May 2025 Newsletter
In this Issue: St. Louis Tornado, Trail Projects, Upcoming Events, 2025-26 AmeriCorps Member Positions
St. Louis Tornado Response
On Friday, May 16th, St. Louis was hit by an EF3 tornado. Stretching for 22 miles with wind speed reaching 152mph, the tornado started in Clayton, went through Forest Park into North St. Louis, and across the river into Illinois. A tornado of this size and strength has not been seen here since 1959. The city has estimated 5,000 buildings damaged and destroyed, and 5 lives have been lost.
AmeriCorps St. Louis has begun our initial response, assisting the city's Forestry Department with clearing trees and debris from streets and sidewalks in and around Forest Park and nearby neighborhoods. We have also begun to assist with survivor intake with the United Way and Crisis Cleanup database.
Whether it's donating your time, items, or money, there are many ways you can aid with recovery - anything helps! It has been amazing to see the community come together during this crisis.
Get Out! Challenge Results
We've officially wrapped up our 2025 Get Out! Challenge and are proud to announce that we surpassed our goal! Throughout the month we collectively logged 711 miles of outdoor activity, spent 6,210 minutes outside, and raised $12,106!
Congratulations to our top fundraisers, Andrea Willard, Colleen Murray, and Ann Hannan! And congratulations to our top team, West Community Credit Union.
Thank you to our event sponsors; West Community Credit Union, Civil Design Inc., Daniel & Henry Insurance Co., and our prize sponsors; Big Muddy Adventures, Terrain Magazine, and Justine PETERSON. And thank you to all of our challenge participants and donors for making the event a success!
Project Spotlight: Salt Lick Trail + Athletic Brewing Grant
We’re excited to share that we’ve been selected as a recipient of Athletic Brewing's Two for the Trails grant! Through their Two for the Trails program, Athletic Brewing contributes up to $2 million annually to help protect, preserve, and maintain local trails. With this grant, we’re partnering with Salt Lick Point Stewardship Committee to make improvements to Salt Lick Trail near Valmeyer, Illinois. These improvements include rerouting sections to reduce erosion and protect Native American cultural resources and building a staircase. This is a 2-mile loop trail great for running and hiking with scenic views!
NOW RECRUITING for 2025-2026 Service Term
We are now accepting applications for our upcoming service term, beginning in September 2025. Know someone who would make an amazing AmeriCorps Member? This is a great opportunity for recent high school or college grads, or any young adult looking to give back while learning new skills. Send them our way! Reach out to jane@americorps-stl.org with any questions.
You're Invited! Fourth Fridays - May 23rd
Join us each month for a virtual networking hour! In these sessions we’ll highlight organizational updates while getting to know each other. This is a great way to reconnect with your fellow alumni, make new connections, and stay connected with all things AmeriCorps St. Louis.
This month, we'll provide updates on the recent tornado that hit St. Louis. Our featured guest will be Julia Banaszak-Trempala, our Member Development Coordinator, who will talk about her role in supporting Members, and recap our recent Life After AmeriCorps workshop.
Burning with the Mark Twain
A Great Story by Charlie Gaskill,
"Back in March, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the largest prescribed burn in program history. Seeing the incredible amount of resources and logistics needed to organize this event was awe inspiring, and the events of the day did nothing but solidify my desire to pursue fire as a career. I got to participate in many unique opportunities, such as creating a defensible space around a home, even using a water pump to prevent the fire from getting too close and damaging the property. In total, I probably spent around 16 to 17 hours on the unit that day, as well as another few the next day to mop up. It may sound miserable on paper, walking miles with heavy equipment, being uncomfortably hot and eating smoke, even building new fireline on your 12th hour out there, but if I were asked to do it again, I would say yes any day of the week."
