Famed NBC broadcaster Bob Costas recently unveiled the new Costas Center at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. The child-friendly outpatient oncology center, supported by the annual Bob Costas Charity Benefit, provides a calming, aquatic-themed setting where kids can receive chemotherapy and other treatments. The space includes a pirate ship, playful characters, and a 28-foot interactive yellow submarine with a movie screen and video games (pictured above).

Retweet to Reemploy, a campaign started by Fifth Third Bank, helps unemployed customers who are struggling with mortgage payments find jobs. A bank spokesperson says 80 people found jobs within the first six months of the ongoing campaign. The program includes online job coaching and uses social media to help candidates connect with prospective employers. To learn more, visit 53.com/reemploy.

Charlee Bisch
Charlee Bisch

Charlee Bisch, a rising senior at Visitation Academy, has been crowned Miss Missouri’s Outstanding Teen. The 16-year-old captured the crown and a $1,750 scholarship in a field of 21 contestants. She volunteers for several area organizations, including Special Olympics, Variety St. Louis and MDA St. Louis, and is the recipient of President Barack Obama’s Volunteer Service Award. She also serves as a news anchor/producer for her school’s TV station. She’ll represent our state Aug. 2 at the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant in Orlando, Fla.

The Muny reaches its 100th anniversary in 2018, and plans for the celebration are already gearing up. Muny board chairman Clark Davis has tapped Michael Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as a consultant to the Muny’s Second Century planning efforts. Kaiser’s participation is possible through a contribution from the Centene Charitable Foundation.

Health Equipment Lending Program (HELP), which loans home medical equipment at no cost to St. Louisans in need, seeks donations of used crutches, walkers, manual wheelchairs, tub transfer benches and other items. To donate, call 314.567.4700 or visit stlhelp.org.

Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, director of the Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology at Washington University School of Medicine, has been elected to the American Philosophical Society. The Society, founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, is dedicated to exploring useful knowledge and providing a forum for the free exchange of ideas. Other members have included U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices and prominent scholars from a variety of disciplines. Gordon’s research has uncovered links between dysfunctional microbial communities in the gut and two global health problems: obesity and childhood malnutrition.