Soccer gives homeless new goals

A new soccer program in Washtenaw County is helping homeless get off the streets and re-enter society. From the Detroit News:

On this soccer team, accomplishment isn't measured by goals scored or shots blocked.

It's how many months a player remains sober. Or whether he receives a GED. Or finds a home.

For a team of homeless people, sometimes just showing up is a small victory.

"After so much heartache and chaos and pain, to have so much fun on a soccer field, you don't even know what it means," said David Altherr, 53, who became homeless after seven drunken-driving convictions.

Project Outreach Team (PORT), a Washtenaw County agency that provides services for the homeless, formed the soccer team in 2007 as a way to reach a population that prefers to be left alone.

Once PORT gains players' trust, it learns what type of therapy and other help they need.

Washtenaw isn't the only place doing it. A growing number of cities around the country have formed a 20-team league that plays a national tournament July 30 in Washington.

An international contest, the Homeless World Cup, is in September in Rio de Janeiro.

Soccer gives the homeless a relaxing way to dip their toe into the mainstream after being away a long time, said Linda Bacigalupi, a PORT jail diversion specialist who is one of the team's coaches.

It also teaches confidence, discipline and other traits that could help one re-enter society, she said.

"They say they feel like this is their family," she said. "That makes it worth it 10 times over."

Read the full article: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100630/METRO/6300357/1408/LOCAL/Soccer-gives-homeless-new-goals#ixzz0sLbIfJVJ

Quality Childcare and Pre-School: An Essential part of Development for Low Income Children

"Every year, more than three million children enroll in a public kindergarten program. A momentous time in their young lives, each child enters with different strengths, weaknesses, skills and needs. Some differences are to be expected as normal variations in development, but unfortunately, socioeconomic factors appear to contribute significantly to a school readiness divide.

For example, research has shown a significant achievement gap already exists between low-income children and their more affluent peers at kindergarten entry. Researchers have identified gaps in a number of critical areas, including cognitive development, social-emotional development, and health status. One study found that the average cognitive scores of our nation’s most affluent children are 60 percent higher than those of our poorest children before they enter kindergarten. Furthermore, low-income children are more likely to attend lower-quality schools, making it unlikely that these gaps can be closed later through schooling alone."

A new white paper from Child Trends entitled Early Childhood Highlights addresses the importance of quality child care and pre-school programs in the development of children, especially children from low-income homes.

The paper includes a table which compares early childhood emphasis state by state. The 7 page paper plus state by state comparison chart can be found at:

www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2010_06_18_ECH_SchoolReadiness.pdf

Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Host Annual Powwow Gathering

"The past and the future merged Saturday as the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi hosted its annual powwow gathering on the tribe's Pine Creek Indian Reservation.

The event marks an acknowledgment of the simple ways of the past and a way for a tribe with an ever-expanding reservation and a modern casino to honor traditions that go back to "time immemorial," as Tribal Executive Director Aaron Payment described them."It's important to make sure that we don't forget the older days of our ancestors and what struggles they had to go through," Tribal Council Vice-Chairman Jamie Stuck said. "We have it much easier today and we need to be thankful to our ancestors for the path that they provided and started for us.""

www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20100627/NEWS01/6270321/Powwow-honors-past-looks-ahead-to-future

June 23: 47th Anniversary of Martin Luther King "I have a dream" Speech in Detroit

On this day, June 23, 47 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered a speech in Detroit. Some two months later, he would stand in front of the Lincoln Memorial and give his famous "I have a dream" speech. But as his speech in Detroit shows, the dream speech was rooted in the Motor City:

"And so I go back to the South not in despair. I go back to the South not with a feeling that we are caught in a dark dungeon that will never lead to a way out. I go back believing that the new day is coming. And so this afternoon, I have a dream. (Go ahead) It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day, right down in Georgia and Mississippi and Alabama, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to live together as brothers.

I have a dream this afternoon (I have a dream) that one day, [Applause] one day little white children and little Negro children will be able to join hands as brothers and sisters.

