We partner with nonprofit organizations, community residents with lived experiences, and BJC HealthCare's Community Health Improvement team to convene, support, and lead efforts that address individual health needs and systemic barriers to health equity. Your gift funds community programs designed to eliminate health disparities in under-resourced communities in the City of St. Louis, North St. Louis County, and rural areas. Together, we can give all people the opportunity to live their healthiest possible lives.

School Health and Wellness

With support from our donors, BJC Community Health Improvement partners with more than 50 schools and five community organizations to advance equitable health and educational outcomes through BJC's Community Wellness Hub program. The hubs offer families, adults, and children a trusted a safe place for respite, mental wellness programming, and resource connection year-round. Your philanthropic support will empower thousands of families with coping methods to improve their mental wellness each year.

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Healthy Eating Active Living

Thousands of St. Louis neighbors face food insecurity and are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each year. Through BJC's Healthy Eating Active Living initiative, we work to reduce the prevalence of chronic conditions by improving access to healthy food and providing health education. Philanthropic support advances critical BJC programs that provide food, nutrition education, access to safe spaces for physical activity, and social support to patients and their families to create long-term healthy habits.

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Improving Black Infant and Maternal Health Outcomes

Missouri has the seventh highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, with Black women 3.5 times as likely to die during pregnancy or from complications arising during childbirth compared to white women. With support from donors like you, BJC HealthCare is working to eliminate racial disparities by collaborating with community-based doulas and building clinical care teams that reflect the community it serves to help improve equity in maternal health outcomes.

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Equitable Vaccinations and Screenings

Vaccines and screenings play a pivotal role in saving lives, yet vaccination rates continue to fall below targets set by Healthy People 2030. Generous donors make it possible for BJC HealthCare to provide free flu vaccinations, year-round screening events, and other preventative services in under-resourced communities.

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New Responsive Initiatives 

Health equity is about everyone having an equal opportunity to be as healthy as possible. That means addressing the systems and structures that stand in the way of optimal health. Your support will enable us to address emerging community needs (e.g., housing security, gun safety and violence reduction, digital divide, etc.).

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Search the documents below to learn more about the areas that interest you. Discover how your generosity enriches lives, saves lives, and transforms health care.

The Foundation Awards Eight Grants to Local Nonprofits

Friday, October 20, 2023

Community Support Grants Program Awards Eight New Grants to Local Nonprofits

The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital is proud to announce the distribution of $215,500 to eight nonprofit organizations this August through our Community Support Grants Program.

Through the generous bequest of five donors who specified that the board of directors use the endowed funds for the greatest impact, the Foundation’s Community Support Grants Program was born. The program ensures investment in improving the health of our community is a priority.

“We have a long-standing commitment to improving community health beyond hospital walls, extending BJC HealthCare’s mission to improve the health and well-being of the people and communities it serves,” says Susan Ell, vice president and executive director of the Foundation. “We are so grateful to the nonprofit organizations in our community who share this mission, as well as to the generous Foundation donors who make these grants possible.”

The Foundation awards grants four times throughout the year to local nonprofit organizations focused on reducing health care disparities; fostering strong community health care networks; promoting adult health, wellness, and disease prevention in the community; and providing quality health care education. In 2022, the Community Grants Program collectively served more than 1,700 individuals across the region.


Eight New Community Grants Awarded in August

Through three award cycles in 2023, the Community Support Grant Program has awarded 21 grants totaling $668,599. The eight organizations to receive grants during this most recent round are:

  • Alive

Support of emergency transportation for clients to a safe shelter or relocating to homes away from their abusers

  • Cancer Support Community of Greater St. Louis

Support of educational workshops, support groups, and resources for people impacted by cancer

  • Gateway to Hope

Support of community outreach, patient navigation through screening and treatment, and community education for patients in North St. Louis City and North St. Louis County actively undergoing breast cancer treatment

  • Health Protection & Education Services

Support to integrate immigrants into the health system by hosting health screenings onsite at places where Chinese, Spanish, Russian, and other immigrants work

  • Our Lady’s Inn Nursing Program

Support for unhoused pregnant women and their children and support of perinatal nursing care, education, training, and advocacy

  • Services by Design (Caring Solutions)

Support for advocacy of and education for individuals with developmental disabilities to provide the skills that lead to independent and fulfilling lives

  • St. Louis Health Equipment Lending Program

Support of HELP HUBs in the City of St. Louis, providing free recycled home medical equipment to those in need

  • Support Dogs (Duo Dogs)

Support of the Touch Therapy Dog program, providing comfort to individuals in health care and educational settings

If your organization would like to request support through our Community Support Grants Program, please submit an application through our Grant Opportunity Web Portal. Applications are accepted throughout the year and are reviewed on a quarterly basis.

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