Annie Malone Children and Family Services is postponing its annual parade for a second year in a row, citing financial hardships and a need to focus on renovating its buildings.
Instead, the organization will host the Annie Malone May Day Community Festival & Talent Showcase on May 17. Last year's festivities were scheduled for May 18, two days after the spring tornado devastated neighborhoods across St. Louis, primarily in north city.
No groups or organizations signed up for this year's parade after what leaders described as a draining year, as north St. Louis groups put all of their resources into tornado recovery efforts, said Annie Malone Children and Family Services board President Pam Boyd.
"Organizations were so busy, they're still out here, busy trying to service people," said Boyd, who represents the city's 13th Ward on the Board of Aldermen. "I'm just being honest, their thoughts wasn't on registering for a parade, their thoughts was like, how many people can I help, how many homes can we fix?"
The festival will include a marketplace for local vendors, a judged competition and opportunities to support the organization.
Boyd said the plan is to hold the parade next spring. The parade, which began in 1910, is the second-largest African American parade in the country. Annie Malone leaders hope the festival subsidizes what the organization would get from the parade.
The organization has also started a capital campaign that will raise money to repair the historic building that houses its headquarters and the old nursing quarters next door.
The building, constructed in 1922, faced significant structural challenges that existed before the May tornado, including an outdated boiler, old piping, lead and asbestos. The mansion is designated as a historic building, meaning renovations would have to follow strict codes to keep it in compliance.
"It would take $50 million to bring this building back up to standards, and that was before the tornado came," Boyd said.
The tornado and cold temperatures this winter led to additional costs that the organization is raising money to address.
"When we don't have a lot of unrestricted funds, it becomes draining on the organization," said Gyasi Haynes, vice chair of the board.
Staff members who previously worked in the historic mansion have been moved to the organization's crisis building off Page Boulevard.
The organization is also hoping to upgrade the old Black nursing quarters next door.
"Our facilities are the backbone of what we provide," Haynes said. "We need our facilities to be in not just habitable, but, you know, excellent conditions so that we can do what we need to do."
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