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Urban League to Build $500,000 Jobs Center on Former QuikTrip Site
Facility to house new workforce training center
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis has announced plans to build a new job training center on the site of the former QuikTrip convenience store at 9420 W. Florissant Avenue in Ferguson. The property was donated by QuikTrip Corporation. It had been destroyed in te rioting in the area last summer.
To be known as the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center, the facility will be the new location for the organization’s “Save Our Sons”workforce program. Announced in January, Save Our Sons offers job training and placement services for African Americans and other young men residing in Ferguson and surrounding North County communities.
“We are extremely grateful to QuikTrip Corporation for the generous donation of this property to provide the site for our new Ferguson Community Empowerment Center,” said Michael P. McMillan, president and CEO, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. “This truly is a ‘rising from the ashes’ to demonstrate how our community can work together to bring about positive change in the wake of events that have disrupted lives, prompted community unrest, and impacted the business environment.”
The $500,000 project – which already has received strong community, corporate and civic support – will also offer counseling for housing, rent and utility assistance, and mental health services. Provident, Inc. will provide the center’s mental health counseling for youth and adults.
“Our vision for the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center would not have been possible without the economic support of great partners including Ameren, Emerson, Civic Progress, the Regional Business Council (RBC) and the Centric Group, and we thank them for their tremendous generosity and community spirit,” McMillan added. “The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is about empowering communities and changing lives, and we want this Center to be a strong contributor to meet the urgent need for job placement, economic opportunity and self-sufficiency for residents of Ferguson and the surrounding North County area.”
After the former QuikTrip property is cleared, ground is expected to be broken for the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center in the spring.
