BC/Kzoo General
New ALICE Report Shows Pandemic Impact in Region
While aid programs during the COVID-19 pandemic likely eased financial stress on many households, the risk of more families struggling is rising, according to a new report on financial hardship in Michigan. ALICE in the Crosscurrents: COVID and Financial Hardship, released today by Michigan’s United Way network and the research organization United For ALICE, shows…
Read MoreTutoring Program Grows Confidence in Readers
SLD Read trains volunteers to work one-to-one with students in local schools BATTLE CREEK AND KALAMAZOO – Fifth-grader Chondell hasn’t always been willing to read aloud in class. But in a recent theater activity, he didn’t hesitate to read the part he’d been practicing. Then he volunteered to read additional parts, sight unseen, for students…
Read MoreRentAble Revamp Removes Barriers to Stable Housing
The Kalamazoo Continuum of Care has revamped its RentAble program to help more people overcome barriers to keep or obtain housing. RentAble is a pilot program managed by the Kalamazoo CoC and funded by the City of Kalamazoo. It provides one-time assistance up to $2,000 per household to qualified individual or family renters. Whereas the…
Read MoreUWSCMI Earns Top Merger Award
The merger that created United Way of South Central Michigan has been named the nonprofit M&A Deal of the Year by MiBiz Magazine. UWSCMI will be recognized at an award ceremony this week. UWSCMI will join winners from 12 business sectors and five individual categories being honored on Wednesday in Grand Rapids. In an interview…
Read MoreFEMA Grants Available; $460K To Tackle Hunger, Homelessness
United Way of South Central Michigan has been awarded $460,437 in federal funds to support local food and shelter assistance programs. The emergency funding is provided through the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program (EFSP), administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The federal program is directing $187,860 for…
Read More2023 B.E.T.A Graduation Ceremony
KALAMAZOO – The 2023 Black Entrepreneur Training Academy (BETA) Graduation Ceremony, held Feb. 8, celebrated the end of training for 14 new graduates of the Black Entrepreneur Training Program, a joint effort by Black Wall Street Kalamazoo and Sisters in Business. This effort was funded in part through the City of Kalamazoo ARPA dollars, and…
Read MoreSeeding Leaders Mini-Grant Applications Now Open
The United Way of South Central Michigan is excited to announce a new Seeding Leaders mini-grant opportunity for Battle Creek & Kalamazoo. UWSCMI is providing nine $2,000 mini-grants intended to support the wellness, leadership, and/or professional development of nonprofit leaders, with a focus on leaders who identify as (or in the intersections of) being: The…
Read MoreVolunteers Needed for Point-in-Time Count
KALAMAZOO – The Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care is seeking volunteers to help us conduct the unsheltered portion of the county-wide 2023 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. The Point in Time Count is a literal count of all the people experiencing homelessness in our community on a single night. The data gathered from the PIT count also…
Read MoreKalamazoo Micro-Enterprise Grants: Fall 2022 Recipients Announced
KALAMAZOO- The fall 2022 round of the Kalamazoo Micro-Enterprise Grants (KMEG) program has come to a close, and United Way of South Central Michigan has announced 60 new recipients. KMEG, one of three United Way small business programs, provides $5,000 grants to eligible businesses within the city of Kalamazoo and is designed to bring…
Read MoreA STAR is Born: 2022 STAR Awards
United Way of South Central Michigan (Battle Creek Kalamazoo Region) and Gryphon Place are honored to recognize 19 individuals or groups of volunteers who were nominated for the 2022 STAR Awards. The STAR (Sharing Time and Resources) Celebration and Community Volunteer Awards have long been a time to volunteers for their contributions of time, talent,…
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