Innovations in Action: $1 million fund from nonprofit helps other nonprofits with unique programs

Editor’s note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave’s On the Ground Calhoun County series. While numerous nonprofits in Calhoun County continue to deal with pandemic-related financial challenges, […]

A LifeCircles PACE participant shows off their coloring. LifeCircles provides a day center and encourages participants to attend for socialization.
Michigan works to bridge gaps in elder care, allowing more adults to age at home

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness about how Michigan communities can bridge gaps in care and improve quality of life for older residents.

In 2019, John Hébert was hired as Assistant Professor of Jazz Bass at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He continues to teach and tour the Globe. He will be at the jazz festival in Edison this fall.
Listen for jazz music this fall in Kalamazoo’s Edison Neighborhood

Venues are lined up and artists are confirmed for a jazz festival in Kalamazoo's Edison Neighborhood this fall. "We are literally putting it out in the streets and making it accessible to everyone for free," says Edison Executive Director Stephen Dupuie.

Sobriety Walk is a way for NHBP Tribe members to share stories of recovery, show unity

At the Pine Creek Reservation expansion of the Tribe’s Behavioral Health Services department has grown to a team of nine as they assist those who are working to recover from alcohol and drug use that hits Native Americans harder than most. 

Stadium Drive construction begins as Kalamazoo moves to slow traffic and create complete streets

The Stadium Drive project now underway will make the wide four-lane road into a "gateway" for downtown Kalamazoo and Western Michigan University. The project is also a gateway to the city's complete streets goals.

Kellogg Community College helps fill the growing healthcare shortage

As the pandemic challenged teaching models, board scores for KCC health care students have remained above 80, while there are schools in other states that have dipped down to 60. It’s a testament to the ingenuity of the KCC staff. Find out the changes they have made to keep their students learning.

An artist’s rendering provides an idea of what Woods Lake Square will look like at the northwest corner of Oakland Drive and Parkview Avenue.
Banking, retail, and office center will reuse prominent spot near Kalamazoo’s Woods Lake

Woods Lake Square will be anchored by a new branch of Consumers Credit Union, which owns the 1-acre property at the northwest corner of Oakland and Parkview.

Mickenzy Crowder, Tiffany Jackson, Alexandria Rowe, Janiyah Sherrill, Faith Smith, and Xynese Frazier are among the student leaders helping implement Rec-Connect™ physical activity programming in Detroit schools.
Rec-Connect™ empowers Detroit high school student leaders to foster physical activity among peers

Student leaders in the Detroit Public Schools Community District are helping design and implement SNAP-Ed funded Rec-Connect™ programming, which promotes physical activity.

Disruption continues in many areas of civic, public life in Battle Creek even as COVID cases drop

Battle Creek officials and businesses are learning how to deal with the virus that keeps changing, as viruses do. 

KultureCity teams up with YMCA camp to help bring summer camp to kids with sensory needs

Challenges vary from child to child and the sensory difficulties kids may experience in a camp setting include noise, crowds of kids in a shared space, transitions from one activity to another, spoken directions with no visual cues, and the lack of a quiet space to take a break. Moms have worked with Sherman Lake YMCA to help. 

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