Kellogg Foundation Funds Anti-Poverty Efforts in Michigan

LANSING, Mich., July 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Statewide efforts to combat poverty will be supported by a $1 million grant from the Battle Creek-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The two-year grant was awarded to support Michigan's Voices for Action Network as it attempts to weave public, private, and non-profit efforts into a collaborative infrastructure to move families above the poverty line. The grant was awarded to Michigan Community Action Agency Association (MCAAA), which acts as the network fiduciary and coordinates network activities with the Michigan Department of Human Services and the Governor's Commission on Community Action and Economic Opportunity.

The Voices for Action Network was formed following the Voices for Action Poverty Summit held at Cobo Hall in Detroit in November 2008. The summit drew more than 5,000 community organizers, social service providers, and low income residents to examine and discuss best practices in decreasing poverty in Michigan.

"This generous grant from the Kellogg Foundation makes it possible for us to build on the momentum generated by the Poverty Summit and will benefit low income families and children in Michigan," said James E. Crisp, MCAAA executive director. "The Voices for Action Network brings people together to address local needs and solutions on a regional basis, and taking into account the views of people actually living in poverty. That's what makes this initiative so powerful."

The Voices for Action Network has set a goal to reduce poverty in Michigan by engaging local communities and residents in the development of local anti-poverty initiatives. Each local initiative is evaluated by a team of poverty experts for effectiveness. Those shown to have an impact on reducing poverty will be supported by the Kellogg Foundation grant and other sources of funding. The foundation grant will support this statewide poverty reduction structure.

"We need a new war on poverty," Ismael Ahmed, director of Michigan Department of Human Services, said. Ahmed's department provides cash, food, medical and emergency assistance to almost 2.5 million people. "The first war on poverty in the 1960s decreased poverty by one-third. In our time, growing poverty is no longer just a phenomenon in cities; it is increasing everywhere. The Voices for Action network is dedicated to reversing this trend and the Kellogg Foundation grant will help."

Established in 1930, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and southern Africa.

Michigan Community Action Agency Association is the state association of the 30 community action agencies that provide programs and services to low income families and individuals in all 83 Michigan counties. Its website includes links to CAAs around Michigan at http://www.mcaaa.org/.

For more about anti-poverty efforts in Michigan, please visit www.michigan.gov/poverty.

SOURCE Michigan Community Action Agency Association