Giving Back With St Louis Hero Network

The Home Loan Expert works with multiple charitable organizations.  We want to spotlight the great work that they do and let people know how they can help.  Our first organization to spotlight is the St. Louis Hero Network.

First Responders are our main defense every day against threats. During the COVID-19 crisis, they are putting their lives on the line to help people.  The St. Louis Hero Network is a non-profit dedicated to supporting and promoting the businesses run by first-responders and their families.

These heroes deserve to be spotlighted, and the St. Louis Hero Network is doing an amazing job of getting the word out.

“We are a 100% nonprofit volunteer organization and team who’s mission is to simply support our local first responders and veterans which we do in a multitude of ways.  Feeding the frontlines is just another way for us to live up to our mission: to support St. Louis and all the heroes in it.  It’s our way to contribute to something bigger than us,”

Charlie Metzner – Founder, St. Louis Hero Network

Charlie Metzner, the founder of St. Louis Hero Network, is a firefighter on Soulard’s truck 11 with 14 years of experience.  Like many first responders, he comes from a long line of local heroes.  His father was a firefighter as well.

With a long history of public service, Metzner knew that many police officers, firefighters, paramedics and emergency workers went on to found other businesses.  These businesses, ranging from handy men to marketing companies, needed to find an outlet for promotions.  That was the birth of the St. Louis Hero Network.

Metzner explained that “2 years ago, we wanted to create a resource for everyone.  We wanted to include available jobs, classes, and events, as well as promoting first responder-owned businesses in the community.  We also wanted to raise money for other non-profits and give support to other like-minded entities to help them reach THEIR goals.  Our primary mission is to promote first responder and Veteran owned businesses.”

St. Louis Hero Network has created a HomeAdviser network for first responders and their businesses, with over 122 businesses on the list.  The Home Loan Expert was proud to be the first Gold-level sponsor for the non-profit’s work, and it has grown exponentially with many other local sponsors joining us in this worthy cause.

The St. Louis Hero Network has fed over 20 first responder groups in the last 16 days as well as 5 hospitals, and fed well over 1000 front line workers during the COVID-19 crisis.  These groups have included firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and health care workers, the people working on the front lines of the epidemic.

They also presented the Fall Night for the Fallen, where over 150 restaurants in the area participated in a fundraiser for 4 fallen first responders, Godfrey Fire Captain Jacob “Jake” Ringering (Last Alarm 3/5/19), Firefighter Paramedic Chris Moore (Last Alarm 6/8/19), North County Police Officer Michael Langsdorf (End of Watch 6/23/19) and Illinois State Trooper Nick Hopkins (End of Watch 8/23/2019). 

The event raised over $40 thousand for the four families, or $10 thousand each.  The wild success of the program has helped St. Louis Hero Network continue its work in the community, with more events like this planned into the future.

Currently, the St. Louis Hero Network is partnering with local businesses and St. Louis notables to feed the front lines.  One sponsor was Pat Maroon, former Blues star and Oakville native.  Maroon and his fiancée Francesca bought food from local St. Louis restaurant Blarney Stone Sports Bar and Grill and fed all of the St. Louis County Police South County Precinct along with the Mehlville Fire Protection District lunch, with TJs Pizza donating pizzas to help.

With sponsors stepping up daily to feed the men and women that run into fires, emergencies and disease, the St. Louis Hero Network is doing the hard work to help show how appreciated they are.

If you want to help as a sponsor, or are a local business run by a first responder, visit http://www.stlheronetwork.com today, or call them at (314) 707-2386.