This year, SEF is sponsoring 10 students served by Special School District who are interested in attending the 2024 American Legion Auxiliary Missouri Girls State or the American Legion Boys Missouri State of Missouri.  

The program is designed for high school students to build leadership skills and learn about governmental policy, the implications of democracy, and the power of the individual vote through real-world simulations. The focus of the program is to teach responsible citizenship and foster leadership skills.

Students currently in their junior year are eligible. The programs will be held the week of June 22 – June 29, 2024 at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. The program includes a college campus experience of staying in the dorms overnight at the university for a week as a citizen of a mythical state that all the citizens will govern at the city, county and state level. Leaders in the

Missouri government as well as others who hold important offices in our communities will be guest speakers throughout the week.

Since the American Legion Auxiliary Missouri Girls State (ALA MGS) and The American Legion Missouri Boys State programs (AL MBS) have an expectation and policy that no student applying for either program should provide his or her own financial sponsorship, including asking a parent to pay the cost to attend, SEF is stepping up to help again this year.

Special Education Foundation Sponsorship Requirements:

• Student must send a sponsorship solicitation email/letter to SEF Executive Director Tim Eby tim@sef-stl.org by March 31, 2024.
• Solicitation letter must include the name of the program, the sponsorship amount requested, the benefit of the program and the reason SEF should consider sponsoring the student.
• A letter of recommendation from the student’s SSD teacher must be included with the name of the student, how he/she knows the student and why he/she believes the program would benefit the student.

We look forward to receiving students’ sponsorship requests. Those interested can complete their application at  www.Missourigirlsstate.org or www.moboysstate.org. Any questions can be sent to Jackie Rahm Dunn, retired

SSD teacher and SSD Special Olympics coordinator, jackiedunnstl@gmail.com or by calling (314) 640-1154.