I have a dream this afternoon that one day, [Applause] that one day men will no longer burn down houses and the church of God simply because people want to be free.

I have a dream this afternoon (I have a dream) that there will be a day that we will no longer face the atrocities that Emmett Till had to face or Medgar Evers had to face, that all men can live with dignity.

I have a dream this afternoon (Yeah) that my four little children, that my four little children will not come up in the same young days that I came up within, but they will be judged on the basis of the content of their character, not the color of their skin. [Applause]

I have a dream this afternoon that one day right here in Detroit, Negroes will be able to buy a house or rent a house anywhere that their money will carry them and they will be able to get a job. [Applause] (That’s right)

Yes, I have a dream this afternoon that one day in this land the words of Amos will become real and "justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

I have a dream this evening that one day we will recognize the words of Jefferson that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I have a dream this afternoon. [Applause]

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and "every valley shall be exalted, and every hill shall be made low; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." [Applause]

I have a dream this afternoon that the brotherhood of man will become a reality in this day.

And with this faith I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope through the mountain of despair. With this faith, I will go out with you and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. With this faith, we will be able to achieve this new day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing with the Negroes in the spiritual of old:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God almighty, we are free at last! [Applause]

The full text of the Detroit speech can be found at:

www.mlkonline.net/detroit.html

Richland Farmers Market now accepts donations, will soon offer online ordering and EBT

The Richland Farmers Market is finding more ways to make fresh food accessible, especially for low-income residents. From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

The market will be collecting food for Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes, introducing an Electronic Benefits Machine and will soon feature an online service that allows farmers to tell shoppers what produce they would be featuring at upcoming markets.

“We really want to be a place that everyone wants to come to and has the option to purchase fresh food,” said Brook Wilke, co- manager of the market. These changes “will go a long way in helping support our mission at the farmers market.”

Wilke said the idea to have a box where farmers can put their

overflow, or customers can generously contribute, came from one of the market’s proponents, Rev. Ericka Parkinson-Kilbourne of First Presbyterian Church.

“It wouldn’t be possible without all of her work,” Wilke said.

Wilke said anyone could place any kind of food in the box, which would be delivered to Loaves and Fishes to help feed people in and around Kalamazoo. Currently, they collect around 10 pounds of food at every market.

LocalOrbit.com is a website that allows farmers to post each week the types of produce that will be available. Customers can visit the website and either order for delivery, or order and pick up at the farmers market.

Read the full article:
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/06/richland_farmers_market_now_ac.html

Program which Donates Refurbished Computers to Needy Families Expanding into Cass County

"Berrien County’s Bridges to Digital Excellence (BDE Technical Services), 175 W. Main St. in downtown Benton Harbor, has been around since 2003, when it started as a program of the Council for World-Class Communities, but will become more familiar (in Cass and Van Buren Counties) as the non-profit 501(c)3 recycler elevates its profile in Van Buren and Cass counties to bridge the digital divide between business and technology."

Bridges to Digital Excellence refurbishes computers that are donated by businesses and individuals and then donates these to families in Benton Harbor and other communities which may not have access to home computer technology.

"“In the Cass County area, we’re going to be piloting a program this fall,” (BDE CEO) Chapman said. “My committee on the Computers in the Home (CIH) program will be outreaching to a school here and we’ll be giving away our first nine or 10 computers this fall when school starts up.”

To date, Chapman related, more than $2.5 million in refurbished computers and software have been donated to individuals." Before families may receive a donated computer, BDE also provides computer training for those families in downtown Benton Harbor.

Earlier this year, Bridges to Digital Excellence also initiated a program of recycling of computers and other electronics. Their employees are hired through Michigan Works.

www.dowagiacnews.com/2010/06/20/bde-expanding-to-cass-county/

Nationally: More Families Homeless & on the Streets

"The Great Recession drove more families into homeless shelters in 2009, a new federal report has found.

