Help Reduce Violent Crime in St. Louis
By Donna Vandiver, President & CEO
TVG employees had a day of community service this year on Martin Luther King Day. Over the past several years, TVG has worked closely with the St. Louis Initiative to Reduce Violence (SIRV) to donate our time and services. Given the recent news that the FBI has ranked St. Louis number 1 in violent crime from January—June 2015 (for cities with populations over 100,000), it is now more important than ever for those of us in St. Louis to take action to reduce violent crime in our area. I chose to donate my time to this extremely important cause.
SIRV was created by Pastor B. T. Rice in 2012, after he had presided over the funerals of numerous young people who were victims of gun violence. He, along with Jim Buford, Dan Isom and Lilie Thomas make up SIRV’s executive board (the full roster of board members can be viewed on their website, SIRVstl.org). Part of our work with SIRV was to help them create a video to tell the story of individuals impacted by gun violence in St. Louis, and how SIRV is proposing holistic solutions by connecting existing programs and services to resources from community organizations, law enforcement, leaders in education, faith-based organizations and mental health experts. You can view the video, along with the corresponding GoFundMe page, here: GoFundMe.com/SIRVstl.
But, we can’t tackle this problem alone. We need you.
This organization deserves your attention, your time as a volunteer, and your donations to reduce violent crime in our area and make St. Louis a safer place for us, our children and grandchildren.
Want to learn more about SIRV and how you can help? Visit their website at SIRVstl.org. We also want to hear your ideas for making St. Louis safer. Tweet us @VandiverGroup to let us know your thoughts.