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"Equalizing Life Chances for All People" is the mission of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. and to fulfill our mission we promote, encourage, assist, and engage in a wide variety of activities to improve the social and economic conditions and opportunities for African-Americans and other minority groups in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Clair County, Illinois The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. is a charitable, community service agency, governed by an interracial board of directors and operated by an interracial staff.

Too often grocery stores and restaurants find themselves throwing out food, when there is great need in nearby communities. MEANS Database modernizes food recovery in 48 states and the District of Columbia by connecting excess food to organizations and individuals who need it. Hunger lingers in the lives of the people it affects. In infants and toddlers, food insecurity is associated with failure to thrive, a devastating condition with consequences into adulthood (1). In early childhood, hunger is associated with diminished academic progress, more behavioral problems and unhealthy weight (2). By high school, it's linked with dropping out, and by early adulthood, with having children who also face hunger, the cycle starts over again (3). Food insecurity exists in every American demographic and geography, affecting every population tracked by the US Census. However, as it seems for every other social ill, the most rural, the most urban, and minorities in any location bear a disproportionate burden of the weight of hunger. While 12.7% of American families are food insecure, the rate for Black and Latino families are each about 20% (4). Jefferson County, Mississippi, is a study in these disparities: it has the highest percentage of black residents of any American county, and also holds the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of food insecurity in the United States, with nearly 38% of residents facing hunger (5). Meanwhile, while more than 42 million Americans rely on food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency food providers to feed their families, the United States grapples with an massive food waste problem. Forty percent of the American food supply ends up in landfills, with perfectly edible meals being thrown away at all stages of production (7). Food is the single largest contributor to landfill and incinerator mass in the United States, choking the nation's air while 1 in 8 Americans face food insecurity (8). Further complicating this feast and famine dynamic is the uncomfortable truth that even programs meant to address hunger frequently end up wasting food. The issue we are tackling with MEANS is huge: we're trying to prevent food waste and adequately address the problem of hunger. The USDA reports that 48.1 million Americans live in food-insecure households, while Feeding America says that 70 billion pounds of food are wasted in the US each year (8). This task may seem daunting, but we know that through the use of innovative technology like ours, we can help to change the future of food recovery. MEANS (Matching Excess And Need for Stability) is an online communications platform for emergency food providers and their donors. On a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone, agencies create an account with MEANS, registering their contact information, location, the kind(s) of foods they are searching for, and the distance they are willing or able to travel to pick up those goods. Donors post their excess goods on MEANS, and the system emails and/or texts organizations nearby that need those goods. Our tool substantially reduces the communications gap between emergency food providers and their donors, preventing "donation dumping" on both sides. MEANS was designed to handle both traditional food donations, from grocery stores or caterers, and donations between emergency food providers. There is no charge for any of our organization's services, for nonprofit agencies or retailers. Citations: 1) Kersten, Hans B. and Bennett, David (2012) "A Multidisciplinary Team Experience with Food Insecurity & Failure to Thrive," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 6. 2) Jyoti, Diana F.; Frongillo, Edward A.; and Jones, Sonya J. (2005) "Food Insecurity Affects School Children's Academic Performance, Weight Gain, and Social Skills" The Journal of Nutrition vol. 135 no. 12 2831-2839. 3)"Changing the Picture of Education in America: Communities in Schools Spring 2014 Impact Report" (2014) 4) USDA (2015). "Food Security Status of U.S. Households in 2015" 5) Feeding America (2016). "Map the Meal Gap 2016" 7) Gunders, Dana (2012). "Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill" 8) Feeding America (ND), "Food Waste In America"

Since 1939, Global Refuge (formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) has provided welcome and hope to more than three quarters of a million refugees. We are transforming lives and empowering New Americans with support and resources to begin anew. Our legacy of compassionate service has made a difference in the lives of more than 750,000 people who have sought safety and hope in America’s communities. Our history reflects our own deep immigrant roots and passionate commitment to welcoming newcomers, especially those who are most in need.

The South Africa Development Fund is a tax-exempt public charity directed by South Africans who have a vast knowledge of the issues in their country and strong ties to the United States. Since 1985, the organization has facilitated cooperation between concerned Americans and South Africans to enhance social and economic justice in South Africa. SADF works in partnership with organizations that promote grassroots activism and provide services and resources to communities disadvantaged by decades of apartheid policies. The organization is particularly committed to projects that provide services and opportunities for the next generation of South Africans. Formerly known as Fund for a Free South Africa (FreeSA).

