ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis County Library Foundation has received a $250,000 grant from Monsanto for its new Center for Family History to be located in Chesterfield, Mo.
Monsanto, an agricultural company headquartered in St. Louis, awarded the grant to support the development of a new Center for Family History that will focus on the exceptional genealogy collection of St. Louis County Library.
“Monsanto has a commitment to St. Louis and to the people that call it home,” said Deborah Patterson, director of corporate responsibility. “It is our hope that this center will foster residents’ growing interest in understanding family history and connect researchers with their past.”
“On behalf of the St. Louis County Library Foundation Board of Directors, I would like to thank the Monsanto for their support of the Center for Family History, which will be one of only two facilities of its kind in the United States when it is up and running,” said Neil Jaffe, president of the Foundation Board.
According to Jaffe, the funds will be used to develop a family garden area for the new facility. The $250,000 gift from Monsanto will match a $250,000 donation from a private donor.
St. Louis County Library has an outstanding collection of genealogical resources that family historians consistently recognize for its excellence. The collection has grown to more than 80,000 items that include over 100 rare Yizkor books memorializing destroyed Jewish communities in Europe with a list of Holocaust victims, the Julius K. Hunter African American Research Collection, the St. Louis Genealogy Society collection and more. As the collection has grown, the internal space to house them at St. Louis County Library Headquarters has been filled to capacity. The Center for Family History, a 57,000 sq. ft. facility when completed, will incorporate a large meeting/auditorium space and a pre-function area for special events, weddings and family reunions. It will house a “Hall of Families” capturing the spirit and legend of companies and individuals throughout the Midwest. Financial pledges from private individuals and major St. Louis Companies are nearing $12 million towards an $18 million Capital Campaign goal.
About The St. Louis County Library Foundation
The St. Louis County Library Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) organization, which generates and is funded exclusively by private gifts and donations. The Center for Family History is a project of the Foundation, entirely funded by private contributions. For more information about the Center for Family History please visit www.slcl.org/foundation or find us on Facebook.