Some 170,000 families needed shelter last year, up from 159,000 in 2008, according to an annual survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. There were 535,000 people in those families.

Over the course of the past year, the number of people in homeless shelters dipped slightly to 1.56 million, from 1.6 million a year earlier. This translates into one of every 200 Americans."

money.cnn.com/2010/06/16/news/economy/homelessness/index.htm

Help wanted with Kalamazoo's third annual 'Family Reunion'

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

KALAMAZOO — Donations, volunteers and community organizations wishing to share information about their services are all being sought by organizers of Kalamazoo’s third annual Ultimate Family Reunion.

The free, public fun-and-food event is slated to run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 7 at Spring Valley Park.

The 2010 theme is: “As a Community, We Win in 2010.” The event is again sponsored by Mothers of Hope, an organization founded to empower women recovering from substance abuse, restore families and enhance community life.

Organizers Gwen Hillman, Mothers of Hope chairwoman, and Kalamazoo City Commissioner Stephanie Bell, the group’s program development chairwoman, say they need everything from picnic volunteers and cash, to food donations and sporting goods contributions to make the summer event a success.

“The primary goal of this year’s event is to provide an opportunity for community members to connect with resources within the community for the building of strong community ties,” Bell said. “As in years past, we desire to hold an event that will provide a safe, welcoming environment for families within the overall community ... of Kalamazoo.”

A small registration fee charged to agencies and programs that wish to distribute information about their services will help underwrite some of the costs.

In addition, Mothers of Hope is seeking help with the following:

• Vans to transport people who park in off-site lots to and from the reunion.
• Donations to purchase food and suppliers who are willing to offer at least one free food item throughout the day. They also seek donations for stages, portable restrooms and sound equipment.
• Volunteers to cook and/or serve food at the event.
• Bottled water.
• Praise teams, choirs and entertainment groups.
• 50 fishing poles and volunteers to assist children from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The donated poles will be raffled at the end of the day.
• Tennis rackets and balls, plus volunteers to oversee tennis from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. That equipment also will be raffled with proceeds used to pay reunion expenses. A group is also needed to organize softball games at 1 and 4 p.m.
• Additional picnic tables and trash cans for the event and volunteers to help with clean up.

Organizers also plan three-on-three basketball tournaments and a dance contest.
For more information, to donate or to volunteer, contact Bell at 269-760-5969 or e-mail stephny4@yahoo.com.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/living/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/06/help_wanted_with_kalamazoos_th.html

Incarceration: the Platinum Revolving Door

Each year, America spends about $68 billion to incarcerate and supervise more than 7 million people. Yet criminologists say our burgeoning penal system – which has tripled in size over the past 25 years – does little to improve public safety. What it has been most successful at is promoting poverty.

With the highest incarceration rate in the world, the U.S. releases more than 700,000 inmates each year, almost all of them barred from solid jobs because of their crimes.

The story of one of those individuals is highlighted in this story:

John Page knows this through bitter experience. A drug addiction and subsequent crimes led to eight years in a Seattle-area prison. Afterward, though welcomed home by friends, and sober, he found himself permanently marked by his past. Despite a college education, solid office experience and a lifelong ability to connect with people, Page, 46, discovered that the only work he could get upon release was an $8-per-hour job cleaning buses at night.

“I’d had all these expectations,” he said. “I was aiming for jobs with the city, jobs with the county.” No employer would give him a second look.

“It was horrible,” he said.

Even now, four years later, Page still feels the chill of incarceration. He winces to recall the day he was invited to meet the managers at a Seattle utility company. His preliminary tests had so impressed Human Resources that a job seemed assured, company staff said. Dressed for the interview, Page arrived to fill out the paperwork – checking “yes” when asked whether he had any criminal history. Immediately, the smiles and first-name familiarity vanished, as did the $35,000-a-year position. Page was left to cobble together a living through part-time contract work.

“It really hurt,” he said. “Yes, I was in prison, but that wasn’t all of my experience.”

