Bank of America awards $450,000 to community groups, individuals

Bank of America’s charitable foundation will recognize two St. Louis organizations and 10 individuals Thursday with Neighborhood Excellence Initiative awards.

Two groups will get grants of $200,000 each. They are:

• Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, which aims to revitalize the physical and social environment in the Old North St. Louis community. The group will use the money to expand its office and, community meeting space, to upgrade technology and to assist in buying strategic property.
• Teach for America, which works with disadvantaged students. The St. Louis chapter will use the grant to get closer to its goal of bringing 200 recent college graduates here to teach 17,000 of the region’s lowest income students by 2010.

The group also recognized five “local heroes,” who get grants of $5,000 each. They are:

• Roberta Cohen, who has helped raise more than $14 million for nonprofit organizations. She will direct her grant to the St. Louis Crisis Nursery.
• Susan Geldmacher, a community advocate, educator, social worker and urban planner. She is directing her grant to St. Elizabeth Academy.
• Steve Ippolito, parish council president of St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, who will direct his grant to Soulard Oktoberfest Benevolent Association.
• Martin McClimens, a volunteer with Rebuilding Together St. Louis, which will benefit from his grant.
• Dorothy Neals, who has spent 28 summers working with the NCAA National Youth Sports program at Harris-Stowe State University. She will donate her grant to National Association of University Women.

Five student leaders also were recognized for their interest in improving their neighborhoods. They each had a paid eight-week summer internship with a community-based organization as well as leadership training and community service activities. They are:

• Nergis Cavitt, a graduate of Gateway Institute of Technology High School, who was an intern with DeSales Community Housing Corp.
• John Jabouri, a graduate of Chaminade College Preparatory School, who was an intern with Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County.
• Ariana Mooradian, a student at Mary Institute Country Day School, who interned with the American Red Cross.
• Steven Robinson, a graduate of St. John Vianney High School, who was an intern with the YMCA in Kirkwood.
• Greg Zahner of Ladue Horton Watkins High School, who interned at St. Patrick Center.

The bank began the awards program in 2004. This year, it is committing $20 million to the program, which operates in 44 of the bank’s major markets.

The awards will be made Thursday night in an event at the Sheldon Concert Hall.