Empower Missouri has been around since 1901. One hundred twenty-five years is a long time—long enough for generations to come and go, for laws to change, communities to grow, and new challenges to emerge. Long enough for thousands of volunteers to give their time, energy, and voices to building a better state. This work has never belonged to an organization alone. It has always belonged to people.
It all began with Empower Missouri’s 41 founders, who came together in 1901 to tackle the pressing social challenges of their time. Every year since, neighbors gathered around kitchen tables to discuss the issues shaping their communities. Advocates wrote letters, attended meetings, and spoke up when something wasn’t right. Supporters invested in a future they believed in. We don’t have to imagine what ordinary people coming together can accomplish in more than a century — we know.
A Simple Way to Honor a Big Legacy
This ongoing commitment across generations is what we honor in our 125th year, and it’s the same spirit that inspires us today. Milestones like this invite us to reflect on the people who came before us, and to ask: how can we carry their work forward for the next generation?
As I thought about that question, I found myself inspired to increase my own monthly gift to $12.50. It felt like a small but meaningful way to say thank you and to help ensure this work — shaped by so many hands over so many years — continues for decades to come.
Now, we’re inviting our supporters to do the same through our 125 for 125 campaign. Give $125 all at once, or join as a monthly donor with a gift of $12.50 or more per month starting in March. The first 125 supporters will receive a commemorative Empower Missouri car magnet as a thank-you (see the image below!) A small reminder that each gift is part of a much bigger story.
Hacer clic aquí to make your gift now.
Write the Next Chapter
Living to 125, or for an organization to actualize 125 years of service, is no easy feat. Empower Missouri persists only because the people of our state keep showing up. It is people like us who can continue building a Missouri where ordinary people make extraordinary change possible.
As Elsa Wade Williamson, MASW (Empower Missouri) President in 1954, wrote:
“…belonging to MASW is not a one-way street. What we invest is time, thought, and a little money. What we receive is something far greater — the satisfaction and the joy that come from working with like-minded people in all parts of Missouri for the things we could never accomplish as separate, unorganized individuals. I invite all of us to work hard this year because the work needs doing, because I believe we shall be happy doing it, and because I think MASW is an integral part of our way of life.”
Together we can write the next chapter of this 125-year legacy.
Hacer clic aquí to join the campaign.
Or mail your gift to:
Empoderar a Missouri
P.O Box 104900
Jefferson City, MO 65110
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