A dignified man whose face sags at the memory of his addiction and subsequent crimes, Page has since rebuilt his life, working in the last four years at a car dealership, communications firm and civil rights organization. Next month, he starts as a program coordinator with Seattle’s Defender Association – his first full-time job with benefits since the 1990s.

Moving up from the low-income apartment that has been his home since release is Page’s next goal. But he stalls, paralyzed by the idea of filling out a rental application.

“You go into a leasing office and tell them ‘Yes, I have some stuff in my background, some robberies.’ They take your $35 application fee and then say they can’t take you in,” he said. “I don’t want the anxiety.”

Many believe this is just as it should be: Break the law and you must pay.

Read the full story: http://www.equalvoiceforfamilies.org/pages/grantee_in_the_news/IncarcerationPlatinumRevolvingDoor.html

Kalamazoo Promise versus charter school vouchers: Which is the better philanthropic model for education?

After president Obama visited Kalamazoo, did it settle the debate between the Promise model and Charter schools? From the Grand Rapids Press:

The anonymous donors behind The Promise are using their money to boost public education -- and, by doing so, are creating community transformation in Kalamazoo.

Compare that to, say, Grand Rapids, which has its own cadre of philanthropists who have put significant money into education-related endeavors. But their cause tends to be charters and vouchers -- and, in terms of community transformation, there's little to show for it.

My point is not that charters and vouchers are bad. It's good for families to have options. But as reform efforts go, charters and vouchers have a mixed record, and they also affect a small segment of American students -- about 5 percent.

In bypassing traditional public schools, which educate the vast majority of American schoolchildren, reform occurs only on the margins, at best.

By contrast, The Promise taps into the power of public schools and its mission to educate the masses. One of the most distinctive and effective features of The Promise is its universality: Almost every graduate of Kalamazoo Public Schools qualifies -- regardless of family income, regardless of academic achievement.

What's your take?

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/06/kalamazoo_promise_versus_chart.html

Kalamazoo Gospel Mission's Annual Talent Show

"They sang. They danced. They entertained.

Heartfelt poetry and a comedy routine rounded out the evening Saturday at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission's talent show — an annual favorite where everyone wins.

“I came to the family shelter on Mother’s Day,” said Rebecca White, 25, as her two small children darted about after the show. “I’m staying here until I can find a job.”

White’s Mother’s Day gift to herself was freedom from a violent relationship as she fled her Cheboygan home to escape. She sang her life story as she took the microphone to perform the country song “Broken Wings.”

“That song is all about domestic violence,” White said. “I hope it touched someone who has been there. I want to get very involved in this community, after I find work and do outreach for other people.”"

www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/06/everyone_wins_in_kalamazoo_gos.html

What's happening with Kalamazoo local food?

Kalamazoo local food information provided by Fair Food Matters

Eat Local, Kalamazoo!
Join us this season for a wide array of food-related events, including canning classes, an urban chicken workshop, a community garden tour and cheese-making demonstration. We’re adding more events regularly. Find the latest information at www.eatlocalkalamazoo.org.

Network news
The Fair Food Matters Garden Network provides information, resources and networking opportunities to anybody who grows vegetables, fruits or herbs throughout our community. Join the network (there’s no obligation, and it’s completely free!) by contacting Shelly (garden@fairfoodmatters.org).

Sponsor a Gardener (or a garden)
The Fair Food Matters’ Growing Matters Garden has kicked off its annual sponsor-a-gardener campaign. Please consider a tax-deductible contribution of any size to help fund gardening programs for local youth and the community. To find out more, please visit www.fairfoodmatters.org or contact Erica (erica@fairfoodmatters.org).

See you at the farmers’ market!
We have a wealth of farmers’ markets here in West Michigan. Some of our new favorites include markets in Almena Township (Saturdays from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., www.almenatownship.net), and at Borgess Medical Center (monthly, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., www.borgess.com/default.aspx?pId=1163). Or check out Green Gardens Farm, which now offers online ordering: www.greengardensfarm.com/store/61
For information on markets near you, check www.localharvest.org or www.farmersmarkets.msu.edu/.

