ST. LOUIS – April 23, 2012 – After weeks of voting by the St. Louis community, Monsanto Company announces House Rabbit Society of Missouri is the $15,000 grant winner of the third round of the Grow St. Louis contest.
Through the Grow St. Louis effort, eligible projects affiliated with schools and/or nonprofit organizations in the St. Louis metropolitan area were nominated to receive a grant of up to $15,000 from Monsanto. The nominations were then voted on by the public to decide what projects would receive awards to help them “grow St. Louis”.
In total, more than 17,000 people voted for the more than 100 local projects participating in the third round of the program.
“Now that we’ve ended the third round of the program, we are thrilled with the continued response to the Grow St. Louis contest,” said Jessica Simmons, Grow St. Louis program lead. “It’s exciting to see how St. Louisans are strengthening their community in so many different and positive ways.”
First-place winner House Rabbit Society of Missouri is a 100 percent volunteer organization committed to helping animal shelters in the St. Louis metro and metro east area with rabbit care and education. With the $15,000 grant the society plans to expand their mission of helping community shelters care for abandoned pet rabbits, and help grow the youth and community education programs.
Second-place winner Wentzville Special Sports is an athletic program through the Wentzville School District for current students and alumni with special needs offering students the opportunity to engage in physical fitness, and participate in sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, peers and community. With their $10,000 grant the program plans on purchasing new equipment and uniforms, and paying for transportation to events, an expense that previously had to be paid by the student.
The third-place winner Five Acres Animal Shelter is a no-kill shelter in St. Charles County. Their mission is to end pet homelessness, promote responsible pet ownership, and advocate for animal welfare. The shelter will use their $5,000 grant for its special veterinary needs program, which assists animals who are in need of immediate and urgent care, and its spay and neuter expenses for the animals awaiting adoption at the shelter.
Monsanto has awarded $90,000 in grant money to nine St. Louis area organizations through the first three rounds of the Grow St. Louis contest. Monsanto will continue the program to give a variety of people, organizations and projects the chance to be involved. For more information about the Grow St. Louis program, please visit http://www.stlgrown.com.
Grow St. Louis is just one of the many ways Monsanto contributes to the St. Louis community. Last year alone, Monsanto and the Monsanto Fund gave $9 million to worthy causes in the community. In the last decade, Monsanto’s contributions to the St. Louis region have totaled more than $97 million. Monsanto employees also regularly support their local community projects, donating more than 10,000 volunteer hours over the last year. From developing science education programs for underserved youth to supporting the local arts scene to rebuilding when disaster strikes, Monsanto is dedicated to improving lives and helping grow St. Louis – economically, culturally and as a community.