Poverty Reduction Initiative - Kalamazoo County Poverty Reduction Initiative

Thank YOU!

Please consider volunteering on
May 8th, 2013.

Poverty Simulation Workshops

Live a month in poverty...in a few hours. One of our most powerful educational tools is the Poverty Simulation Workshop - a role-playing experience that offers the opportunity to learn more about the realities of living in conditions of poverty.
Suitable for churches, schools, agencies, and community organizations.

Learn more about poverty simulation workshops and facilitator training.

Students Uncover Realities of Poverty.

NBC News shared and discussed this fantastic video by two students from Troy. The video discusses the many realities of poverty in the U.S. and even focuses on Detroit, Michigan. The students, Jason Ji and Frank Boudon, make the case that the nation's poverty crisis could be solved by reforming education. We at KPRI could not agree more! Please take the time to look at the video here.

Thank you to Public Media Network for attending Project Connect!

Public Media Network attended our May Project Connect event and created the fantastic video below.

The 9th Annual Kalamazoo Charity Invitational!

We need your golf swing!

Kalamazoo Poverty Reduction needs your best golf swing because we will be a part the 9th annual Kalamazoo Charity Invitational! The event is Thursday June 27th at the Heritage Glenn Golf Club and it starts at 9am. The proceeds from the golf tournament can go to many of the non-profits in Kalamazoo including KPRI! The event is hosted by Ullrey and Co.and the registration deadline is June 21st! The day includes lunch, prizes, and dinner. The funds we receive from the event will help KPRI to maintain our programs that help educate the community about life in poverty.

There are four ways you can participate at the event:

1.     Individual Golfer: $125
2.    Hole/Tee Sponsor: $250
3.    Golfing Foursome: $400
4.    Corporate Sponsor: $550

To register you can call 269-382-5027 or email jmullrey@ullrey.com and be sure to tell them you want to donate to PRI! Deadline date for registering is June 21st!

Please help KPRI and have a great time.Thank you for your support!

The U.S. Receives Failing Grade for Child Poverty Rate in Comparison to World Leaders.

The U.S. surpasses many world leaders in child poverty according to the Conference Board of Canada. How can we rectify this situation? Read the full article here.

Thank You!

THANK YOU!
The PRI would like to extend its sincere thanks to all of our partners, sponsors, service providers and volunteers for their tireless work and dedication in making our May 2013 Project Connect such an enormous success! Without your help, we would not have been able to bring vital services to hundreds of Kalamazoo community members at this event. We look forward to seeing you again in November for our next event!

Equity: Spring 2013

Look below to see what the KPRI has been up to lately! Click here for a bigger version that you can also download.

President Obama's New Budget Proposal

President Barack Obama released his proposed budget earlier this week and as with all federal and state budgets, it will have on impact on poverty and low-income families in Michigan and the nation. President Obama states in his message that the proposed budget is focusing on job-creation with manufacturing initiatives, a high-quality preschool education initiative, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. KPRI believes that job-creation and high-quality education are key in reducing poverty in Kalamazoo and the rest of the country. Read the president's full budget message to congress here.

Jobless in Michigan

Rick Haglund from Bridge Magazine has written an intriguing article about the recent jobless trend in the state of Michigan. He explains that, "almost half of Michigan’s unemployed in 2012 were jobless for at least six months. And the average jobless Michigan resident went without work for more than 10 months." You can look at the article in full here. We at KPRI agree that the jobless trend in the state is a major issue in the state and in Kalamazoo County. You can help build awareness by forwarding this link to your colleagues or tell us about the great programs in Kalamazoo that help to promote employment!

PRI and Partners Come Together to Provide Services at Project Connect

Project Connect is one of the PRI's most effective and versatile programs for alleviating poverty in Kalamazoo through collaboration, education and economic opportunity. Our next event, on May 8th, will build on previous successes and provide new, constructive services to community members in need. To learn more about Project Connect, visit our PC website and check out this video from Kalamazoo Public Media Network for a firsthand look at this incredible, biannual event.

Julie Mack mulls income inequality, MEAP scores and preschool.

Julie Mack over at MLive.com has written an enlightening article about equal opportunity in education. Mack argues in the article that many studies have indicated how poverty affects a student's education and educational opportunity. Also she discusses the difficulties that inequity cause and solutions to them. She states, “The solutions aren’t easy and they aren’t cheap. But they are necessary.” Click here for the complete article.

2014 Michigan Budget Impacts Educational Opportunity For Michigan Students

The PRI believes that education is a critical factor in reducing poverty, and state budgets have a serious impact on educational equity. Governor Snyder has released his 2014 budget for Michigan, which strongly affects the learning environment of all students. The Governor has called for an a $65 million dollar increase for the Great Start Readiness preschool program, but does not include any more funding for before-and-after- school programs. For more information, check out this article about how the budget will affect education in Michigan a Michigan’s Children’s Budget Basics page.

PRI Cited in Huffington Post Article

The Kalamazoo County Poverty Reduction Initiative was referenced in an article on the Huffington Post by Joanne Goldblum, Executive Director of the National Diaper Bank Network. The article, which emphasized the value of poverty simulations as a community education tool, can be found here.

THANK YOU!
The PRI would like to extend its sincere thanks to all of our partners, sponsors, service providers and volunteers for their tireless work and dedication in making our November 2012 Project Connect such an enormous success! Without your help, we would not have been able to bring vital services to hundreds of Kalamazoo community members at this event. We look forwards to seeing you again in May for our next event.

CFED Releases 2013 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard

CFED's scorecard for 2013 underlines the challenges that Michigan and other states are facing in building a stronger economic future. High asset poverty rates, long-term unemployment and other factors contribute to our state's comparatively high poverty levels. Efforts like BankOn and Project Connect can help to combat some of these factors, and CFED's Scorecard is a valuable resource for determining the areas where our communities need to focus their efforts. Click Here for the Michigan section of the report.

Poverty Reduction Projects

PRI works in the community to educate, network and convene organizations around poverty issues. Some major initiatives include:

While poverty may not be prevalent in your own neighborhood, there are "poverty pockets" throughout our region, especially in the City of Kalamazoo.

According to the US Census 2010 American Community Survey, almost 50,000 people in Kalamazoo County live below the poverty level, around 20% of the population. 15,000 are children under age 18. In the City of Kalamazoo it's 26,000 people, including 8,000 children — almost 40% of the city, a greater percentage than Detroit. See the ACS fact sheet.

Together we can change that. We can help our ourselves and our neighbors transition from poverty to prosperity. It starts with understanding the challenges, through a poverty simulation workshop, for example. Then by giving a hand up, expanding access to income supports, community programs, education, training, asset building, and financial literacy - through events like Project Connect and community collaboratives like BankOn Kalamazoo.

Join us in our work to make our community stronger. Become a member today!