Drop-in Child Care Center Plays Key Role in Family Stability

[su_label type=”info”]Agency spotlight[/su_label] On the surface, Kalamazoo Drop-In Childcare Center looks like many similar facilities, with colorful bulletin boards and murals, bookshelves and activity centers all geared toward early childhood development. But for many families who attend the center, it’s much more than a safe, educational place to take their children. It’s one hurdle cleared…

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United Against Hunger fights food insecurity with 50,000 meals

Thousands of food-insecure families can count on a nutritious meal because hundreds of volunteers, corporate partners and sponsors came together to fight hunger with us this week. Volunteers packaged a total of 50,000 meal kits in under four hours during two United Against Hunger events in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. United Way BCKR organized the…

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Kathleen's Story

Kathleen's Story

Kathleen’s Story: Learning Independence Kathleen Terry bears a tattoo on her left forearm that reminds her of who she is and how far she’s come in recent years. The words, she said, have come to symbolize how she strives to live her life – with “Strong Love.” Kathleen was 18 years old and just four…

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Volunteers Needed: United Against Hunger to Pack 50,000 Meal Kits

  Hunger is a reality for thousands of people in our region. On Oct. 16 – World Food Day – dozens of volunteers will gather for the first of two events aiming to address that reality and shine a light on a persistent, pervasive problem in our region: food insecurity. About 1 in 7 adults…

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Book Drive Delivers Gift of Reading

The first-ever United Way Children’s Book Drive brought in more than 9,000 new and gently used books for young kids—and more are coming in. “Children who read well tend to succeed in school. That’s the genesis of the book drive—our desire to get books in the hands of kids who need them,” said Jennifer Nottingham,…

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Tawana's Story

Tawana's Story

Nurse-Family Partnership Offers Support to First-Time Mothers Tawana Moss never expected to be a mother. Told they could never have children, she and her husband were stunned last year to discover that she was two months pregnant. “I cried the whole seven months,” she said, laughing as 9-month-old Tatiana squirmed on her lap. “But I…

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Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month

Editor’s note: In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we welcome this guest blog by Josh Dunn, executive director of Voces and a member of the Battle Creek Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration Committee. National Hispanic Heritage Month runs September 15 through October 15 every year. It began life as just a week, timed to correspond…

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