The Challenge
Behind The Scenes: Here’s Your Curtain Call
By Chris Sargent, President & CEO I love it when our local communities earn national recognition. Battle Creek has earned All-America City status, and Kalamazoo recently topped a list of coolest, most affordable cities. Among the strengths that gain such attention is our rich cultural life, notably live theater. If you’re like me, one thing…
Read MoreLocal Racial Equity Work Highlighted by UW Worldwide
United Way Worldwide’s newest Innovation Case Study spotlights United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region’s efforts to center equity in every aspect of its work. “The case study offers a comprehensive overview of our internal equity, diversity and inclusion work, equitable grantmaking practices, COVID-19 response, and Catalyzing Community Giving (CCG) work,” said Claire…
Read MoreBasic Needs
Our regional 2-1-1 received more than 10,000 calls in 2015 for utility assistance alone. Assistance with obtaining basic needs continues to be within the top five unmet needs in our community. 2018 data report Having a strong safety net in the region allows low-income and homeless people and their families move past crisis situations. Furthermore,…
Read MoreHealth
Babies of color are up to 4.5 times more likely to die before their first birthday. In the Battle Creek-Kalamazoo Region, the infant mortality rate for black babies are up to 4.5 times higher than the rate for white babies. Our community goal is to improve infant mortality rates in families of color and low-income…
Read MoreIncome
56,200 households (41%) have annual income at or below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold—people who are working but struggling to make ends meet. The median annual household income is $43,291(State of Michigan median is $48,411). On average, Black & Hispanic households have 63% the median annual income of White households. 2018 data…
Read MoreEducation
4 out of 10 African-American students drop out each year. 3 out of 10 low-income students drop out each year. 2018 Data Report Interventions in early childhood—such as the provision of high-quality childcare, early grade reading supports, and programming to improve social emotional health—are cost effective ways to impact the educational trajectory and graduation rates…
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