about us
Our History
Send Me St. Louis, previously known as the Faith-Based Health Care initiative, was created as a non-profit organization in 2006 to connect health care professionals from area congregations to health-related volunteer opportunities in the St. Louis region. In 2008, at the request of Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis, the Send Me St. Louis board of directors voted to expand its mission to focus on connecting Christians of all backgrounds and all interests to a variety of local volunteer opportunities. Send Me St. Louis agreed to serve as the coordinating agency in a new collaborative effort supporting Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis’s new Christian Voluntarism funding focus area.
Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis’s goal is to increase the number of Christian individuals engaged in social ministry efforts, thereby positively impacting the hurting lives of those helped and the spiritual life of the volunteer and congregation. To accomplish this, the Foundation is funding this new collaborative effort, coordinated by Send Me St. Louis, to address the following:
- Build the capacity of area Christian individual volunteers to become effectively engaged in meeting the needs of the St. Louis community,
- Build the capacity of area nonprofit organizations and congregations (particularly those located in urban communities) to effectively involve and manage volunteers, and
- Actively connect those individuals and congregations interested in community volunteer work with organizations that need them.
Collaborative partners include:
The Missouri District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to build the capacity of “people in the pews” to engage in effective volunteer service.
United Way of Greater St.Louis’ Volunteer Center to build the capacity of area organizations and congregations to effectively engage volunteers.
Lutheran Foundation chose to work with these organizations to carry out the goals, objectives, and outcomes of their new Christian voluntarism funding focus area because of their existing expertise and community connections.