ST. LOUIS (Aug. 7, 2019) – Ameren Corporation announced a $250,000 donation to the Save Our Sons program, signaling its ongoing commitment to provide education and training support in the communities of Ferguson and Dellwood in North St. Louis County. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis operates this program by providing economically disadvantaged African American men with educational support to teach them career skills to find good-paying jobs.
"The communities in North St. Louis County have done tremendous work over the past five years to lift up and support area residents," said Ameren Corporation Chairman and CEO Warner Baxter, who grew up and attended school in North St. Louis County. "Our partners at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis have done a remarkable job making a positive impact on the lives of young men and their families in communities we serve through the Save Our Sons job readiness program. I've seen first-hand how this program can change the lives of many and the long term well-being of our community."
"The Urban League is especially thankful for its long-standing community partnership with Ameren for several decades," said Michael McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. "From the very beginning, Ameren was involved in working with the Urban League to help resolve the Ferguson crisis. As a result, more than 700 men obtained jobs through the Save Our Sons program."
Today's announcement follows an initial pledge of $2.5 million made by Ameren in 2015 for a multifaceted initiative to support educational partnerships, economic development and energy assistance to communities in St. Louis and North St. Louis County. Since 2015, Ameren has committed even more funding to these efforts, including a special $1 million contribution to the Urban League last year and a $250,000 commitment to help the new Boys and Girls Club Teen Center for Excellence in North County in July 2019. These donations are part of the company's AmerenCares initiative, which serves communities throughout Missouri and Illinois supporting a variety of organizations and programs, including those related to youth well-being, education and job readiness.
Each year within the Ameren Illinois and Missouri service areas, millions of dollars are donated from the Ameren Corporation Charitable Trust, which come entirely from corporate earnings, and are not charged to customers. Last year, Ameren contributed $10 million in cash and in-kind charitable donations to 1,000 nonprofit organizations that provide the community with services such as job readiness training, closing education gaps and keeping seniors warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
About Ameren
St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric transmission and distribution service and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Missouri provides electric generation, transmission and distribution service, as well as natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois develops, owns and operates rate-regulated regional electric transmission projects. For more information, visit Ameren.com, or follow us on Twitter at @AmerenCorp, Facebook.com/AmerenCorp, or LinkedIn/company/Ameren.