CID's mission is to support the production and distribution of high quality independently produced documentaries and the filmmakers who create them. The cooperative arrangement between CID and independent film and video producers is unique. Once involved in a project, CID becomes totally committed to its successful completion by working with producers at all phases including helping to raise and manage project funds and offer creative, technical, and distribution support. We promote our films through our website (396,000 visitors this year) and social media (7000 friends and followers). CID also provides professional development programs and collaborates with other organizations on initiatives that strengthen the production environment for independent filmmakers including offering monthly workshops, a weeklong retreat seminar for 10 filmmakers held each summer in Vermont, and the pride of the ocean film festival and seminars which provide a unique resource for LGBT filmmakers. CID works with filmmakers from all regions of the country. A total of 142 films are currently in the development and production phases. The demographics of the filmmakers and the subject matter of their films are equally diverse. CID films have been seen on PBS as part of American Masters, American Experience, Independent Lens and POV, received national cablecasts from HBO, Sundance, Discovery and Logo channels, and have appeared at every major film festival receiving awards from Emmy’s to the Peabody.

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice. We work to hold our political institutions and laws accountable to the twin American ideals of democracy and equal justice for all. The Center's work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from ending mass incarceration to preserving Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism. Part think tank, part advocacy group, part cutting-edge communications hub, we start with rigorous research. We craft innovative policies. And we fight for them — in Congress and the states, the courts, and in the court of public opinion.

SisterSong’s mission is to amplify and strengthen the collective voices of indigenous women and women of color to achieve Reproductive Justice (RJ) by eradicating reproductive oppression and securing human rights. RJ is the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, choose when and how to have children or not, and parent in safety with adequate resources. RJ centers the needs and leadership of the most marginalized and the intersections of oppressions. The first RJ organization founded to build the movement, SisterSong includes and represents Indigenous, African American, Asian and Pacific Islander, Arab and Middle Eastern, Latinx, and queer women and trans people. A top RJ thought leader, trainer, organizer, and collaboration facilitator, our focus is Southern and national.

UnidosUS (formerly NCLR)—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations, UnidosUS reaches millions of Hispanics each year in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. To achieve its mission, UnidosUS conducts applied research, policy analysis, and advocacy, providing a Latino perspective in five key areas—assets/investments, civil rights/immigration, education, employment and economic status, and health. In addition, it provides capacity-building assistance to its Affiliates who work at the state and local level to advance opportunities for individuals and families.

We are a non-partisan non-profit using the law to build collective power and advance a bold, vibrant democracy for all people. We are committed to an overarching philosophy of inclusion: we believe that achieving the promise of democracy requires all of us and we seek to empower the broad and diverse range of people who make up the very fabric of our democracy with tools to ensure that their voices are heard and their needs are met. We ensure that unlawful policies that harm people and that undermine the very foundational values of American democracy are met with effective legal opposition and that the public is educated and informed about these issues. We take the long view, identifying opportunities even in challenging landscapes to propel progress toward a just and inclusive society.

Our mission is to provide opportunities for higher education without regard to race, religion, or nation of birth. We currently have 47 ECE Scholars enrolled in 6 partner universities in Nashville, TN. Criteria for our scholarships include a B average, a documented financial need, a definite career goal, and a legal status of undocumented or DACA as these students are not eligible for student loans, federal aid, and cannot attend any state colleges as an in state resident. We provide each scholar with two mentors, one an older student at their university and the other an established individual in their career goal to offer guidance, support, and guaranteed professional success post college. We believe that we are granting our scholars an equal chance to achieve their American Dream and become productive members of society through a college degree.

We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to: (1) Reshape the attitudes of society so that people with disabilities can more fully participate in and contribute to society, and (2) Empower people with disabilities to achieve as much of the American Dream as their abilities and efforts permit. RespectAbility was founded to correct and prevent the current disparity of justice for people with disabilities. We are a stronger community when we live up to our values -- when we are welcoming, diverse, moral, and respect one another. People with disabilities and their families have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else, even if they face different challenges. Together we can build a more just and inclusive community where our children, parents, grandparents, and other family and friends with and without disabilities have an equal opportunity to succeed.

Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) was created in 2001 in response to the HIV crisis in western Kenya. It is built on a partnership between Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and the Moi University School of Medicine in Eldoret, Kenya, and a consortium of North American academic health centers, led by Indiana University. The partners joined forces to create one of Africa's largest, most comprehensive and effective HIV/AIDS management and control systems. AMPATH is a formal partner with the United States government through a $75 million grant from USAID and has continually expanded its successful HIV approach to into a more comprehensive primary health care system. With a tri-partite mission of care, education, and research, AMPATH provides healthcare services to a population of 3.5 million people in western Kenya and focuses on improving the health and wellbeing of the entire population-leaving no one behind.