raacommittee.org

"Working Together to Strengthen Low-Income Communities"

After learning of the limitations imposed on Head Start programs in regards to voter registration and education, Rose Eichelberger, then a parent representative on the YWCA St. Louis Head Start/Early Head Start Policy Council, created R.A.A.! - Ready, Aim, Advocate! Committee. We are a non-profit, non-partisan committee whose main focus is advocacy, volunteerism, goal setting, life skills training and education, and voter education in low-income communities.

In 2007, R.A.A.! presented its educational workshop, "Know Your Vote", to several local Head Start facilities and churches. As a result, we were able to get over 300 new voters registered and to the polls during the November 2007 elections. Our work continued and expanded throughout 2008 with a series of workshops on Advocacy, Financial Literacy, Job Readiness, and Being a Volunteer; voter registration drives; and guest speaker spotlights. We accomplished our goal for 2009 and increased the number of families we mentor and assist through our programs and services. In 2010, we began actively promoting our customizable Life Enhancement Action Planning (L.E.A.P.) Program in the communities and launched our new Forward Leaping Youth (F.L.Y.) Program.

Our member base consists of Head Start and other low-income community representatives, individuals from the business community, plus our "junior" members representing the youth. We invite anyone that shares our common goals to participate.

R.A.A.! is the coordinating organization for the Jennings/North Central St. Louis Community Response Team; and a member of St. Louis Equal Housing & Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA); Missourians to End Poverty (MEP); the St. Louis Regional Unbanked Task Force; and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Our Organizer/Founder

Rose Eichelberger

Rose Eichelberger is our founder, executive director and community involvement coordinator. Driven by a need to help others, she volunteers countless hours to various programs, organizations, and the individuals and families she mentors. She loves writing poetry and short stories, spending time with her grandchildren, and learning and living according to the Word of God.

Rose is a member, former Treasurer, former Vice-Chair, and current Chair of the Community Action Agency of St. Louis County (CAASTLC) Board of Directors; team coordinator for the Jennings/North Central St. Louis Community Resource Team (CRT); Social Services Ministry Director, and Health Unit Supervisor at Mt. Bethel M.B. Church. And when those aren't keeping her busy, she's a member of Lincoln University Coopertive Extension's Advisory Council; Jennings Parents As Teachers' Parent & Community Advisory Councils; YWCA St. Louis Head Start's Social Services Committee; and East-West Gateway Council's Community Resource Committee. And even though she resigned from the YWCA Metro St. Louis Boards of Directors, she still actively engages in activities to support its mission.

Her educational background is in finance and business administration with employment history in accounting, internal auditing, financial fraud investigation, and departmental and business management. She also ran her own catering and event planning service for 16 years, then later a home-based travel agency. In addition to directing R.A.A.!, she sometimes help coordinate focus groups for a nationally known market research company.

Despite the "hard knocks" she's been through in life, Rose has a strong belief in God and has often said that she is finally on the true path that He has set for her. It is her mission, her goal, her passion, to have made a positive impact in the lives she comes into contact with, whether it's through advocacy, education, volunteering, mentoring, or just simply being there.

"It's a joy volunteering at a YWCA Head Start center"

Interested in joining us to help make a difference in the lives of others? Click here for our membership application or contact us if you'd like additional information.