OLD NEWSBOYS
GIVING BACK SINCE 1957
OLDNEWSBOYSDAY.ORG • 2024 DONATION EDITION
Our 68th annual campaign benefiting thousands of children through local charities. Thank you for making a difference!
CONNECTIONS OLD NEWSBOYS BOOSTS KIDS’ CHARITIES IN NEED OF FUNDS
THIS YEAR HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS OF ALL AGES WILL BE ON STREET CORNERS FROM 7 TO 9 A.M., THURSDAY, NOV. 21.
2024 Special Edition is dedicated to former Chairwoman, Marilyn Fox! SEE STORY ON PAGE 2
BY JANICE DENHAM Volunteers, charities and Old Newsboys connect annually with kids in need. Each Thursday before Thanksgiving, on November 21 this year, hundreds of volunteers don green aprons and step out onto street corners and into businesses to request donations in exchange for an Old Newsboys special-edition newspaper. People who recognize the needs of children initiate those connections. For 67 years the annual Old Newsboys Campaign for Kids, wearing a label of “charity of last resort,” has provided funds to hundreds of charities requesting items strictly for kids. They range from everyday needs like diapers, booster seats and food for little tykes to targeted requirements like safety helmets, basketballs and school uniforms for older children.
The first campaign gathered $34,413, a positive step in supporting the community of 1957. Needs grow. The organization has faced challenges beyond years with inclement weather and a pandemic which kept everyone home. Online resources now offer 24/7 access to its one-of-a-kind newspaper edition and provide a convenient QR code for donations on its website oldnewsboysday.org. Old Newsboys’ connections grab attention as a direct pipeline of providing children with a better life, whether it is in the moment, as incentive or as groundwork for their future. The charities it helps often have modest budgets but serve specific needs that loom large in the lives of children and families. The annual disbursement for grants has
reached almost ten times the amount collected in the initial year.
CONNECTIONS MAKE IMPRESSIONS Sean Murphy first volunteered for Old Newsboys around 2002. “I remember standing outside the old Railway Exchange Building on my first job out of college at Famous-Barr (later Macy’s),” he said. It became an annual occasion about 10 years later for Santa’s Helpers. In a role he calls “the representative person,” he will flit around edges of a street corner singlehandedly to catch drivers’ attention this year in Clayton. Thus, he connects Santa’s Helpers, Story continues on page 2
Chairman’s Story
O’LOUGHLIN FAMILY TRIPLES EFFORTS AS CAMPAIGN CHAIRS The O’Loughlin family is taking its concern for the welfare of children up two notches. Three generations are joining forces to chair this year’s Old Newsboys Campaign for Kids. Bob O’Loughlin at the helm with son Steve O’Loughlin will be joined by the third generation, Brian O’Loughlin, who also became a teammate in their company, Lodging Hospitality Management, this spring. The annual request for funds goes to streets of the region on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, with online donations accepted 24/7 year-round. Bob O’Loughlin, chairman and chief executive officer of their hospitality business, calls Old Newsboys’ goal of raising funds for smaller children’s charities in the metro area “a St. Louis tradition.” “Larger traditional donors tend to overlook many of these organizations. However, the need still exists – and grows by the year,” he says. “It is a day anticipated by volunteers who put on green aprons. Old Newsboys provides much needed funding for these organizations to purchase essentials – food, school supplies, clothing, medications, and other items – to improve a child’s life, sometimes delivered with a birthday party or holiday gifts.”
Bob O’Loughlin finds inspiration in tracing the leadership from the early years of the organization’s founding in 1957. Well-known local figures like Lou Brock, Gussie Busch, Ted Wetterau, Marilyn Fox, and Jack Buck are among those who chaired Old Newsboys campaigns. Another family team, Justin Heutel and Pete Heutel of Sunset Ford, headed the campaign in 2023. Photo caption
The O’Loughlins call it “an honor” to follow in the footsteps of those notable St. Louisans. “It’s truly an honor to be involved in this beloved organization that assists many local children’s charities each year” says Steve O’Loughlin, chief operating officer of LHM. He applauds the many great civic organizations as well as individuals that support this non-profit endeavor. Their multigenerational hope is that one day all children will have the resources to grow, thrive with more than necessities, and create a nurturing environment for their own families, too. “I’m looking forward to joining the Old Newsboys volunteers on the corners and selling the special edition for donation that does so much good for our community” says Brian O’Loughlin, vice president of LHM. To this end, Lodging Hospitality Management partners with Old Newsboys and many other
organizations, from local foundations to museums and universities that fuel this dynamic of local support. Their vision has brought new attractions and gathering places to Union Station and Westport Plaza and provided business options in both Missouri and Illinois. “St. Louis has been good to me. We have done well here, and I want to give back,” Bob O’Loughlin told Ian Caso, publisher of the Post-Dispatch in a Winning STL video interview. “We have tried in our company to take things that weren’t quite good, fix them up and make them spectacular. If everybody does that, the tide will rise.”
Thank You to our 2024 Old Newsboys Sponsors George and Carol Bauer
Al Hammerman
Lodging Hospitality Management
Busch Logo To Come
Bill Siedhoff Foundation
EXPECT MORE .
David & Julie Deck
Missy & Greg Hill Doug & Molly Sansonee
Barb Finnegan
If you are interested in joining the Old Newsboys team, please email oldnewsboyscharities@gmail.com The mission of Old Newsboys is to ensure that children who are at-risk in our community, because of abuse or poverty, receive adequate food, shelter, clothing, medical care and are provided an equal opportunity for social development.