This blog piece was written by one of our students, Alice. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue.
During my participation in the 2022 SDG Changemakers Program, we visited a variety of people and places, all of which were doing important work for the St. Louis community. However, one place in particular stuck out to me; Delmar Divine. Ever heard of it? I hadn’t either! But the more I explored the building, and talked to those working there, the more impressed I became.
Delmar Divine is located on 5501 Delmar Boulevard in what used to be the old St. Luke’s Hospital. The renovated building is now a beautiful workspace, designed to encourage networking and collaboration between St. Louis’s nonprofit sector. Not only that, but it will also house 150 apartments, aimed at staying affordable and accessible to the community. Various health, education, and human service organizations have made a home in the building. For example, BJC has created an office in the building, hoping to employ nearby residents and provide them with career opportunities within their field.
This idea was spearheaded by local entrepreneur and civic leader, Maxine Clark. Clark spoke with our group, telling us how one day she drove by the building and saw it was for sale and inspiration struck! Of course, that was only the beginning. It’s taken years to get the idea off the ground, and to renovate the building. Today, the renovations are almost complete, and nonprofits have already moved in. We talked to a panel of representatives from these organizations who gave us insight as to what they do. We began with Katrina Brown, director of program operations at the nonprofit Homeworks. Homeworks is essentially a teacher home visit program that aims to provide kids, usually elementary school age, with the support they need, and to keep families engaged in their childs’ education. We then heard from Edette Nichols, office manager for IFM community medicine, which provides underserved communities with low-cost or even free medical care, located on 722 Loughborough Avenue. Next was Jennifer Irvin, who works at the BJC office I mentioned earlier. Dawn Price from the Sophia Project explained their organization’s goal of providing a safe space and opportunities for young women in the community. And last was Allie Cicotte, who spoke to us about her work for the Clark-Fox Family Foundation, which is Maxine Clark and her husband’s organization.
The discussion we had with these amazing community leaders was beyond inspiring. This was one of the things that really stood out to me about Delmar Divine; it was full of brilliant, like-minded people who all wanted to help improve St. Louis. As Maxine Clark explained to us, this was her goal. When Clark found out there were over 14,000 registered nonprofits in St. Louis, she saw an opportunity to create a space in which they network and increase their impact. Delmar Divine is a galvanizing place and organization, one that I know will do great things for St. Louis.
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