Living like Grandma and Grandpa
Our friends at Transition Van Buren/Allegan and the Michigan Land Trustees invite you to attend “Reskilling: Building Community Self-Reliance,” a forum on self-sufficient living in the 21st century. The event takes place this Saturday, June 12 in Lawton. More details at www.michiganlandtrust.org/EVENTSPAGE.html.

Putting Michigan produce on your menu
A new, free publication is available to help food service professionals at Michigan institutions (schools, hospitals, colleges and universities) purchase and use Michigan-grown foods. Download “Putting Michigan Produce on Your Menu: How to Buy and Use Michigan Produce in Your Institution” here: www.miffs.org/tools/MichiganProduceBooklet.pdf

Walk for Woodward – this Saturday!
Woodward School for Technology and Research is hosting a 5K Race/Walk this Saturday, June 12, beginning at 9 a.m. Proceeds help the children of Woodward continue hands-on experiences and creative exploration. Details at http://www.woodwardmagnet.com/

.

Local or organic?
Sometimes, even the most well-intentioned consumer must choose between local and organic food (although in West Michigan, we often get both). See an interesting take on the “false choice” of local vs. organic at www.grist.org/article/fromartz

Local food means Michigan jobs
What if Michigan farms supplied all the fruits and vegetables that Michiganders eat during the growing season? Our friends at the Michigan Land Use Institute summarize this fascinating study: http://mlui.org/blogs/?p=1314

Mike’s Famous Bean Dip lives up to its name
This delicious product, one of many produced in the Fair Food Matters’ Can-Do Kitchen, is available all over town. See the Gazette story: www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/05/hot_ticket_item_take_a_scoop_o.html

Victorian Bakery makes a move
Baked goods magician Maria Brennan will be moving her Victorian Bakery to a new home at 116 Crosstown Parkway next month (or thereabouts). The new spot will offer “a sit-down area where customers can have tea and baked goods.”

Meet me for lunch at Zazios
Zazios, which uses food and whole ingredients from some of our favorite local producers (Sarkozy’s Bakery, Palazzolo’s, Blue Dog Greens, Kirklin Farm, Scobey’s Farm, Young Earth Farm), is now open for lunch. See more at http://zazios.com.

Strawberry fields forever
All indications point to an early season and a high-quality crop for Michigan strawberries: http://www.freep.com/article/201006030300/FEATURES02/6030335

A loaf of bread, a jug of wine …
The Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council lists a bunch of summer and fall wine events at their website (www.michiganwines.com).

Is beer near?
This nifty new interactive Michigan beer finder is worth a look: www.mlive.com/kalamabrew/index.ssf/2009/09/looking_for_beer_find_your_way.html

New doc explores Michigan beer
Fifty Michigan breweries in eight days! Talk about suffering for one’s art. See the trailer here: http://locallybuzzed.blogspot.com/2010/05/locally-buzzed-trailer.html

Tap House taps local brews
Looking for a new spot to enjoy local beer? The new Central City Tap House is scheduled to open this summer, next to the Epic Bistro. More information at www.millenniumrestaurants.com/.

Boiling Pot coming!
The Strutt and The Idea Association will present Boiling Pot, “two days of music, art and community interaction,” at Kalamazoo’s Arcadia Festival Site on July 3 and 4. Event organizers assure us that no plastic, paper, or food will end up in a land fill. We’ll be part of this potentially transformative event, and you can find out more at www.boilingpotfest.com.

From Moo to Milk
Where do we get yummy treats like ice cream and cheese? Bring your children (ages 2-8) to the Kalamazoo Nature Center on Wednesday, June 30 to find out. Details at www.naturecenter.org.

