In an impossible year for all of us, YourWords STL had our most impactful year ever.  We were able to transition our workshops and tutoring to the virtual space and help 10 residents of Marygrove Children’s Home graduate despite being quarantined and early on even sharing computers.   While we have gotten the residents gifts in the past, this year we gave the graduates personalized messenger bags.  Many of these young folks have had to leave various living situations quickly, and we hoped that the bags would give them a sense of ownership and control.  It was rewarding to hear they were proudly sporting their new bags. 

In the past year, we were able to continue our Crossing Delmar projects bringing students from New City School and Confluence Academies, as well as Loyola Academy and St. Margaret’s of Scotland, together virtually!  Students' work from our photovoice project led by SLU and MSU students are displayed in the gallery exhibit Objects I love: Odes and Photos at the SLU Museum of Art through December 17^th.  With our partners, Missouri Baptist University and Dreambuilders 4 Equity, we staged a play “We Own Our Future” written completely by the young people of DB4E, acted by the MBU drama students, and performed live and streamed virtually. 

We are in an exciting inflection point as we continue to grow with dedicated and talented staff for the first time!  Past support has allowed us to bring on Imani Harris as Volunteer Coordinator and Britny Cordera as Associate Program Director on a part-time basis.  Their  addition will allow us to expand and enrich our programming.  In the coming year, we hope to make these positions full-time, as well as bring on additional staff.  Consider donating, sharing our fundraiser, or even starting your own.   We hope you can help us achieve this goal of $10,000 this #GivingTuesday!