EDUCATION
Cardinal Ritter Prep High School
How many inner-city schools serving mostly urban minority youth have all of its seniors graduate and accepted to college? For the approximately 400 students who attend Cardinal Ritter Prep High School in St. Louis, MO, that's normal. This school, established by the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1979 and serving predominantly non-Catholic African-American students, is known for its focus on academic success, coupled with leadership and faith development. Cardinal Ritter Prep also has a commitment to serving families in need - more than half of its students come from families that require help with tuition.
Emerson, a long-time supporter of Cardinal Ritter Prep capital campaigns, made a $100,000 gift to the school's scholarship endowment fund for high school students in 2005 and has pledged to match other donations up to an additional $100,000.
INROADS
From Arizona to New York, INROADS helps talented minority students gain valuable experience while working in corporate environments that prepare them for future careers. INROADS is a national nonprofit organization that provides academic support, career training, and guidance to more than 5,000 interns sponsored by more than 600 companies. INROADS interns receive paid, multiyear, real-world professional experiences. With early exposure to their career interest, participating students receive networking opportunities and year-round personal, professional, and academic guidance and support.
Emerson's Rosemount division in Chanhassen, MN, has been an INROADS partner since 1979 and has hired a number of its interns as full-time employees in engineering and business roles. Seven INROADS interns worked at Rosemount in 2006. Emerson's corporate headquarters and its White-Rodgers division in St. Louis have also sponsored INROADS interns.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Homeless Solutions, Inc.
In every community, there are people who need a helping hand to get their lives back on track. In Morristown, NJ, a community of 18,000, individuals and businesses have been helping Homeless Solutions, Inc. (HSI) meet the needs of the working poor and homeless since 1983. Homeless Solutions provides shelter and meals for up to 25 single men, 19 families, four single women, and 20 guests who suffer from mental illness. HSI develops transitional and affordable housing and provides counseling, substance abuse prevention programs, transportation to work and necessary appointments, money management courses, and employment assistance.
Emerson, through its ASCO division based in Florham Park, NJ provides annual contributions to support Homeless Solutions' mission to provide a hand up to people in need.
Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center
Each year, more than 1 million Americans are diagnosed with some form of cancer. In St. Louis, MO, the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University's School of Medicine has more than 300 researchers, physicians, and educators caring for patients and working to develop new ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer. The Siteman Center serves more than 6,000 newly diagnosed patients and 30,000 continuing patients annually. It is the only cancer center in Missouri and the only comprehensive cancer center facility within a 240-mile radius of St. Louis.
In 2004, Emerson pledged a total of $6 million in the form of a multiyear challenge grant to help fund advanced research and patient care initiatives at the Siteman Cancer Center.
ARTS & CULTURE
Missouri Botanical Garden
Visitors to the renowned Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis — one of the nation's leading plant research and horticultural parks — are accustomed to the Garden's visual pleasures of a dazzling array of flora. But during 2006, visitors had the added treat of a special exhibition of blown glass sculptures installed within the natural landscapes of the Garden. Designed by world renowned artist Dale Chihuly, the “Glass in the Garden” exhibition showcased floating spheres and colorful spirals that complemented the Garden's outdoor vistas and architecture.
Emerson was the lead corporate sponsor of the “Glass in the Garden” exhibition and participated in the purchase of a Chihuly sculpture to remain for permanent display in the Garden's Ridgeway Center, Additionally, as part of the exhibition, Emerson provided a challenge grant to increase membership.
Interlochen Arts Camp
The world's premier summer arts program for aspiring artists grades 3 through 12, Interlochen Arts Camp attracts students, faculty, and staff from all 50 U.S. states and more than 40 countries. These 3,000 kindred spirits fill Interlochen's northwoods campus in Interlochen, MI with an explosion of creativity and inspiration. The world's best and brightest students train intensively with renowned instructors, and produce more than 400 presentations each summer in dance, theatre, creative writing, visual arts, motion picture arts, and music.
For more than 17 years, Emerson has been proud to support this renowned camp, providing scholarship opportunities to approximately 50 young people each summer.
CIVIC
Knoxville Habitat for Humanity
Families and volunteers from Knoxville Habitat for Humanity have built more than 300 homes in Knoxville, TN, since 1985. Thanks to their efforts, more than 1,000 men, women, and children now have decent, affordable homes. To be eligible to buy a Habitat-built home, a family has to commit more than 500 hours of “sweat equity” working on the jobsite, attend one year of budget classes and participate in home maintenance and construction programs. With a $900 closing fee, families then purchase the homes with 20-year, zero percent interest mortgages. Their monthly payments go into a revolving fund to help provide for the construction of additional homes.
Emerson and its divisions contribute to Habitat for Humanity programs in several cities, including Knoxville. In 2005, 40 volunteers from Emerson Process Management in Knoxville donated their time, mostly on weekends, to help a young couple and other Habitat volunteers build a two-bedroom house.
Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
For more than 85 years, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis has been working to empower African-Americans and others throughout the St. Louis region to promote economic self-reliance, social equality, and civil rights. From education and youth programs to civic engagement and leadership, the Urban League has been at the forefront of efforts to provide African-Americans with the opportunities and skills to overcome social and economic hurdles.
Emerson has provided continuing financial support for several Urban League activities, including its Business Training Center that provides adults with training in basic office skills and office technology. Emerson will also be a corporate sponsor of the 2007 National Urban League conference in St. Louis.
KaBOOM!
Children may not know where their playgrounds come from, but they enjoy the rush of air as they swing and the innocent delight of slithering down a slide. Wouldn't it be nice to have a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America? That's the vision of the nonprofit organization KaBOOM!. Over the past decade, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests in constructing nearly 1,000 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields, and ice rinks across North America.
Emerson, through its Emerson Tool Company, ClosetMaid and In-Sink-Erator divisions, provides financial support for KaBOOM! in collaboration with The Home Depot.
Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club
The future of our country rests with the successful development of our young people, says Martin L. Mathews, the president and CEO of the Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club. Mathews co-founded the organization, along with the late Hubert “Dickey” Ballentine, in 1960 to provide structured recreational activities to neighborhood youth. Today, Mathews-Dickey annually serves more than 40,000 young men and women, ages 5 - 18, throughout the St. Louis metro area. The club's programs, with an emphasis on respect, restraint, and responsibility, provide youth with the tools to lead productive lives. The club sponsors sporting activities, as well as programs for career-readiness, culinary arts, crafts, fine and performing arts, computer training, and education and leadership seminars.
A long-time supporter of Mathews-Dickey, Emerson is one of several St. Louis area companies currently helping the organization fund renovations for the club's stadium, athletic center, and its main facility as part of the Facilities Fund Challenge Grant.