1922 Society
As we look to our next 100 years, we invite you to join in our mission through your financial support. Please consider becoming a member of the APA’s 1922 Society by making an annual leadership commitment of $1,000 or more.
As a member of the 1922 Society, you’ll be paired with a personal representative who will contact you about opportunities to engage with our programs and leadership in meaningful ways.
Benefits also include:
- Invitations to the Annual 1922 Luncheon and other exclusive events
- Quarterly members-only updates
- 1922 Society Founding Member lapel pin
- Onsite recognition at the Adoption Center
History
The 1922 Society was established to continue the legacy of where we began . . . in 1922, and to recognize those who share the same passion as our founder, Mrs. Ella Megginson.
Her story is simple, yet significant. She witnessed cruelty to a horse outside City Hall in Webster Groves. Outraged, she went inside to speak with a clerk who handled matters of animal cruelty. His response was to speak with a woman who always seemed concerned about the welfare of animals—which turned out to be Ella herself.
As a result, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Ella Megginson gathered a group of her friends in the basement of her Webster Groves home, and from that meeting, the Animal Protective Association of Missouri was born. With an original donation of $500, the women bought the shelter’s first truck and hired a driver. In 1947, the APA found its own forever home on South Hanley.
Over the past decades, the Animal Protective Association has grown significantly and evolved into a vibrant adoption center with supporting wellness services and educational programs. Every day, our staff is 100% dedicated to the quality of life for each and every animal in our care. Without exception, we live to the letter of our mission statement: The APA is dedicated to bringing people and pets together, advancing humane education, and creating programs beneficial to the human/animal bond.
Since our humble beginnings, we have added services and programs that Ella and her friends would have only dreamed of. Yet the core, founding principles remain alive and well. Today, the APA is recognized nationally as a leader in the humane treatment of animals in the St. Louis area and beyond. Each year we help thousands of animals in need of hope and a place to call home. And because of Ella Megginson, we are able to provide both.
Impact
Today the APA impacts more than 15,000 people and 5,000 pets annually through our three foundational pillars—adoption, wellness and education. Our adoption program is designed to transform the perception of what a “shelter” looks like and make the adoption process a positive experience for every customer. The APA’s wellness programs serve as an important complement to our adoptions, enabling us to offer 14-day wellness coverage, as well as low-cost veterinary care to the community. Our education programs bring the community to the Adoption Center and the APA out into the community, be it to classrooms or senior adult communities.
We pride ourselves on putting relationships at the center of everything we do, taking a life-span approach to serve both the newest and most senior of our pet and people friends, and continuing to be forward thinking in the way we deliver our mission.
The APA has ambitious plans for the future, which includes serving more pets and people in ever more meaningful ways:
- Reaching pets and people who need it most through programs and initiatives throughout our community;
- Growing our education programs to create amore kind and compassionate community for both people and pets;
- And continuing to grow the number of pets who find safe, loving homes through strategic partnerships, a robust transfer program, and a best-in-class adoption experience.
Members of the 1922 Society are champions of our everyday work and help pave the way for our mission to be realized.