And finally …
We know doughnuts aren’t entirely healthy, but Sweetwater’s treats are locally made by nice people, and they’re soooo tasty. See the latest national accolades our beloved local doughnut shop received: http://local.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=24454814

Cuts to Child Care Subsidy Thwart More Job Seekers

A lack of affordable child care has left many low-income working parents struggling to balance their work and personal lives. With increased cuts in subsidized child care, it challenges parents ability to search for reasonable work and care for their children at the same time. From the New York Times:

Despite a substantial increase in federal support for subsidized child care, which has enabled some states to stave off cuts, others have trimmed support, and most have failed to keep pace with rising demand, according to poverty experts and federal officials.

That has left swelling numbers of low-income families struggling to reconcile the demands of work and parenting, just as they confront one of the toughest job markets in decades.

The cuts to subsidized child care challenge the central tenet of the welfare overhaul adopted in 1996, which imposed a five-year lifetime limit on cash assistance. Under the change, low-income parents were forced to give up welfare checks and instead seek paychecks, while being promised support — not least, subsidized child care — that would enable them to work.

Now, in this moment of painful budget cuts, with Arizona and more than a dozen other states placing children eligible for subsidized child care on waiting lists, only two kinds of families are reliably securing aid: those under the supervision of child protective services — which looks after abuse and neglect cases — and those receiving cash assistance.

It's a misconception that many accept welfare as a way to avoid working. For many, accepting welfare is a last resort and the process can feel embarrassing and degrading:

Ms. Wallace abhors the thought of going on cash assistance, a station she associates with lazy people who con the system. Yet this has become the only practical route toward child care.

So, on a recent afternoon, she waited in a crush of beleaguered people to submit the necessary paperwork. Her effort to avoid welfare through work has brought her to welfare’s door.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” she says. “I fall back to — I can’t say ‘being a lowlife’ — but being like the typical person living off the government. That’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to use this as a backbone, so I can develop my own backbone.”

As the American social safety net absorbs its greatest challenge since the Great Depression, state budget cuts are weakening crucial components. Subsidized child care — financed by federal and state governments — is a conspicuous example.

Read the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/business/economy/24childcare.html

The Great Recession: Its Long Term Impact on Children and Families

"More children will live in poverty this year. More will have two parents who are unemployed. Fewer children will enroll in prekindergarten programs, and fewer teenagers will find jobs. More children are likely to commit suicide, be overweight, and be victimized by crime.

This is all according to a report released Tuesday by the Foundation for Child Development that measures the impact of the recession on the current generation.

These are the children of the Great Recession, a cohort that will experience a decline in fortunes that erases 30 years of social progress, the report contends. Known as the Child and Youth Well-Being Index, the report predicts that in the next few years, the economy may recover and the unemployment rate may drop, but the generation growing up now could feel the harsh impact of the recession for years to come.

“These are the lasting impacts of extreme recessions,” said Kenneth Land, a professor of sociology and demography at Duke University and the author of the report."

For the entire article, see Education Week at:

www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/08/35child_ep.h29.html?tkn=QYQFJKFoqCOehNMnkkr1mEVvXAqqXoJLZWWF&cmp=clp-edweek

Grand Rapids schools struggle to create college culture that Promise brought to Kalamazoo

Grand Rapids schools struggle to create college culture that Promise brought to Kalamazoo

Grand Rapids schools have struggled to create college culture that Promise brought to Kalamazoo. An article in the Grand Rapids Press compares the struggles of Grand Rapids Public Schools with the success that the Kalamazoo Promise has garnered for Kalamazoo Public Schools. From the article:

Superintendent Bernard Taylor saw a presidential visit as a means of elevating the importance of graduation in a district where only 51 percent of students graduate on time, and a college readiness study determined that fewer than a quarter of graduates are prepared for college level work in any core subject. Meanwhile, enrollment continues a long decline and student poverty rates are risinge. (Taylor declined to comment for the story.)

Grand Rapids Public Schools also is trying to rally community support for reforms at its comprehensive high schools, where student achievement is improving by some measures.

