Being a part of the local community
Ranken’s commitment to outreach activities extends beyond business and industry to include its neighborhood and the local community. The College is involved in many activities that meet the needs of our surrounding community. The College has worked hard for the past 35 years to focus efforts on connecting to the community in a variety of ways. Some of these efforts include:
- Creating a beautification corridor around the College that includes approximately one square mile in the neighborhood. Ranken has undertaken projects such as planting trees and shrubs and cleaning up the local park.
- Sponsoring summer camp programs on campus
- Sponsoring education and training programs that benefit industry and the community
- Establishing a dual enrollment program with the St. Louis Public School District
- Working with the local Youth Technology Education Center, a not-for-profit educational organization near campus that provides after-school and summer programs for neighborhood children
- Participation in the annual James Miller Block Party event
- Ranken’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter sponsors a reading program for local schoolchildren
- Providing space and meeting rooms for local community projects and groups such as the St. Louis Tax Assistance programs, Junior Achievement, Weed & Seed, Better Family Life, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and Metro Vocational and Technical Assistance Program
Membership and participation in local neighborhood associations, including:
- The Vandeventer Citizens for a Better Community
- Weed & Seed, Education
- Committee of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
- The Human Development Corporation’s Network of Employment and Training Partners
- North County School Business Partnership
- Cole School Task Force
- Beckett Park Neighborhood Group
- Fountain Park, Lewis Place, and Fairfax Court
Ranken Community Development Corporation
Ranken also builds affordable housing near its main campus. To learn more about the Ranken Community Development Corporation, click here.