summit strategies group

SummitSummit Strategies Group is an energetic collection of 50 investment professionals located in Clayton, MO.  From quite humble beginnings, we created an investment consulting firm that assists institutional investors maximize their investments across the country.  From St. Louis to Jefferson City to midtown Manhattan, and Florida and Texas to Wyoming and California, we help 70+ clients invest more than $140 billion dollars.  We have always had a very strong sense of obligation to share our energy, efforts, and successes with those less fortunate.

Since Summit’s inception, we have championed at least one major cause each year, often around Christmastime.  While these charities were all rewarding in their own right, it is amazing how perfect The Little Bit Foundation has fit into our charitable efforts.  Based in St. Louis, Little Bit provides the most direct, streamlined, and efficient delivery of good things to people who really need them that we have ever come across.  While the premise is very simple – give a kid who needs a coat or shoes or an outfit what they need – it is the execution of this simple idea that has us in awe.

Sadly, there are countless kids living here in our backyard that don’t have a coat in December, or are wearing size 2 shoes on a size 8 foot.  What these kids need is someone to care enough to provide them with the things you and I take for granted.  The Little Bit Foundation does just that, and Elise Tierney, Rose Hanley, and an army of volunteers make it happen.  As a Board member since Little Bit’s establishment as a 501(c)(3) organization, I’ve watched it grow from very humble beginnings to a vibrant organization with solid financials, streamlined delivery systems, and local recognition as a charity people and foundations want to be a part of.  And yet the concept is still so simple:  gather clothing items and deliver them directly to the children that need them the most.  Little Bit spends more than 90 cents of every dollar on the acquisition of clothing goods.  The deals these ladies have cut with manufacturers around town to buy overstocks, out of season, or just plain “90% sales” leads to an incredibly efficient acquisition process.  These items are gathered, cataloged, and bundled for delivery by a great group of volunteers. 

Then comes delivery.  Little Bit has identified 12 of the neediest elementary schools in the St. Louis Public School District.  A great indicator of the need for what Little Bit does is the 28 schools on their waiting list!  Little Bit volunteers work directly with the principals of each school to identify the specific needs of the neediest of the needy.  These children’s specific needs are then filled by the volunteers kneeling down, talking to the children, looking them in the eye, making sure the coat fits and the trousers are the right length and the shoes feel good.  They write the child’s name in each article and watch the smile take over the kid’s face.   For a kid who has nothing, we’ve just given them a whole lot more than a coat.  Every volunteer I’ve spoken to can tell you a story of transformation right in front of their eyes.  That’s what Little Bit is all about.  

For these reasons and many more, Summit Strategies Group is thrilled and very proud to have The Little Bit Foundation as its corporate charity of choice since July of 2007.  We have been its largest financial supporter since inception, our employees have donated hundreds of volunteer hours working in the sorting room and in the classroom, collecting backpacks and toiletries and whatever we can to help.  As President of Summit, I am pleased to serve as a Trustee of the Board, hold the TLBF Board meetings here, and host fundraising events in our entertainment center (“bar”).  Maybe most important of all, my wife Betsy is a volunteer who visits Herzog School once a week and gets down next to a child and watches the transformation, because someone’s Little Bit of attention and generosity and time and thoughtfulness makes all the difference in his world.

Sincerely,

Steve Holmes
President

Summit Strategies Group