|
International
Institute of St. Louis
By Pam Droog
Next
month, a new St. Louis festival will make its debut: JuneFest
International, sponsored by the International Institute of Metro
St. Louis on June 3. This one-day celebration of ethnic diversity
will feature a parade up South Grand Boulevard, plus food, crafts
and entertainment from around the world. "We see JuneFest International
growing into a major St. Louis festival, attracting thousands
of people from all over," says Anna Crosslin, president and executive
director of the International Institute.
Similarly,
the International Institute has attracted thousands of people
from all over to St. Louis. In fact, for more than 80 years, the
staff, board of directors and volunteers at the Institute have
been building a healthier community in two critical ways: by helping
newcomers to America become productive citizens, and by promoting
public awareness of the important contribution ethnic diversity
makes to the St. Louis area's economy and quality of life.
"We
estimate refugees comprise about 10 percent of the city's population.
That's increasingly important in a city that's gone from a population
of 850,000 in 1950 to 350,000 today," Crosslin says. "Refugees
and immigrants can provide real solutions to some of the problems
our area faces." For example, neighborhoods can fill vacant housing.
Employers who were struggling to find employees because of the
low unemployment rate can find workers. In addition, notes board
chairman Linda Morice, Ph.D., assistant superintendent for personnel,
Ladue School District, "The presence of new Americans is a real
opportunity to revitalize the city, not just in terms of population
and housing and work, but also in terms of making a more interesting
city."
The
Institute's successes have a lot to do with the commitment and
quality of its energetic, 26-member board of directors.
"They
come from a variety of backgrounds," Morice says. "Generally through
their own personal experience or through their spouse's, board
members have some sensitivity to the international community in
St. Louis, and find the Institute is a worthy way of getting involved
or focusing their volunteer activities."
Board
members can serve two consecutive three-year terms. A nominating
committee recommends new members "who might lend a needed hand
or offer an interesting perspective to the mix," Morice says.
Adds Crosslin, "What we really aim at is to have a well-rounded
board with a variety of skill sets that can complement the work
of the staff at the agency."
The
board is in the final stages of its $2.5 million "New Beginnings"
capital campaign, which kicked off in late 1997 when Bank of America
donated to the International Institute a building located at 3654
South Grand, south of Gravois. The funds raised enabled the agency
to renovate the building. "We moved in late last year, and we're
already crowded in the new facility. But if you had seen how we
were literally bursting at the seams before, you'd realize what
an opportunity the new facility offers in terms of serving our
clients and adding new programs," Crosslin says.
With
the capital campaign almost behind them, Morice says the board
is starting to refocus on other issues and activities. The gala
fundraiser, which was suspended when the campaign began, may be
revived. Also, "we don't want to lose the momentum we gained through
the campaign," Morice says, so the board has begun a new development
program. One aspect of it is the "Bricks Campaign," which offers
individuals or groups personalized bricks at $200, $500 $1,000.
The bricks will be used to pave the agency's new sidewalk.
The
organization will continue to sponsor the popular three-day International
Folkfest in mid-October in Queeny Park, which annually attracts
about 12,000 visitors. In addition, the board is looking into
forming a volunteer auxiliary since the Institute depends so much
on them to plan and run the festivals, teach English as a second
language, serve as interpreters and translators and more.
|
Fast
Facts: International Institute of Metro St.
Louis
- Founded
in 1919; one of 33 private, nondenominational, charitable
immigrant services agencies operating in the U.S. today.
- Member
of United Way of Greater St. Louis.
- Provides
integrated and cost-effective adjustment services to more
than 7,000 newcomers from 25 countries annually.
- Serves
as the community's clearinghouse for information about
St. Louis' many ethnic communities by maintaining contact
with representatives of more than 300 local ethnic and
international organizations, reflecting more than 50 ethnicities.
- Since
1980, has functioned as Missouri's largest refugee resettlement
agency.
- Staff
of 80 provide counseling, resettlement, job placement
and English as a Second Language services, as well as
cross-cultural services and community outreach.
- Sponsors
two major festivals: the three-day International FolkFest,
in mid-October at Queeny Park; and the new JuneFest International,
June 3 in Tower Grove Park.
|
"The
way the world is, it's not a question of, 'Will there be refugees?'
but, "Where will they come from?' That's our struggle as a board
and an organization," Crosslin says. As a result, the Institute
has
to be flexible and ready on a moment's notice. "For example, last
summer, we put together a Kosovar program in 10 days and in one
month had 225 people arrive whom we had not expected at all,"
she says. "But that keeps things exciting around here."
Pam
Droog is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer.
|
