United Way of Greater St. Louis (UWGSL) has been a part of the fabric of the community for over a century, with millions of generous people supporting our efforts to help people live here and thrive. For the Beltrán family, community service and supporting local United Ways is a family tradition and SiSi Beltrán Martí is the latest to join that lineage.
SiSi moved to St. Louis nearly 25 years ago and has been a champion for UWGSL since her arrival. Growing up as a young girl in Puerto Rico, she was raised on the principle of helping your neighbor by lending your time, talent and treasure for the greater good of the community. Now, her commitment to serve has earned her one of the most important roles in UWGSL’s 2024 annual community campaign.
Growing up to give
SiSi is a part of a close-knit family that shares one very important character trait – a passion for lending a helping hand to create a stronger, healthier community.
Her father discovered United Way de Puerto Rico in the early 1980s and volunteering for them became a family affair soon after. On weekends, SiSi would join her family to paint and repair buildings and houses that needed renovations, package and deliver food for those who were less fortunate, and much more. Her father would even have her come to some of the board meetings.
“I was always surrounded by the mindset of doing good things for others, always being grateful for what you have and showing that gratitude by sharing,” said SiSi.
This mindset that came from being around her family marked the beginning of what would be a lifelong commitment to bettering the communities around her.
Service to new neighbors
SiSi came to St. Louis in 2000 and brought her spirit of helping people with her.
As a member of the Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) alumni board, she was asked to lead a group that was a branch of an organization with a familiar name – United Way.
She joined the steering committee for a group called GenNext, a precursor to UWGSL’s United Young Leaders group. Her participation in this group gave her the opportunity to learn more about UWGSL, how to mobilize volunteers, and how to turn those volunteers into donors once they’re ready.
At the same time, she became the Employee Campaign Coordinator (ECC) for Build-A-Bear Workshop’s first UWGSL employee giving campaign and would oversee it for the next decade. As her leadership expanded so did her generosity. She joined the Women’s Leadership Society as well as the Multicultural Leadership Society where she led as cabinet chair in 2022.
Her dedication to UWGSL culminated this year in being selected to serve as Vice Chair for the 2024 annual community campaign. The selection to serve in this capacity was one of the highlights of her lifelong commitment to volunteer service.
“It’s an honor to serve, to be in a position like this feels like the organization is putting faith in me to be an ambassador for their efforts,” said SiSI. “Being recognized, asked and encouraged to serve in this way is really special.”
As a successful professional, SiSi has been a recipient of a slew of honors and awards for her success. She has been a recipient of the St. Louis Business Journal’s 30 under 30 Award, the Who’s Who Diversity in Color’s Most Intriguing Person Award, WashU’s Emerging Leader Award, and in July, the Business Journal recognized her once again, selecting her as one of the recipients of this year’s 25 Most Influential Business Women Award.
In the midst of all of her success, she has never lost sight of the importance of helping those in the community who are struggling and need support from their local neighbors.
Success and notoriety are great, but one of the most important things to her will always be inspiring hope in our local communities and working to embody UWGSL’s mission to help people live their best possible lives.
“It is absolutely critical for folks to always see beyond their personal gains and goals and see what’s around them and how they can help,” said SiSi. “We have to understand that we are all in this together one way or another, and it is important to help those who need help.”
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