The St. Louis Promise Zone is gearing up to release 2019 Action Plan. Rooted in our Theory of Change, the Promise Zone staff and stakeholders have been working to put thought around the best path forward for creating the biggest impact over the next 3-5 years. More to come soon! 
MARCH PROMISE ZONE UPDATES
from the desk of Erica Henderson
There's a lot to love about March. Spring is almost here, and it is Women's History Month! St. Louis Promise Zone has been honoring women this month by participating in many events that support local women. On International Women's Day on March 8th, St. Louis Promise Zone and St. Louis Economic Development Partnership sponsored and attended the mastHERclass hosted by Keisha Mabry where over 200 women of color gathered to grow their business and expand their audience. Also on March 8, the Promise Zone was able to attend Table For Four, an event hosted by Boys and Girls Club. The event raised over $100,000 for STEAM programming for girls. We are proud to support the amazing women and girls in our community!
St. Louis Promise Zone Events
PROMISE ZONE AND URBAN LAND INSTITUTE PRESENTED AN URBAN PLAN WORKSHOP

The St. Louis Promise Zone and Urban Land Institute of St. Louis have teamed up to provide an opportunity to elected and appointed officials and those who are responsible for economic development in their communities, a chance to come together for a deeper understanding of the process for equitable economic development through a one day workshop.

This event was held on Friday, March 15th at the Wellston Business Center.
PROMISE ZONE EQUITABLY REDEVELOPING YOUR COMMUNITY WORKSHOP

The St. Louis Promise Zone's Tools for Equitably Redeveloping Your Community in the St. Louis Region workshop series is almost halfway over. There have been two very successful workshops so far, and we are excited to get even more people involved in the next four. They are held the third Tuesday of every month at the William J. Harrison Education Center - except for March which is being held at Central Print at 2624 N. 14th Street. You can register for an upcoming workshop here!
MY PATH, MY FUTURE: FREE SHORT-TERM TRAINING OFFERED TO PROMISE ZONE RESIDENTS

St. Louis Promise Zone has teamed up with Accenture and Urban League to help connect Promise Zone Residents to local training schools LaunchCode, MidWest Cyber Center, NPower, and St. Louis Community College for free short-term career training opportunities in high-demand jobs. Two Career Advancement Days were held at the William J. Harrison Education Center on Monday, March 11th and Thursday, March 14th, where representatives from each of the schools, in addition to SLATE Missouri Job Center and St. Louis County Family Workforce Centers of America were present to help residents sign up for programs to advance their careers. Training is offered in Information Technology, Healthcare, and Advanced Manufacturing. Support such as transportation, childcare, and resume and interview guidance will be provided. More information can be found here.
PROMISE ZONE HOSTING CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES

St. Louis Promise Zone hosted a Capacity Building Workshop on Community Engagement Strategies March 14th. This workshop was for non-profits providing direct services to Promise Zone Residents. It focused on how to best engage residents by utilizing their wisdom, voice, and lived experiences to best drive community agendas. Topics covered include building a community engagement framework, benefits of intentional community engagement, helpful tips/strategies for successful community engagement, and cultivating meaningful relationship with funders.

Have you seen the St. Louis Promise Zone library boxes around town? Spring Break is coming up, and these boxes are a great way for kids to find books to read! They are full of free books to take and enjoy, and each box has a different variety. Come check it out and see what books you find!


UPCOMING EVENTS
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March 19, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Central Print
2624 N. 14th Street, 63106

March 20, 5:00pm - 6:30pm
Youth and Family Center
818 Cass Ave. 63106

March 21, 9:00am - 11:30am
Jewish Federation of St. Louis
12 Millstone Campus Dr. 63146

March 23, 11:00am
Earth Dance Organic Farm School
233 S. Dade Ave, Ferguson 63135

March 23, 9:30am
Thomas Dunn Learning Center
3113 Gasconade St. 63118
March 30, 5:00pm
Central Studio
 5617 Pershing Ave. 63112

March 26, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Missouri Botanical Garden
4344 Shaw Blvd, 63110

March 26, 7pm - 8pm
Emerson Family YMCA
3390 Pershall Rd. 63135

March 27, 5:30pm - 7pm
Ferguson Community Empowerment Center
9420 W Florissant Ave. 63136

March 27- 29
Washington Court Hotel, Washington, DC

March 28, 6pm - 8pm
Central Print, 2624 N. 14th St. 63106
March 28-29
Hillman Hall, Washington University 63105

