Zeta Charitable Foundation of St. Louis, Inc.

The Zeta Charitable Foundation of St. Louis was created by July of 2009 by members of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. - Xi Zeta Chapter. The Foundation works every day to accomplish it's mission of creating and supporting activities to improve the human condition by providing scholarships as well as encouraging low income mothers to seek prenatal care through our Stork's Nest program..

The Foundation awards scholarships to female high school students in the St. Louis area who are planning to attend an accredited four year college or university. To be selected for a scholarship, applicants must provide 3 letters of reference, provide documentation that they have performed a minimum of 40 hours of community service, and write an essay on the topic "Why a College Education is Important to Me." Since 2009, we have given an average of 3 - 4 scholarships to area young women each year.

The Stork's Nest is a community-based prenatal health program for low income pregnant women. The program is designed to promote prenatal care and healthy behaviors during pregnancy through two components - incentives and education. Stork's Nest clients "earn" points toward incentives, such as maternity or baby care items, as well as through a variety of positive and health promoting activities such as attending prenatal care appointments, participating in prenatal education classes, and keeping appointments for well-baby visits, etc. The Stork's Nest prenatal educational sessions, provides information and educational materials.

The Foundation funds the Stork's Nest program and seeks to increase the number of healthy births in communities by increasing the number of lower-income pregnant women receiving adequate medical care and social services during their pregnancies. This is accomplished by providing:

*Incentives (clothing and nursery items) for expectant mothers who attend prenatal care visits early and regularly, which improves their chances of having a healthy birth.
*Opportunities for pregnant women and their partners to participate in educational programs so they can make informed decisions related to prenatal health, nutrition, and parenting.
*Information and referrals to community resources, which meets their needs concerning the physical and emotional well-being of mothers and their families.