A Kalamazoo-style Promise was explored by The Grand Rapids Community Foundation, education program officer Cris Kooyer said. A private study calculated how big an endowment it would take to guarantee new graduates up to 100 percent of college tuition but concluded the district is too big.

"We don't have a Promise, but if we're strategic, intentional and collaborative, we think Grand Rapids can help students achieve more," Kooyer said.

The district benefits in many other ways from a generous philanthropic community, Kooyer said.

Examples include the Meijer Foundation funding classroom grants and United Way's Schools of Hope program providing tutors. The DeVos Family Foundation funds the district's participation in University of Pittsburgh's academic excellence initiative called Institute for Learning, Steelcase backs a college-bound program called U-Prep Academy, and Spectrum Health, Rockford Construction and Amway are active in career-based programs housed within comprehensive high schools called Centers of Innovation.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/06/grand_rapids_schools_struggle.html

Turning Poverty into a multi-billion dollar industry

Turning Poverty into a multi-billion dollar industry

In a recent story, NPR investigated the growth of the Payday lending industry and its manipulation of those in poverty. From the story:

Payday lending operations have grown rapidly in the United States since the early 1990s. At the industry's peak a few years ago, there were more payday lenders in the United States than McDonald's and Burger King stores — combined.

"The payday lender is kind of the emergency banker for the working poor," explains journalist Gary Rivlin. "The idea is that you have some bills that you have to pay today — your check isn't coming for a couple weeks, and you can take a loan out against that upcoming check."

In return, a person agrees to pay interest on the loan — which can be up to "200 percent interest or more on their money," Rivlin says. "It's a bridge loan to cover a gap, but the problem is, the gap keeps getting wider and wider."

Rivlin goes behind the scenes of the payday lending industry in his new book Broke, USA, which examines the $33 billion-dollar-a-year "poverty industry." Rivlin, who attended an annual conference of check cashers to learn industry tips, says he decided to write about the industry because of its rapid growth in recent years.

Rivlin answers a variety of questions throughout his interview, including why these loan operations exist in the poorest neighborhoods:

"[Payday loan operations] are there because banks have fled certain neighborhoods — it's working-class neighborhoods, inner city neighborhoods, some rural neighborhoods. Where can you get your loan? You go to a payday lender, you go to a consumer finance shop [or] you go to a pawn broker. To me, the real reason payday has grown like it has is more of an economic reason than a geographic reason. There's been stagnating wages among the lowest 40 percent [of wage earners] in this country, and so they're not earning anymore real dollars. At the same time, rent is going up, health care is going up [and] other expenses are going up, and it just becomes harder and harder and harder for these people who are making $20,000 [or] $25,000 [or] $30,000 a year to make ends meet. And the pay lenders are really convenient. Between going home from work and going shopping, you can stop at one of these stores and get instant cash in five minutes."

The story sparked a long conversation on Facebook about the Payday lending interesting. Some comments were particularly insightful:

• Banks won't cash checks unless you have an account. if you can't afford an account (i.e. fees, overdrawn charges have you upside down) you have no choice but to cash at these places or through friends...have you never been poor? banks are soooooooo NOT free of charge.
• Having worked at a place that had a check cashing service, it's been my experience that people use those businesses because they can't get a bank account (extremely bad credit, owe money to someone-usually a bank) or don't think to get a bank account.
• it's an outrage! I looked through a free newspaper here in Houston called the Greensheet last month and there were over 9 full pages of advertisements for these payday lenders and check cashers places..... ACK! How scary is that?!!
• I can so relate. I was so poor between 2000-2006, I was forced to use payday lending services. It was either that or have utilties turned off. Hellish way to live. The USA now thrives off of Poverty Pimps.
• Isaiah 3:14-15 - The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.
• It's amazing how expensive it is to be poor -- if you don't believe it, leave your middle-class bubble and visit a convenience/grocery store within walking distance of a housing project. You'll see crappy, unhealthy food offered at up to triple the price you pay at your nice clean well-stocked suburban store. It's so incredibly messed up.

