Zombies Invade Lansing (and Raise Food & Funds for Area Food Banks)

Zombies in Lansing recently held a fun walk for Lansing area food banks. Fun idea for a fund raiser! Canned goods and cash were collected to battle hunger:

We're Against Tax Cuts that Benefit Working Poor, But For the Tax Cuts for the Wealthy?

Tax legislation can get pretty arcane, pretty fast. Honestly, how many of you think about income taxes more than once a year (normally, when you are frantically trying to pull together a year's worth of receipts and pay stubs sometime between January and April 15)?

There is a philosophical debate going on now in the halls of Congress.

It goes like this:

We can't afford to continue the expansion of the earned income tax credit that was passed last year. Why? Because of the deficit.

We can't afford NOT to continue the tax cuts for the affluent passed in 2001. Why? Because of the economy.

Get it. The affluent (those who make more than $200,000 per year for singles, $250,000 per year for couples) need a tax cut because, well if we don't give them one, the economy will never come out of the toilet. If we extend the earned income tax credit for those who make between $3,000 and $12,500 or for those who have more than two children, we can't afford it. It will bankrupt the country. (The earned income credit only pertains to those families who make less than $48,000 per year.)

"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat. "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.

"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

An article about the proposed extension of the earned income credit can be found in today's GR Press:

www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/09/should_congress_make_permanent.html

It is an election year. Information about contacting your local congressman can be found at:

Fred Upton (6th district including Kalamazoo, Berrien & Cass Counties, Three Rivers, cities of South Haven, Allegan, and Wayland:

upton.house.gov/Contact/default.aspx

Pete Hoekstra (2nd district including Saugatuck and points north along lake shore):

hoekstra.house.gov/Contact/

Mark Schauer (7th district including Battle Creek, Marshall, Albion, & Coldwater):

schauer.house.gov/Contact/

P.S. The Michigan League for Human Services has a handy fact sheet on the tax cuts that benefit the working poor at:

www.milhs.org/Media/EDocs/FactSheetRefundTaxCredits810.pdf

Michigan State Students Give Back to Needy Children

Recently, Michigan State University students collected a bus load of school supplies for needy children in the Lansing area.

Go Green! Go White!

Are there any Wolverine (or Bronco, Chippewa, Grand Valley Lakers, or other college fans) out there listening? Your turn to step up to the plate for poor kids.

www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100903/NEWS06/9030338/MSU-students-staff-help-distribute-school-supplies-food-to-those-in-need

Book drive helps people in homeless shelters throughout Kalamazoo County

We all go through intense experiences, struggles and a variety of challenges throughout our lives. Imagine doing so without a place to call home, or the without the support of loved ones who understand your condition. This is the reality of many homeless residents who exist in our communities.

Local non-profit organization Take Life By The Page is taking donations of reading and writing materials such as books, notebooks, and journals for children and adults living in homeless shelters throughout Kalamazoo County. The intent of these donations is to promote healthier living and provide educational opportunities for those in shelters.

One of my professors at GVSU once told our class about the life of one his mentors, Lee Thayer, who taught his class while he was a graduate student. Thayer liked to tell his class, "All of my best friends all dead." He would then pause to enhance the effect. The class would look at him with shock and sadness. No one ever knew what to say. Then Thayer would quickly add, "They're all books!"

You never know what will influence a person's life. I can attest to several books that have made a substantial difference in the way I approach my life. It's important we enrich the lives of those who need our support the most.

Anyone is welcome to bring used or new books, new notebooks or journals, and writing supplies to the Parkview Hills Clubhouse at 3707 Greenleaf Circle, Kalamazoo. There are also donation drop boxes available at Fifth Third Bank, 3311 Greenleaf Blvd., and at Vallar Salon, 1112 E. Centre Ave., Portage.

For more information, call Ashley McIntyre at 269-760-7899.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/living/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/09/book_drive_helps_people_in_hom.html

Kalamazoo's Gryphon Place turns 40: Agency known for suicide prevention offers much more

Kalamazoo's Gryphon Place was founded in 1970 as a substance abuse prevention drop-in center, but has evolved into much more. In that era, call center workers fielded 3,000 or 4,000 calls a year. By comparison, the 211/HELP line received 64,455 calls between October 2008 and September 2009, and is projected to handle 91,000 this year.

The organization has expanded from simply substance abuse and suicide prevention to a "one-stop reference guide for people with a range of health or human services needs."

Like other community agencies, Gryphon Place has been hard hit by the economic downturn, according to Pell. Local funding has fallen by $100,00, according to the agency’s 2009 annual report, at a time when the need for services has increased.

Though suicide-related calls have remained steady, calls about basic needs, such as people seeking help with utility shut-offs, evictions, foreclosures, hunger and homelessness, increased by 10 percent two years ago, by 11 percent last year, and 10 percent this year.

The high numbers, says Pell, reflect many “newly poor” in the community, people who always had jobs, homes and food until recently, but now find themselves in dire financial trouble. These people, he said, “don’t understand the system, they’re embarrassed and demoralized, and they don’t like asking for help.”

For people in poverty, there is no "map" or "guide" of how reach or access services. Many people rely on service referral organizations such as Gryphon Place to direct them to the correct organizations. Without them, they would be forced to call and/or visit every organization until they filled the right need. To say that this service is crucial would be an understatement.

Happy 40th birthday Gryphon place!

Read the Full Article: http://www.mlive.com/living/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/08/kalamazoos_gryphon_place_turns.html

Study shows every 10 public transit jobs creates six more jobs in Michigan economy

The new economic modeling study provided by the Michigan Department of Transportation shows that for every 10 jobs created in the public transit sector, six additional jobs are created in the rest of the economy.

