employment	www.employmentstl.org 314-333-5627
Family Health Care Centers	Preventing lead poisoning by doing pre-natal home lead inspections	Healthcare,    Housing	dberg@fchcstl.org
Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition	Finds foster & adoptive families for children in foster care; volunteers needed for its ReFresh resale shop for teens and young adults	Children	www.foster-adopt.org 314-367-8373
Gateway 180:  Homelessness Reversed	Largest emergency shelter in the state serving women, children and families	Housing/    Homelessness,    Children and    Families	www.gateway180.org 314-231-1515
Immigrant & Refugee Women’s Program	Provides one-on-one instruction in English and practical skills to isolated immigrant and refugee women	Immigration	www.irwp.net 314-771-1104
International Institute	Dedicated to helping refugees and immigrants to independence and integration into our society	Immigration	www.iistl.org 314-773-9090
Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis	Non-profit Muslim mosque network-works on community service projects such as serving meals to the needy	Hunger,    Children	www.islamicfoundationstl.org 636-394-7878
Jewish Family & Children’s Service	Helps families and individuals meet the challenges of daily living; runs Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry	Hunger	www.jfcs-stl.org 314-993-1000
Kids’ Place	After-school program serving at-risk students	Children,    Education	www.kidsplace-stl.org 314-863-8055
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri	Provides free legal representation to indigent people	Housing, Hunger,    Children and    Families	www.lsem.org 314-534-4200
Let’s Start	Aims to break the cycle of incarceration in families by working with formerly incarcerated women and their children to support recovery	Children and   Families,   Suppot for  those    in criminal    justice system	www.letsstart.org 314-241-2324
Lydia’s House	Provides transitional housing and support services to domestic violence survivors	Women and     Children,     Domestic     Violence     Recovery,     Housing	www.lydiashouse.org 314-771-4411
Neighborhood Houses	Provides early childhood education, after-school programs, parent  ed	Families,    Education	www.neighborhoodhouses.org 314-383-1733
Operation Food Search (Cooking Matters)	Provides food to hungry families-Cooking Matters provides courses on nutrition, cooking, budgeting	Hunger,    Nutrition	www.operationfoodsearch.org 314-726-5355
Peter and Paul Community Services	Provides  transitional housing and support services to homeless	Homelessness,    Housing	www.ppcsinc.org 314-588-7111
Ready Readers	Inspires at-risk preschoolers to become readers by reading aloud to them	Children,    Education	http://readyreaders-stlouis.com 314-564-8070
Redevelopment Opportunities for Women	Empowers women and their families to build skills, economic security, safety	Women and    Children,    Domestic    Violence Recovery	www.row-stl.org 314-588-8300
Room at the Inn	Homeless shelter for women and families	Women and     Children,     Housing,     Homelessness	www.roomstl.org 314-209-9198
Safe Connections	Serves survivors of domestic and sexual violence	Women,     Domestic     Violence     Recovery	www.safeconnections.org 314-646-7500
Scholarship Foundation	Runs retail shop benefitting  interest free educational loan program	Education	www.sfstl.org 314-725-7990
St. Louis Crisis Nursery	Temporary shelter for children at risk for abuse and neglect	Children	www.crisisnurserykids.org 314-292-5770
St. Louis Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC)	Supports healthy aging of older adults in their homes, including by providing support services	Older adults	www.jewishinstlouis.org/norc 314-442-3834
United Way of Greater St. Louis	Creates awareness of needs in community	All aspects of    poverty	www.stl.unitedway.org 314-421-0700
UrbanFuture	Runs mentoring and tutoring programs for urban youth	Education,    Children	www.urbanfuturestl.org 314-776-3434
Voices for Children	Advocates for best interests of abused and neglected children	Children	www.voicesforchildrestl.org 314-552-2352
Volunteers in Medicine	Provides primary care for uninsured adults	Healthcare	vimwestcounty@gmail.com
Women’s Safe House	Provides safe shelter and support services to battered women and their children	Housing, Families    and Children,    Domestic    Violence    Recovery	http://twsh.org 314-772-4535

      

            
For information about  CAP, contact Gail Wechsler at 314-442-3894 or gwechsler@jcrcstl.org