In the past two weeks, Angels’ Arms has been invited to FOUR check presentation ceremonies! All of these amazing local businesses have supported Angels’ Arms through profit shares or grants. We truly cannot thank our community enough for the love they show our families. We couldn’t do what we do without their help.

Tapped

Cardinals Care

The Cup

Kiwanis Major Gift Award

With our largest fundraiser only two months away, we want to keep everything smooth sailing. This year, we are trying to get our silent auction baskets done early, but we could use some help!

Do you frequent Home Goods, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx or Target?

We need items to complete our baking and home decor baskets. Anything from kitchen utensils, pots/pans, serving platters/dishes, dish towels, etc. would be a great addition. Also, any home decor items such as frames, candles, throw blankets/pillow and lamps would work. Check the clearance aisles!

Are you animal lover and frequent local pet stores/boutiques?

Help us build awesome doggy/kitty baskets with items such as leashes, bowls, food, tags, crates, accessories, grooming certificates, etc.

Not a shopper but you are a season ticket holder of Cardinals, Blues, Mizzou, Billikens tickets?

We could use tickets to complete some of our sports baskets. If you are willing to donate a pair of your tickets for the 2019/2020 seasons, we would LOVE that! All donations are tax deductible.

For my ideas for what we need for baskets, click the Basket Theme Ideas 2019 PDF and peruse the list of basket ideas until you find one that’s right for you! The deadline to enter the raffle by donating anything to the auction is September 20th! Please have any and all contributions to us by that date in order to ensure the item(s) will be included in the baskets! Can’t get to the store to look for items? No worries! We have an Amazon Wish List for items we need for the auction; just a couple clicks, and you’ve helped more than you can imagine!

If you are able to get any of these items for us, contact Maria Chandler at 314-842-8400 or maria@angelsarms.org to coordinate drop off/pick up times.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Earlier this summer, our LaunchPad was completely remodeled by the amazing architecture firm Ottolino Winters Huebner. They gave the apartment a whole new makeover including painting the walls a chic gray as well as picking out stylish and modern furniture. They made it not only pleasing to the eye, but also functional beyond belief. A cozy gray couch welcomes out as you first walk into the room; in the back right, a beautiful sitting room with a large window to gaze out at the yard; last but not least, beautifully redone bedrooms that will make you feel right at home. Our LaunchPad is a transitional apartment for those who will be aging out of foster care in the near future. We wanted to give them a place they could call their own! We could not be more grateful to our friends at Ottolino Winters Huebner for the beautiful remodel. Oh, did we mention they did it for free and out of the kindness of their hearts? Truly amazing people. 

Before:

After:

On average, babies and young children go through 5-10 diapers per day. We have several houses with multiple diaper-aged children living there. There is also a possibility we are adding another diaper-aged child to the Angels’ Arms family, therefore we need your help! Below is a link to our Amazon wishlist for the needs of our families; included in this list are all of the sizes of our diaper-aged children. When you buy from this list, the item will be sent to our office then we will deliver it to the family who needs it most. Amazon has made donating to non-profits so easy – it only takes a couple of clicks and you can help someone more than you can imagine. If you have the means, please consider donating to our wonderful families.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/MM03I3IICUFB?&sort=default

Over the weekend, our Junior Board held our annual BBQ for all of our foster families. We grilled, played and laughed. On top of that, the kids were given a very special surprise. Sneakers with Soul is an organization dedicated to positively impacting children in the greater St. Louis area; their mission is to ensure that one day no child will go back to school without a new pair of shoes. Maurice “Moe” Parisien, the founder and president of Sneakers with Soul, and his wife joined us at the BBQ where he made sure all of the new Adidas shoes fit our kids just right. We were blown away by the generosity of Moe and his organization. “Thanks so much for this generous donation,” one of our foster parents exclaimed. “The kids LOVE their new kicks!” There’s something special about a brand-new pair of tennis shoes to start off a new school year.

Over the past few days, we have witnessed an outpouring of support from our community for our foster children. Going back to school can be stressful for foster children, and we wanted to make the transition from summer break to a new school year as easy as possible for our families. Our Back-to-School clothing drive fundraiser exceeded our $6,000 goal in only three short days; because of these donations our kids will be able to pick out brand new clothes for the upcoming school year.

Aside from the clothing drive, several groups and organizations donated backpacks, school supplies, shoes as well as clothes, which will help our kids walk into their new classrooms with confidence and a ready-to-learn attitude.

