History with SPROG

In the late 1960s, William Jones, a resident of the Meacham Park neighborhood near Kirkwood, MO, and a community activist seeking to help the residents of that area find greater opportunities for a more successful, productive life, together with Cleo Lewright, a teacher at Turner School in Meacham Park, reached out to the Christian Social Relations Committee at Grace Episcopal Church in Kirkwood, MO. Three church members, Mrs. Garnet Thies, Mrs. Anne Scharon, and Mrs. Ann Cook, worked with Mr. Jones and Mr. Lewright to reach out to certain businessmen in the Kirkwood area to form what was known as the Sponsors Program.

The purpose of the program was originally to provide one-on-one mentoring for young males in trouble with the juvenile justice system in Kirkwood. Based primarily upon feedback from the young men it was serving, the focus of the organization was reoriented to provide activities and guidance to younger boys to help them make better choices in their lives. In September of 1970, the organization was incorporated as Sprog, Inc., a Missouri non-profit corporation. Kem Mosley, and later his wife Karen Mosley, served key roles as Program Director and later as Executive Director. Over time, Sprog evolved to include younger boys and then girls. Academic classes in math, reading and other subjects were added, along with field trips to expose the children to activities and places that they might otherwise not have the opportunity to see. By the mid-1970s, Sprog was primarily operating a summer program out of donated facilities in Grace Episcopal Church in Kirkwood, MO. Attendance ranged from a low of 50 to as many as 120 children each summer.

Over time, Sprog evolved to include younger boys and then girls. Academic classes in math, reading, and other subjects were added, along with field trips to expose children to activities and places that they might otherwise not have the opportunity to see. By the mid-1970s, Sprog was primarily operating a summer program out of donated facilities at Grace Episcopal Church in Kirkwood, MO. Attendance climbed to as many as 120 children each summer.

Over the years, Sprog continued to evolve, adding various enrichment activities and updating academic classes. However, the Board of Directors recognized that even greater change was needed for Sprog to continue helping children in need. This led to Sprog’s latest evolution in 2019 as an affiliate of Horizons National, with a state-of-the-art facility based at Kirkwood High School. While Sprog is now known as Horizons St. Louis in Kirkwood, its legacy as Sprog will long be remembered through its slogan “Sprog Moving Forward.”