4theVille

What your support makes possible

4theVille is building community power through culture, place, and people — creating experiences that honor The Ville’s legacy while strengthening what neighbors need right now.

In 2025, supporters helped us deliver:

More access to The Ville’s history — told with care and pride

• Hosted 50 walking, bus, and biking tours reaching 1,000+ people — from students to elders — sharing the story of Black excellence rooted in The Ville.

• Expanded our tour offerings with new experiences, including the Story of Black Healthcare, a downtown walking tour, and our first riverboat tour.

More paid pathways for community storytellers

• Launched a docent apprenticeship program to train local history interpreters (“Memory Tellers”) and expand community-led storytelling.

• Graduated our first cohort after 6 months of training and 14 workshops — and they created their first original tour: The Cost of the Crown.

More youth leadership and institutional pride at Sumner High

• Continued strengthening the Sumner Museum Studies Program with partners — supporting students to earn major recognition through National History Day, including representation in Washington, DC.

More stability and care after crisis

• After the May 16 tornado, we turned our Cultural Boulevard info center into an emergency relief hub with partners — providing rapid-response support and staying engaged in recovery beyond the initial moment.

• Created spaces for healing and joy during recovery through storytelling, public art, wellness moments, and community gatherings — because rebuilding is emotional and cultural, not only physical.

The behind-the-scenes work that makes the public work possible

To sustain these community outcomes long-term, we also strengthened the internal capacity needed to keep showing up:

• Published a new 3-year strategic plan focused on sustainability, placekeeping, and cultural tourism.

• Opened the Cultural Boulevard info center as a public-facing home for sharing planning progress and staying connected with neighbors.

• Began co-designing a place governance structure so community-led revitalization remains accountable to residents.

• Expanded staff capacity to deepen cultural heritage work and neighborhood engagement.

With your support, we will:

• Expand cultural tourism and storytelling so more people experience The Ville’s history — and more local residents can earn income as trained Memory Tellers.

• Grow youth pathways through Sumner by sustaining programming that builds skills, pride, and public recognition for students — and reinforces Sumner as a living institution in the community.

• Advance Cultural Boulevard work on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive by sharing progress, hosting community touchpoints, and helping turn plans into visible corridor improvements.

• Help our neighbors continue to recover and rebuild after the May 16 tornado, staying present beyond the first wave of crisis response as long-term needs remain.

• Finalize and begin implementing a place governance structure so revitalization is guided by residents and rooted in dignity, accountability, and community power.

Why support is still needed:

The same systems that extracted wealth and opportunity from historically Black neighborhoods still shape what resources reach North St. Louis today. Donors make it possible for 4theVille to stay consistent and community-rooted: keeping programs accessible, keeping doors open, paying community educators and storytellers, and showing up when neighbors need stability most.

Your gift helps turn legacy into lived reality — and ensures The Ville’s future is shaped by the people who call it home.