Hundreds of volunteers prepare items for the Urban League’s large-scale distribution of food, toiletries and resources drive on Saturday, May 24, 2025, at the Urban League’s Headquarters in Fountain Park. The event was sponsored by the Urban League of Metropolitan ӣƵ, and co-sponsored by the Regional Business Council, Keeley Cos., Schnucks, Emerson, the Steward Family Foundation, Coca-Cola, Edward Jones, DOT, WWT, the ӣƵ Area Foodbank, and the state of Missouri.
ST. LOUIS — Many of the region’s largest companies rushed aid to ӣƵans hit by the May 16 tornado.
Centene Corp. delivered hundreds of tarps and sheets of plywood. Schnucks provided thousands of meals. Energizer Holdings donated thousands of batteries and flashlights.
Now some city leaders are looking to the region’s biggest business and charitable players to help with rebuilding efforts.
“We need our federal government to step in,” Board of Aldermen President Megan Green said at a news conference last week. “But I’m also asking our corporate and philanthropic community to please be in this with us for the long-term.”
Green said the city couldn’t shoulder the burden on its own.
The tornado displaced hundreds of residents and damaged thousands of buildings. City Hall estimates rebuilding will cost at least $500 million — but city funds are limited, and federal aid from FEMA is uncertain.
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A high number of uninsured homeowners also complicates rebuilding efforts. On some battered north ӣƵ blocks, 7 in 10 homeowners likely lack insurance, the Post-Dispatch reported Sunday.
State Rep. Del Taylor of ӣƵ said there is a risk many people move away after the storm.
Taylor’s district includes most of the Academy/Sherman Park neighborhood, one of the hardest-hit areas in the city, which already had a high degree of vacancy before the tornado.
Taylor said leaders will need to define and implement a solution that includes long-term housing.
“Where are people permanently going to live? And how are we going to ensure that ӣƵ is settled, occupied after this disaster?” he asked.
He said the corporate community can play a role in coming up with a solution that addresses housing needs, including the need for immediate low-income housing.
Kendall Campbell, with Fred Weber, uses an excavator to clear tornado debris Wednesday, May 28, 2025, along Farlin Avenue in the O’Fallon neighborhood of ӣƵ.
“We greatly need them to play a role,” Taylor said. “We appreciate them playing a role.”
Dustin Allison, the interim CEO of Greater ӣƵ Inc., the region’s main business lobby, said in a statement this week that “the business community is committed to being a partner in rebuilding ӣƵ, as long as it takes.
“We will continue our work to convene the business community and our partners on ways to support long-term rebuilding efforts,” Allison said. “This will take time.”
The early help, all parties agree, won’t be nearly enough.
Aid so far
The ӣƵ region 17 Fortune 1000 companies. Other large companies including Anheuser-Busch InBev and Bayer have major presences here. The ӣƵ Cardinals and Blues, and ӣƵ City SC, call the city home.
Many donations from large businesses so far have gone to the United Way of Greater ӣƵ’ .
The United Way as of Friday had already released up to $350,000 to address immediate needs, the organization said in a . Funds raised will also go to long-term recovery, the group said.
A spokesperson for Emerson, based in Clayton, said this week the technology giant had made an initial pledge of $250,000 to the United Way and $250,000 to the Urban League of Metropolitan ӣƵ.
Clayton-based Centene said it delivered hundreds of sheets of plywood, 583 tarps, 3,600 pounds of woodscrews and over 1,200 2x4 wood studs for recovery efforts.
ӣƵ City SC said it was donating all proceeds from its May 23 match.
Rick Moeckel, center, with Clayco Inc., talks with local volunteer contractors as they prepare to fan out to clean up storm debris in ӣƵ on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Moeckel is leading the construction community response to the tornado damage.
In a news release, Schnucks said its teammates mobilized and began delivering assistance to affected neighborhoods within hours of the storm passing through.
After the storm, the grocer delivered thousands of free meals and sponsored the Urban League’s food, toiletries and resources distribution event this past weekend, the company said.
Anheuser-Busch it was donating an initial $100,000 to the United Way. The company said it delivered 50,000 cans of emergency drinking water with wholesaler partner Lohr Distributing.
On Thursday, the Missouri Restaurant Association announced A-B donated $500,000 to help launch a fund to help ӣƵ bars and restaurants reopen.
Clayton-based shoe manufacturer Caleres reported Thursday afternoon it had delivered over 5,200 items including diapers, food, water and personal care items to 4theVille earlier in the day. The company, No. 925 on the Fortune 1000, added it had made a donation to the ӣƵ chapter of the American Red Cross and is double-matching employee contributions.
Chesterfield-based Reinsurance Group of America, No. 223 on the most recent Fortune 1000 list, said this week its foundation had was contributing $50,000 to the American Red Cross.
Company representatives also said that RGA is hosting a company-wide donation drive to support the and the and that employees are volunteering in partnership with the Urban League.
The groups Action ӣƵ and For the Culture STL, meanwhile, are also through The People’s Response Hub.
The hub, operating between 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily at the O’Fallon Park Rec Center at 4343 W. Florissant Avenue, will operate through Saturday, to Action ӣƵ.
Workers for Keeley Construction load debris into the bucket of a skid steer on Kennerly Avenue in ӣƵ on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, as area construction companies helped clean up after the tornado.
City fund emerges
One vehicle that has emerged for long-term rebuilding is the City of ӣƵ Tornado Response Fund.
, a collaboration between the city and the ӣƵ Community Foundation, supports the city’s efforts “to provide immediate relief and long-term rebuilding of areas impacted” by the May 16 tornado, according to the ӣƵ Community Foundation, which is raising money at .
Agriculture and food ingredients company Bunge, based in Chesterfield, said last week it was donating $100,000 to the city’s fund.
The ӣƵ Community Foundation also has a separate ӣƵ Disaster Relief Fund for groups providing immediate, intermediate and long-term support to those affected by the tornado. It also lists on its website.
United Way on May 23 thanked these organizations for contributions: Ameren, American Metal Supply, Anheuser-Busch, ArchBridge Family Office, AT&T Missouri, The Cigna Group Foundation, Edward Jones, Emerson, Enterprise Mobility Foundation, Essence Healthcare, Evernorth Health Services, Goldstein Group/Alter Trading Corp., HBM Holdings, James McDonnell Foundation, KSDK 5 On Your Side, Mississippi Lime, Moneta, Nestle Purina Petcare Company, Post Holdings Inc., Regional Business Council, Spire, Steward Family Foundation, and St. Johns Bank & Trust Company and others.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article misstated the recipient of Reinsurance Group of America’s donation.
ӣƵ Mayor Cara Spencer discusses the damage across parts of north city on May 20, 2025. Video provided; edited by Beth O'Malley
