FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Paula Adams
Poverty Reduction Initiative                         
Tel. 269-387-2678
Email: publicrelations@haltpoverty.org

KIDS COUNT IN KALAMAZOO 2010:  PREVENTING POVERTY FROM ADDING UP TO POOR EDUCATION

Kalamazoo, MI February 1, 2011 – On Tuesday, February 8 at 9am, the Poverty Reduction Initiative (PRI) of Kalamazoo County, in conjunction with the Greater Kalamazoo United Way, hosts its annual Press Conference highlighting the KIDS COUNT in Michigan 2010 Data Book release. The conference will take place in the library of the Kalamazoo Public Schools Professional Development Center, 1627 West Main, Kalamazoo, MI  49006.
       The year’s event focuses on the relationship between poverty, community support systems, and children’s educational achievement; comparing Kalamazoo County’s trends in contrast with historical and State indicators.
       “As poverty rates have climbed more and more families find themselves facing challenges. It’s important for communities to come together to support stable homes and lives so that our schools can do the job of educating our children more effectively,” says Jeff Brown, Executive Director of the PRI.
       Denise Hartsough, PhD, Community Investment Director Greater at the Greater Kalamazoo United Way adds, “Kalamazoo area organizations serving families and children work together to help people address the many challenges they face because together, we are all stronger.  When we ‘Live United’—when we give, advocate and volunteer—then we all benefit.”
       Confirmed panelists include:  Dr. Michael F. Rice, Superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools and PRI Board Member; Dr. Sandra Standish, Superintendent of Comstock Schools; Pam Kingery, Executive Director Kalamazoo Communities in Schools; Dolly Roselip, Director Kalamazoo Regional Educational Services Agency / Youth Opportunities Unlimited; Tim Ready, PhD, Lewis Walker Institute for Racial and Ethnic Studies; Hartsough; and moderator Brown.
       KIDS COUNT is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States. Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the report releases annual data which focuses on the educational, social, economic, and physical well-being of children. The Michigan partners for KIDS COUNT include the Michigan League for Human Services and Michigan’s Children. Additional funding is provided by the Skillman Foundation and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation.
       The mission of the Poverty Reduction Initiative is to reduce poverty through collaboration, education and economic opportunity. The PRI serves the communities and poverty related service organizations of Kalamazoo County and Southwest Michigan.
       For more than 90 years, the Greater Kalamazoo United Way has remained committed to fostering powerful community responses to current, emerging and under-addressed community needs in Kalamazoo County by bringing human and financial resources together.
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