We want to extend our immense gratitude to the following people and organizations:

Linda Robben with RedKey Reality for making a matching contribution for the first $1,500 raised for the Back-to-School clothing drive. Also, to Jennifer Wallner for using her Facebook birthday fundraiser to support the clothing drive. And last but certainly not least, Nick Matlock for getting his donation matched by his employer, helping us surpass our goal.

The Crossing Church who collected 20 new backpacks, filled to the brim with supplies, to give to our kids.

Distribution Management for donating countless school supplies such as notebooks, binders, pens and pencils among other must-have supplies for a successful school year.

Sophia Chrysler and Clothes4Confidence for putting together gift bags for the children. Each gift bag contained new school clothes for the kids that donors personally bought.

We truly couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for your continued support!

Before saying goodbye to sweet summer time, say hello to a tasty new treat. The Cup, St. Louis’ Original Bakery, will be selling limited-edition “back to school” cupcakes from August 12th-24th. These special cupcakes will feature a french vanilla cake with multi-color and alphabet sprinkles, vanilla buttercream and a school themed ring topper. Besides being delicious, these cupcakes have a dual purpose – 20% of every “back to school” cupcake sold will benefit Angels’ Arms. Also, when you buy a “back to school” cupcake in store or online, you will be entered into a raffle for a $50 CUP gift card. Both the Central West End and Edwardsville, Illinois locations will be participating in the promotion. Indulge yourself with a hand-crafted cupcake and enjoy the last few days before homework and carpools.

We’ve spent many weeks preparing our Angels’ Arms home in Shaw Park for a new foster family. There were numerous volunteers who dedicated their time to painting, cleaning, organizing and assembling furniture for the Jewett family. Foster Mom, Brittnay, and the four children in her care are thrilled to have a new place to call home.

The move was made possible by our wonderful friends at Two Men and a Truck. In addition, dozens of supporters answered our call for help and donated beds, rugs, and toys to help furnish the bedrooms for the children. Special thanks to The Wallner Team for loaning us their moving truck so that we could pick up all the donations.

It has truly been a community effort and we are so grateful to everyone who lent a helping hand to make the Jewett family feel welcome and supported. It’s true when they say, “it takes a village”.

We’re growing our team and seeking a Communications Coordinator. This is a newly created position that is solely dedicated to communications.  The ideal candidate for this job is creative and can operate effectively and efficiently in a fast-paced environment. A positive, can-do attitude with strong self-initiative and the ability to multi-task with staff are essential to the success of this position.

The Communications Coordinator is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the organization’s communications, marketing, social media, and public relations activities while supporting internal team members.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• Produce content for our key audiences via website, social media, email marketing, and print marketing.
• Coordinate the design and production of all marketing materials and messaging for key programs and events.
• Implement a new strategic marketing and social media plan.
• Write and edit copy for Angels’ Arms marketing materials.
• Work with website developer to update website design and content.
• Coordinate the design and production of all materials to support fundraising efforts such as sponsorship decks and outreach materials.
• Assist with the design and distribution of event-branded materials and supplies.
• Monitor all communications and fundraising efforts, internal and external, to ensure the consistency of brand messaging.
• Maintain and update the Angels’ Arms photo database.
• Generate new angles and ideas to promote support and awareness of our mission.
• Create and manage social media editorial calendar.
• Develop channel-specific, timely content, and campaigns.
• Actively monitor and engage with our community on social media to drive engagement, support, and awareness of Angels’ Arms.
• Create and host live-streamed social media events, as needed.
• Monitor and analyze social media data and create a monthly insights report as a way to improve messaging and outreach.
• Stay on top of emerging social media trends and other social channels; analyze and report opportunities for growth.
• Assist in the creation and distribution of press releases and serve as a media point of contact.
• Attend and participate in public speaking engagements.
• Manage the Angels’ Arms swag inventory and order new items as needed.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or a related field.
• 1 – 2 years of experience in marketing, communications and/or social media management role.
• High level of proficiency using all Microsoft Office applications.
• Experience with managing an organization’s social media accounts including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
• Knowledge of Photoshop, InDesign, iMovie, Canva, Constant Contact, and WordPress a plus but not required.

Skills and abilities:

• Exceptional writing and editing skills.
• Must be able to communicate clearly and effectively.
• Ability to prioritize multiple projects.
• Strong time-management and organizational skills.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

Salary range: 
$35,000-$38,000, plus health, retirement, vacation and life insurance benefits.

To apply:

Please send a cover letter and resume to Jasmina Schue at jasmina@angelsarms.org. This full-time position is based out of the Angels’ Arms office in South St. Louis County (12128A Tesson Ferry Rd., St. Louis, MO 63128).