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Ameren amps up community support during the holiday season
Corporate giving and volunteer outreach spans St. Louis Area Foodbank, Employment Connection of St. Louis, Salvation Army, KidSmart and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital

ST. LOUIS (Dec. 16, 2021) –In this season of giving Ameren is making a big push to further support basic needs, education and employment programs in the region.

“We strongly support our communities all year long, and through impactful giving and employee volunteer efforts we hope to reach even more individuals who need help this holiday season,” said Marty Lyons, president of Ameren Missouri. “We’re living our AmerenCares culture through actions such as matching donations, employees distributing school supplies and raising additional funds for The Salvation Army, all with a goal of easing burdens for those in need this holiday season."

In the St. Louis region, Ameren holiday giving benefitted the following organizations this year:

  • The Ameren Light Up Learning event with KidSmart packed 300-plus teachers' cars on Giving Tuesday with more than $475,000 worth of school supplies and energy education kits in one evening. The free supplies picked up by the educators from disadvantaged schools were then distributed to students in their classrooms to help them be better prepared to learn and have the dignity of owning these basic items.
  • For the third year, Ameren Missouri provided a $25,000 challenge grant to help SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital maximize its fundraiser on Giving Tuesday (Nov. 30). In total, the hospital raised $75,000 in donations, which will help fund needed health care services for children throughout the region.
  • Employment Connection of St. Louis was also a recipient of a $50,000 challenge grant, used to increase donations on Giving Tuesday. Donations will support resume and interviewing coaching, housing assistance, clothing assistance, transportation, counseling and other services to help people successfully secure a job.

“We are very fortunate to have Ameren’s support to elevate our giving campaign so more people can find living wage work,” said Sal Martinez, CEO at Employment Connection. “By helping our clients overcome challenges, like access to transportation and professional clothing, we’re not only helping them get jobs – we’re helping the whole region’s economy grow. We appreciate that Ameren shares this vision for improving our economy through employability and are excited to be able to help more clients have a brighter new year.”

Ameren and its employees are continuing their longtime support of the Salvation Army through a $95,000 corporate donation, employee Red Kettle bell ringers, and an Angel Tree that provides gifts to children across the region. Ameren is also sponsoring the Festival of Lights at downtown's Kiener Plaza. 

St. Louis residents also celebrated the return of Ameren’s renamed "Thanks for Giving" Parade on Thanksgiving Day. As part of the company’s efforts to address food insecurity in the region, Ameren is matching, dollar for dollar, all donations up to $200,000 to provide meals for families in 26 counties in Missouri and Illinois served by the St. Louis Area Foodbank. To make a donation, simply Text Food4All to 314-860-6225 or visit www.stlfoodbank.org/Food4All to donate to the Foodbank. Last year's virtual Thanksgiving Day Parade raised more than $400,000.

As part of the fabric of its culture and community commitment, corporate giving and employee outreach are year-long activities at Ameren, and the company is on target to donate more than $10 million in cash philanthropy plus another million in salvaged materials to regional nonprofits in 2021. These grants help to address critical human needs, improve education persistence for children and job readiness for young adults, and revitalize and grow the regional economy. In addition, the company annually participates in a co-worker giving campaign for the United Way. This year, Ameren co-workers pledged more than $1.8 million to United Way chapters in both Missouri and Illinois for a total of nearly $22 million over the last decade.

About Ameren Corporation
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 services, as well as natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois operates a rate-regulated electric transmission business in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. For more information, visit Ameren.com, or follow us on Twitter at @AmerenCorp, Facebook.com/AmerenCorp, or LinkedIn.com/company/Ameren.