March 29, 7:30am - 1:30pm
Millennium Student Center, UMSL 63121

March 29, 10:00am - 4:00pm
560 Trinity Ave. 63130

March 29, 10:00am - 11:30am
Ferguson Community Empowerment Center
9420 W Florissant Ave. 63136

April 10, 9:00am - 5:00pm
Innovation Hall, 4220 Duncan Ave. 63110

April 11, 8:30am - 10:00am
NCADA, 9355 Olive Blvd. 63132

April 11, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
The Polish Heritage Center
1413 N. 20th Street 63106

April 12, 8:15am - 3:30pm
Central Baptist Church
2842 Washington Ave. 63103

April 12, 6:00pm
The International Institute's Gym
3401 Arsenal St. 63118

April 13, 9:30am
Thomas Dunn Learning Center
3113 Gasconade St. 63118
April 20, 5:00m
Central Studio, 5617 Pershing Ave. 63112

April 13, 10:00am - 1:00pm
City Garden Montessori School
1618 Tower Grove Ave, 63110

April 13, 5:30pm - 8:00pm
3830 South Grand 63118
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
FREE SHORT-TERM CAREER TRAINING OFFERED BY TOP TRAINING SCHOOLS
Are you looking for a new career? FREE TRAINING in Information Technology, Healthcare, and Machine Manufacturing will be offered by some of the top training schools. More information can be found here .

PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN FORUM HOSTED BY SPEAC
 Thanks again to all who tuned into the racial equity-focused forum for the President of the Board of Aldermen race, hosted by the Social Policy & Electoral Accountability Collaborative on February 13th. Special thanks to the Nine Network team for the production support! You can watch the video on Forward Through Ferguson's Facebook page.

ST. LOUIS CITY 2018 CAPER
St. Louis City is soliciting comments through March 22nd on its draft Consolidated Annual Performance & Evaluation Report (CAPER), which reviews 2018 housing & community development activities undertaken by the city of St. Louis. The Community Development Administration will hold a public hearing March 20th at 5:30 pm at their offices on the 2nd floor of 1520 Market Street. The purpose of this hearing is to solicit public comments pertaining the 2018 CAPER prior to its submission to HUD. Learn more here.

STL YOUTH JOBS ENROLLING FOR SUMMER 2019 EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM
STL Youth Jobs is currently enrolling youth between the ages of 16-24, as well as businesses to participate in the Summer 2019 employment program. Youth will receive job training, support from a coach and up to 160 hours of paid employment. Businesses have the opportunity to train, mentor, and develop the future workforce. Applications are due April 30th, 2019. Information and application for youth can be found here. Information and application for businesses can be found here.

KIDZPRENEUR ENTREPRENEUR PITCH COMPETITION
Is your child a budding entrepreneur? St. Louis Family 's and xplor 's inaugural KIDZPRENEUR competition offers children ages 5–13 the opportunity to pitch their best business or product ideas for a chance to win scholarships and prizes. Register before April 6th, 2019. Learn more here!

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

St. Louis Promise Zone keeps an up-to-date list of funding opportunities.
Organizations and municipalities are also encouraged to search grants.gov for the latest federal opportunities. Non-profits may also apply for the Promise Zone Certification of Consistency to boost federal grant applications.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: RECOMMENDED
READS & PODCAST LISTENING
Ten Lessons summarizes what we’ve learned about how to navigate racial equity and take leadership around
race. They are especially for those who want to play more of a role in promoting racial equity but aren’t
sure about where or exactly how to begin. While there are, of course, many more than ten lessons that
might inform the daily work of building racial equity, we hope that these ten will encourage new actors,
and that they will be a useful tool for those already playing active roles.

As a broad coalition of advocates for housing justice, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has long had to grapple with a fundamental dilemma: should federal housing policy focus on preserving existing public and assisted housing, much of which is located in low
income, predominately black neighborhoods, or should policy focus on helping the residents of this housing move to higher income and less racially segregated neighborhoods? To gain a more complete understanding of this dilemma, NLIHC conducted a review of the history and contemporary contours of the debate in the academic literature. NLIHC also interviewed ten people who have deep knowledge of, but varying perspectives on, the debate. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative research methods and the findings are presented here.
 
Podcast will focus on weekly activity within the Missouri legislature, endearingly categorized on social media as #moleg.

What happens next in St. Louis, happens here. Each week, Michael Calhoun, KMOX news reporter, and Travis Sheridan, President of the CIC Venture Cafe Global Institute, take you inside how innovators are transforming and revitalizing the St. Louis region.