Read the full article at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127236038&sc=fb&cc=fp

More and More Districts Offer Summer Free Lunch Programs for Hungry Students

State wide 46 percent of students in Michigan K-12 schools qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Out of 1.6 million children, that is more than 725,000 children (727,829** to be exact in the fall of the 2009-2010 school year) who qualify for free/reduced price lunch.

Since children are hungry not just during the school year, many school districts (not just the large urban districts) are starting to offer summer free lunch programs for students.

Brandywine Schools on the Indiana border on the southwest side of Niles is one such school district.

"After being notified that the district qualified to take part in the program, (a major qualifier being a population with 50 percent reduced lunch students) (Sue) Furney (the district's financial officer) said food service officials went through a one day training course at the state’s capital to prepare them and educate them on the program.

A program that could have a very significant impact on hungry tummies.

“During the school year, they (children) have a lunch available to them,” Furney said. “In the summertime, they don’t have a structured school program to provide that for them. So our question was – how many kids maybe aren’t eating a lunch at home?”

Some students may not even have lunch materials available to them, she said, especially if parents are unemployed or struggling to make ends meet.

Lunches will be served at Merritt Elementary School, 1620 LaSalle Ave. in Niles."

www.nilesstar.com/2010/06/04/who-says-theres-no-free-lunch/

** Statistics on free/reduced lunch participation are available in statewide data or by district or even building in spreadsheet format at:

www.michigan.gov/cepi/0,1607,7-113-21423_30451_36965---,00.html

Lutherans Discuss Issue of Poverty From a Religious and Moral Perspective

Many of us who are concerned about poverty come at the issue from a deeply religious or moral perspective.

All of the major religions of the world have some aspect that speaks to the issues of compassion for the less fortunate.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in its current issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics devotes the entire issue to poverty.

Here is one example:

"One billion human beings are hungry today. One billion people do not have enough to eat. The number alone is staggering. But what makes it scandalous is the fact that God’s abundant creation — the fertile earth and seas — can produce adequate nutrition for all. Scarcity is not the problem."

The full series of articles on poverty can be found at:

www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Journal-of-Lutheran-Ethics.aspx

Michigan campaign aims to dispel "myths" about assistance programs

With politics polarized on many important issues in our country, it comes as no surprise that welfare and consequently welfare reform have been under rhetorical crossfire for quite some time. There are some who believe that welfare makes our citizens dependent on government aid and a tax burden on the rest of the population. To combat this ideology, The Michigan Department of Human Services is conducting a series to demonstrate that welfare is both effective and necessary to maintain stability in Michigan:

For those who are skeptical of government assistance programs, the state of Michigan wants you to know something: Welfare works.

And in times like these, social safety net programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, child care and unemployment benefits aren’t just effective, they’re in huge demand, the state says.

“There is an unprecedented need for these programs,” said Ismael Ahmed, director of the state Department of Human Services. “These days, people seeking assistance could be your neighbor, a friend or a family member. A lot of people don’t realize how close they are to needing help.”

To dispel some of the misinformation about assistance programs — for example, that they are a waste of taxpayer dollars and that those who receive benefits abuse the system or live mainly in urban areas — the state has launched an educational campaign entitled “Welfare 101: Busting myths about welfare.”

“Those myths have caused a stigma that may prevent some people who truly need help, especially families with young children and the elderly, to come forward,” Ahmed said. “We want to put an end to that because the safety net helps families get back on their feet.”

Among the arguments cited includes evidence on making sure welfare fraud does not go unnoticed:

• According to DHS Director Ishmael Ahmed, every $1 that the state investigates towards fraud brings a return of $5 to the program.
  
• The Government Accountability Office estimates that for every $1 in food stamps, a mere 1 cent was obtained fraudulently.
  
• In addition to helping to meet a need, every $5 in food assistance generates $9.20 in local economic activity, the state says.

Read the full article here: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/06/welfare_needs_rising_sharply.html