This study is being used in Grand Rapids as a component of the 20-year improvement plan that will bring streetcars, speedy high-tech buses and routes that run more often until midnight and on Sundays.

Not only is public transportation essential for those who work low-wage jobs, but it has been increasingly desirable by younger populations who want to live and work in urban environments. Other key points from the study include:

• Statewide, money that people saved by taking the bus added $264.4 million to Michigan's economy. In Grand Rapids, the $31 million that The Rapid spends to operate its systems creates $43 million in "social benefits" because riders spent their savings on other things. That includes $17 million in work-related spending, $3.8 million in health-care-related spending, $8 million in retail-related spending, and $9.9 million in education-related spending.
• Statewide, transit operations sustained 9,200 jobs in 2009 and contributed $1 billion to the economy.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/08/study_shows_every_10_public_tr.html

Million Father March Reaches Benton Harbor on First Day of School

You have not logged in.

Please click here to login.

CALLING FATHERS! Join the “Take your Child to the First Day of School” Campaign

The Black Star Project is sponsoring the Million Father March 2010 on the first day of school in nearly 300 cities across America, including Benton Harbor, according to local resident Samantha Maben, who is coordinating the March in the Twin Cities area.

Benton Harbor schools will begin its first day of school on Tuesday, September 7, 2010, along with other area schools. This can become a special day that fathers and men use to make a commitment to their children, families, communities and country with their dynamic presence at a school...

... Research shows that children whose fathers take an active role in their educational lives earn better grades, score higher on tests, enjoy school more and are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college.

bentonspiritnews.com/calling-fathers-join-the-take-your-child-to-the-first-day-of-school-cam-p3585-1.htm?twindow=Default&smenu=1&mad=No

Ingham County Sees Surge in Food Pantry Families

Unemployment across the Lansing area rose from June to July, and local food banks are feeling it.

"We are averaging 125 to 130 new families per month who have never had to come for food before, and some of them were (previously) donors," said Mary Meirndorf, director of the Ingham County Food Bank, which manages 20 pantries in the Lansing, East Lansing, Haslett and Okemos areas.

The Ingham County Food Bank only recently started to track first timers, so there's no way of knowing how that compares with a year ago, Meirndorf said.

Okemos Community Church is one of the pantries that works with the Ingham County Food Bank.

www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100827/NEWS01/8270325/Continuing-poor-economy-keeping-Lansing-area-food-banks-busy

Pastor-entrepreneur builds Edison neighborhood business center

In Kalamazoo's Edison Neighborhood, new ideas are coming together for ways to spur economic development. Pastor Carrie Bertrand's Believers Business Center is one such idea to revive the neighborhood and provide opportunities for businesses and employment.

The believers Business Center would host seven proposed businesses and provide a place for the community to come together and for people to make business connections and help other businesses grow. From Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Magazine:

Eventually, the 22,000-square-foot building at 1301 Cameron St. will be the home of a business incubator, a 4,700-square-foot expo and event center, an office share space, conference rooms, classrooms, a health and wellness center and more.

Rental rates are intentionally set low to make the space affordable. Paws Advocacy Network, a nonprofit that helps low-income pet owners feed their animals, has already set up business there.

Twenty five people have signed up to be members of the business center. For $99 a year members have access to the site and its networking capabilities promoted through connection meetings each month. Classes begin in September.

Bertrand's already reaching out to folks in the neighborhood. Garage sales that bring in a little revenue are also just as much about meeting the neighbors, who are among the people she's hoping to reach.

Edison, the largest of Kalamazoo's neighborhoods by population also has the highest unemployment, and Bertrand's mission is to offer training and advice that can restore hope in people battered by today's economic conditions.

Read the full article: http://swmichigan.secondwavemedia.com/features/believers0826.aspx

Unemployment hits single mothers, minority women hardest

A recent federal report demonstrated that single mothers and minority women have been hit hardest by recent unemployment. According to its report, unemployment for single mothers jumped to 13.4 percent in July from 12.1 percent in June and unemployment among African-American women climbed from 11.8 percent in June to 12.9 percent in July. In contrast, the national unemployment rate is 9.5 and the unemployment rate for black men dropped from 17.4 percent to 16.7 percent.

For Hispanic women, the unemployment rate rose from 1.1 percent to 12.1 percent in July while for Hispanic men the rate fell from 11.3 percent in June to 10.2 percent in July.

The condition of women could significantly worsen due to government cutbacks and a lack of resources made available by charities.

It's possible that the decline in the employment rate for men could be lower in July versus June because of seasonal jobs which require high amounts of manual labor. Even though women have a lower unemployment rate overall (with the exception being Hispanic women), they also on average earn less than men nationally and often have to raise families on their own.

One personal story was highlighted by the Grand Rapids Press:

Karrie Quay needs no reminder this economy is tough on single mothers.

Eight months ago, Quay took leave from her job as manager of a fast food chain near Flint to tend to her dying mother in Montcalm County.

Two months later, her employer informed her they could no longer hold the job open. Two months after that, her mother and "best friend" died from cancer after lapsing into a coma.

Quay, 27, got a job on a farm near Sparta. The 130-pound Quay earned anywhere from $20 to $50 a day pitching 70-pound hay bales onto a wagon. The mother to two was so sore the first week, "I could barely move."

But after wearing out her welcome at her sister's house and that of a friend, she was out of options. Earlier this month, she and her daughters, Ariana, 9, and Lillian, 6, moved into the family shelter at Mel Trotter Ministries.

"The only thing that keeps me going is my kids, and I told my mother I would never give up," Quay said.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/08/unemployment_hits_single_mothe.html