Michigan
WKKF grantee STEM Greenhouse offers a five-week summer learning course to help Grand Rapids Public Schools students develop a love for science, technology, engineering and math that may encourage them to pursue careers in STEM fields. The course, called Sankofa STEM Academy, is designed to help students who will be the first in their families to go to college build the confidence they need to pursue career opportunities in high-paying fields.
Education
In a People.com story, WKKF CEO La June Montgomery Tabron, Director of Program and Strategy Felicia DeHaney Russell and actor Tyler James Williams discuss the importance of early care and education in helping children and families thrive. The piece highlights how grantees, like the Indigenous Early Learning Collaborative, Valley Settlement and ZERO TO THREE, are incorporating culturally meaningful practices, responding to parent voices and successfully advocating for policy changes to meet children’s and families’ needs.
Mexico
An article in Cuarto Poder shares how sustainable coffee production benefits both forest and producer. It references Rainforest Alliance’s efforts in environmental conservation and improving the lives of local communities in Mexico. WKKF supports the organization’s work with schools in the Yucatán Peninsula to build technical and leadership skills of youths in sustainable community forestry.
Community Engagement
WKKF grantee VOCES will expand its presence in Battle Creek, Mich., after using American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase and renovate a 20,000-square-foot building to better serve the region’s growing Latinx community. Their new space will be more than four times as large as their current home and allow VOCES to expand programming in community connections, education and language services. They will also use the space to create a new immigration services department.
