ST. LOUIS (December 5, 2011) – With the holiday giving season upon us, St. Louis residents can recognize and help out their favorite local non-profit organizations through Monsanto’s Grow St. Louis program.
Beginning today through Dec. 23, people can go to www.stlgrown.com to nominate eligible St. Louis metropolitan area projects to receive a grant of up to $15,000 from Monsanto. In January the nominations will then be voted on by the public. The top three vote-getters will receive grants of $15,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively, to help them “grow St. Louis.”
“During the holidays is a great time for St. Louisans to nominate their favorite local charities to receive a grant that will make a real difference in our community,” said Jessica Simmons, Grow St. Louis program lead. “Monsanto and its employees are committed to the St. Louis area and are proud to call it home. It’s exciting to have an opportunity to make it a better place.”
The first round of the program received a great response, with nearly 300 organizations nominated and votes casted by more than 40,000 people. In September, the top grant was awarded to Stray Rescue of St. Louis, with Act II Community Theater and Mascoutah Little Indians Youth Football Program coming in second and third, respectively. The program will be repeated quarterly to give a variety of people, organizations and projects the chance to be involved.
“We are going to put the money toward saving the lives of companion animals that are in need of emergency medical care,” said Stray Rescue of St. Louis founder Randy Grim. “We saw our volunteers and members of the community come together to help us receive this money, and it’s a great feeling.”
The grants being awarded through Monsanto’s Grow St. Louis program further demonstrate the company’s local commitment. Last year, Monsanto Company and the Monsanto Fund gave approximately $9 million dollars to worthy causes in the St. Louis region. Since 2000, the company has donated more than $97 million in the region. Taking the commitment even further, Monsanto’s nearly 5,000 St. Louis-based employees regularly support local community projects, with more than 10,000 volunteer hours performed in the last year alone.
For more information about the Monsanto Grow St. Louis program, visit www.stlgrown.com.
