The SHARE Center of Battle Creek feeds 100 people a day and offers a variety of free services through its drop-in center. But some people still don't know it exists. Enter Friends of the SHARE Center who are raising money and spreading the word.
A total of 15 Battle Creek area nonprofits are among 1,373 nonprofits throughout Michigan that are sharing in a $35 million pool of funds administered by the Michigan Nonprofit Association. These funds are aimed at nonprofits affected by COVID-19, especially those who work with underserved populations.
St. Thomas' Laundry Love is focused on those who are “struggling to make ends meet,” says Deacon Trish Harris. “There are people who have asked me, ‘How do you know if I meet the qualifications?’ We have no qualifications. We want them to know that we see you as an important person and we’re coming to you with love."
Jill Anderson of Battle Creek wondered what it takes to give a kidney when a Portage woman she had just met shared that her husband was in desperate need. Now she knows. “We are born with four times the kidney power that we need to survive," says Anderson. "By giving away half of that, you can save another life and you’ve still got plenty of kidney function.”
Fluffy Butt Farm, 25 acres in Bedford Township, is home to a lot of fluffy butts (100 chickens, 30 goats, seven cows, four breeding pigs, dogs, cats, and kittens). Owned by pilot Chris Wolters and his flight attendant wife Tawney who sell their meat and produce at local farmers' markets, the couple is enjoying this growing chapter of their adventurous lives.
Linda Cobe spent one year as a five-year-old at Holy Childhood School of Jesus in Harbor Springs. The impact of that year, along with the pervasive and systematic stripping away of her identity, culture, and language as an Ojibwe, continue to affect her. She's written a book, "Red, White and Blue" to share her story with others.
“I say to other survivors, what happened to one of us happened to all of us. We met in Harbor Springs and we bonded together,” says Sharon Skutt, an indigenous survivor of a Michigan boarding school. “The more I speak about it, the more healing there is."
Join the On the Ground Battle Creek team to celebrate its 5th Anniversary during the first-ever Holiday Vendor Pop-Up event, featuring local artists and food artisans, on Dec. 7 at 32 West Michigan Avenue, Battle Creek.
The Road to Healing Tour is giving indigenous boarding school survivors throughout the United States an opportunity to publicly share stories that many had suppressed out of fear and shame. In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Southwest Michigan Second Wave will feature three of these women's stories.
“We’re structuring little people's lives. We are their teachers, motivators, and in some instances, mothers and fathers to these kids," says Freddie McGee, Director of Extended Learning programs for Battle Creek Public Schools. "We’re going to be that extra adult in their lives. These kids want to be recognized.”
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