Congratulations to the 2022 Local Advocate of the Year!

Empower Missouri is renewing the tradition of recognizing the hard work of outstanding anti-poverty advocates across the state at our annual Advocacy Awards Brunch, to be held on Saturday, June 11th, at 11AM at the Piper Palm House in St. Louis. (The 2023 brunch will be held in Kansas City.) We have an exciting group of awardees to be honored. Today we’re highlighting the Local Advocate of the Year, Shana Poole-Young.

About Shana Poole-Young

Ms. Shana Alicia Poole-Jones is a 43 year old African American who has passion for her community. Ms. Poole-Jones is the Founder/CEO of Keep Pushing, Inc. As a lupus survivor, Ms. Poole-Jones has dedicated her life to utilizing her knack for overcoming adversities to help her clients transition back into homes.

Ms. Poole-Jones wears so many hats with a background in marketing, business management, customer relations, veterinary technician, and service canine training. With her experiences and education combined, she strategically developed a platform for her community to network and come together to help those in need. She operates a community action nonprofit where her mission is “to provide and be dedicated to connecting the community to resources to help them transition back into homes.” 

Her community service is her lifestyle. Ms. Poole-Jones is confident, there is no task too big she and her team cannot handle. Her favorite quote, from John Carmack, is “A strong team can take any vision and turn it into reality.”

From the Nominator:

Working with MapleGOOD, Shana Poole-Jones worked hard to ensure that people in the Maplewood area have had access to healthy food throughout the pandemic. They worked to modify ordinances to allow for mini pantries around the community, and established pantries to provide weekly food distributions. Through this community led effort individuals experiencing chronic homelessness have been identified and connected to supports. Shana has recently been elected to the Maplewood City Council with a commitment to continue to expand services provided by or facilitated by the city to residents and those community members traveling through.

Over the coming days we will be announcing more 2022 Advocacy Award recipients. They will be honored at our Advocacy Awards Brunch, to be held on Saturday, June 11th, at 11AM at the Piper Palm House in St. Louis. If you’d like to join us to celebrate the amazing work of these advocates, you can learn more and purchase your tickets aquí.