Notable Neighbors

Rolling Around the World for a Good Cause

A Des Peres man's "party stunt" is at the heart of an Internet effort to raise money for charity.

Andrew Tessier is on a roll. He has rolled along the Great Wall of China, in front of a palace in Sweden, in the Sistine Chapel and through a honky-tonk in Nashville. Now the 34-year-old Des Peres man is trying to use his trademark party move – a “barrel roll” -- to raise money for a good cause. “I thought, why don’t we try to take this idea, as ridiculous as it sounds, and try to help an organization that needs help and give back to the community,” Tessier said. So Tessier launched a website called Barrelrollman.com to share videos of his stunts around the world, promote group “roll offs” and sell merchandise to raise money for charity. Since launching the site in 2010, he said he's raised about $2,500 for Nurses for Newborns, a nonprofit…

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Kirkwood Giving Trees Ready for Presents

A Kirkwood nonprofit has set the ambitious goal of collecting 2,000 gifts for kids in need, including those in Joplin.

More than 20 trees are set up in Kirkwood and surrounding communities and Youth in Action is calling on residents to stuff them to the brim with gifts for Missouri kids in need. In addition to passing along presents to St. Louis organizations, including Annie's Hope, Friends of Kids with Cancer and Nurses for Newborns, the Kirkwood nonprofit will deliver gifts to victims of the Joplin tornado. The organization hopes to collect 2,000 items by Dec. 21. "They don't necessarily have to be large or wrapped," Youth in Action Executive Director Keith Rawlings said. "We even accept monetary donations and go out and buy presents ourselves. These people are thankful for anything they get." A list of gift giving tree locations can be found at the …

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Owen Skoler

10:33 pm on Monday, November 28, 2011

What a great cause. Thank you for sharing!   more ›