Our Initiative
The Communities for All Ages Team :
- **Michigan State University Extension, Kalamazoo County: http://www.kalcounty.com/msue/index.htm
- Douglass Community Association: http://www.douglasscommunity.org/
- New Genesis Educational Center: http://www.newgenesisinc.org/
- Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy and Action in the Community (ISAAC): http://www.isaackalamazoo.org/
- NAACP Kalamazoo Branch: http://naacpkalamazoo.com/
- Ecumenical Senior Center: http://ecumenicalsc.org/
- Pamela Jenkins, Community resident and Communities for All Ages Coordinator
Our Funder:
- Kalamazoo Community Foundation
Phase of Development: IMPLEMENTATION
Starting date: October 1, 2009
Our work:
Based on our community assessment and planning, our team chose to focus on engaging the community and helping residents of all ages bring high quality, intergenerational supports to the alternative middle school and the children and families of that school in ways that engage, build leadership, remove barriers to learning, and provide enrichment, encouragement and support so children can succeed in school.
One of our first decisions was to hire a local community resident activist to provide additional organizing and coordinating support to the tema. The team has been very excitied to bring on board Pamela Jenkins, a passionate and committed community activist and resident of Northside.
Our next step to kick off our efforts was to organize and coordinate a community resource fair that was intended to build relationships and enhance communication between local residents and community organizations. The students and parents from the alternative middle school were engaged in the organizing process and helped to make the event a success.
Currently the Communities for all Ages team is collaborating with the Alternative middle school students and staff , local organizations, businesses and Northside residents of all ages to create a range of leadership, academic support, recreation, creative arts, mentoring and service learning opportunities over the summer for the alternative middle school students and their families.
By bringing together many existing resources and creating new opportunites within the community, the CFAA team has successfully designed a comprehensive 9 week program for 15-20 of the 40 students from the Alternative Middle school.
The participating youth, many of whom have never been able to afford a summer program in the past, and participating local residents are very excited. Summer opportunities include a week of science camp with the Kalamazoo Christian School, a week of sports activities with New Genesis, a six week lifeskills and prevention program, as well as weekly intergenerational service learning opportunities with volunteers from the ecumenical senior center. An intergenerational group of residents aged 20-72 will be volunteering as mentors and participating with the youth throughout the summer.
In addition to local volunteers, the business community and other individuals have generously donated supplies for community greening projects, and personal computers for each youth who successfully complete the summer program. Dr. Hodge, one of our key team members, is holding a youth golf outing fundraiser to provide stipends for additional youth to participate in the fall as we continue our work.
In the fall, building on the enormous success and energy from the summer, we plan to grow and expand our enagement of the community and residents of all ages to provide additional on-going supports and opportunities to the alternative middle school students, families and teahcers as well as provide continued support and mentorship to the students and families who participated over the summer.
