Coverage of community groups bringing about changes, innovations, and solutions in their community.
The Autism Alliance of Michigan team traveled to Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula to provide free trainings and health care services for people living with autism, their families, and the communities where they live.
To tempt tastebuds for Kalamazoo's upcoming Canadiana Festival and its World Champion Poutine Contest, Chef Channon Mondoux, festival organizer, and SW Second Wave Food Writer, shares her recipe for 'healthy' poutine, that French Canadian guilty pleasure of fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy.
Mandy Clearwaters, an art teacher at Winchell Elementary, had a vision to bring Inside Out, an international portrait project devised by French-artist JR, to Kalamazoo Public Schools. With the theme "We are Kalamazoo artists," over 1,000 black and white portraits line the inner sidewalks of Bronson Park as part of Kalamazoo Public School's All-district Art Fair Friday. Check out Fran Dwight's photo essay!
April is National Poetry Month and Kalamazoo has more than its fair share of homegrown poets – which suits this year's Kalamazoo Poetry Festival theme of "The Garden." In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the festival takes place April 13 to 15, featuring both local and visiting poets, including Kzoo's own Pulitzer Prize-wining poet Diane Suess, Kansas Poet Laureate Traci Brimhall (WMU graduate), Hala Ayhan, and Kaveh Akbar, among others.
From a position with Downtown Kalamzoo, Inc. to working with the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, Beth McCann helped build up Kalamazoo's cultural image. In her new position as Executive Directory of Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services, she is building community in a different way – through affordable housing. "We need, what, 7,000 housing units right now?" says McCann. "I can't build 7,000, but hopefully, I can make a dent."
In a move to consolidate housing funding requests for housing, the Kalamazoo County Housing's AmpliFund Portal is seeking to become a one-stop funding source for ARPA and county resources.
“It is estimated that 7,750 new housing units are needed to appropriately house the new households forming or looking to locate in the county," says Board of Commissioners Chair John Taylor.
This photo story features the work of Habakuki Kibezi, who attends Loy Norrix High School. This is his first Voices of Youth Kalamazoo session. He chose photography to illustrate the problems and solutions associated with in school violence.
This photo story features the work of Daniel Kibezi a student at Milwood Middle School in the sixth grade. This is Daniel’s second session with Kalamazoo Voices of Youth. He enjoys photography and uses this art form to explore the topic of policing in schools.
The $1 million gift, part of the JBS Hometown Strong program, nudges Boys & Girls Clubs close to its $9 million goal to build a facility that will replace what was the Lake Street unit and headquarters in Kalamazoo.
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