New KCC program teaches young people how to change community

A new 10 week program at Kalamazoo Community College is teaching 20 students how to be community organizers and change their part of Battle Creek.

The program, funded by a $148,150 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, for young people age 16-19 from local high schools, offers them supervised learning experiences. They spend  20 hours per week -- a total of 200 hours altogether -- in classroom time and working in Battle Creek.

In the classroom the students learn written and verbal skills needed for businesses. They work on developing proficiency on the computer and creating budgets for projects and personal use. And they learn about the kind of community programming that is effective and learn how to apply their classroom experiences to the community work they are doing.

The classroom work takes place at KCC's main campus and its Regional Manufacturing and Technology Center. KCC's interim director of Workforce Solutions Chris Walden says the young people are learning the programs and services the residents believe would improve their quality of life.

The youth did door-to-door surveys of residents and businesses to find out what kind of needs people perceive. The young people are being encouraged to work with local agencies and service providers to connect people with programs and services. Through the program the youth are not creating new programs for the neighborhoods, but are instead augmenting work already under way.

Each of the youth groups will showcase what they have discovered about the neighborhood at a "Block Party," which they must plan, budget, promote, host and evaluate. These events will take place in August and the student's major project will be  Sept. 10.

The student's work in the community is supervised by the Mylestone Project, a group formed to support family life through the use of family coaches, advocates, and teachers of special programs.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Chris Walden, Kalamazoo Community College