Category: News

Tribute to Dorothy Young

Posted on by Teresa Denton

It is with heavy hearts, that The Center for Civic Engagement shares the news of the passing of Mrs. Dorothy Young on November 28, 2020.
We had the honor of working with Mrs. Young for almost two decades through our partnership with Community Advocates for Parents and Students (CAPS). As a founding board member for CAPS, Mrs. Young shared her time and talents with the children and their families living at Interfaith Homes as well as the hundreds of Kalamazoo College students who tutored in the CAPS program. When the Kalamazoo Promise was announced, the CCE was deluged with requests for K students to be tutors in new educational initiatives. While all of them had promising missions and dedicated leaders only CAPS had Mrs. Young as a leader, making it the obvious choice. Her reputation for putting children’s needs before politics or adult egos was well known and her common-sense approach for getting things done made us honored to be invited to be a part of this group. She not only built relationships with the many families who were a part of the CAPS community, but also with the K College students she mentored throughout the years. For many of them, she was one of the most influential people on their college education. The Kalamazoo community will not be the same without Mrs. Young but her legacy lives on through the many programs she led and the youth she inspired to work for change.
We will miss Mrs. Young, the community activist and fierce advocate for youth, but even more, we will miss Dorothy, our dear friend. We extend our sincere condolences to her family and friends.

Nominated by CCE Associate Director, Teresa Denton, Mrs. Young was awarded the Governor’s Senior Volunteer award by Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2010. To learn more about Mrs. Young’s impact on the Kalamazoo community, follow link to this story.
https://www.mlive.com/…/06/retired_kalamazoo_educator_dor.h…

Mrs. Young with Governor Jennifer Granholm

Election 2020 K Votes Events and Resources

Posted on by Moises Hernandez

Tomorrow is the 2020 Election

  • K Votes and campus partners have prepared a variety of events the entire week to support students, faculty, and staff.
  • You can find voting resources such as voting guides, sample ballots, polling place locator, etc. at https://cce.kzoo.edu/opportunities/k-votes/voting-101/. 
  • Haven’t registered to vote yet? Want to vote tomorrow? Same Day registration and voting is available in Michigan and other states, more details at the Voting 101 link above. Call the K Votes Hotline with any questions about this.
  • K Votes also created a Post-Election Resources page which has a variety of links and contact information for campus support services: https://cce.kzoo.edu/opportunities/k-votes/post-election-resources/.

If you have questions about voting, the election, or any events, please call the K Votes Hotline at (269) 364-0855 or email Emily Kowey at ekowey@kzoo.edu.

If you are going to the polls tomorrow and see or experience voter intimidation or have trouble voting, call the Election Protection Hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Español).

Tuesday, November 3rd: Last Day to Vote!

  • Kalamazoo College Voter Information Table and Bike to the Polls – Red Square 
    • ​Stop by from 9AM to 5PM to pick up voting guides, maps to local polling locations, Voting Go Bags (with snacks, pens, stickers, and a K Votes tip sheet), and more. 
    • Bike to Polls! Stop by Red Square to pick up a bike to ride to a local polling location. Helmets and locks available.
    • Masks Required! Additional COVID-19 protocols here: https://cce.kzoo.edu/events/
  • Guided Walk to the Kalamazoo Clerk’s Office – Meets at Red Square 
    • 10AM-11AM and 2PM-3PM
    • ​​K Votes interns will lead a guided walk from campus to the Downtown Clerk’s office for those that need to register to vote. Election Day registration is available in Michigan.
    • Masks Required! Additional COVID-19 protocols here: https://cce.kzoo.edu/events/
  • Election Talking Circle with the Kalamazoo College Counseling Center 
    • ​6-7PM EST on Teams. Join the Election Talking Circle group, Password: oa3kuvc. 
  • The State of the Race: Election Night Discussion with Dr. Justin Berry 
  • Election Night Returns Virtual Watch Party with Dr. Berry 
    • 8-11PM EST on Teams: 2020 Presidential Election Forum. Password: 549JKJ6

Wednesday, November 4th:

  • ​Election Talking Circle with the Kalamazoo College Counseling Center
    • 6-7PM EST on Teams. Join the Election Talking Circle group, code: oa3kuvc.
  • Lessons from Interfaith Leaders Around the World with the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life

Thursday, November 5th: 

  • ​Election Talking Circle with the Kalamazoo College Counseling Center 
    • ​6-7PM EST on Teams. Join the Election Talking Circle group, code: oa3kuvc.

Monday, November 9th: 

  • “So…Now What” Post Election Conversation for BIPOC Students with the Intercultural Center
    • 6PM EST on Teams. For details to attend, please RSVP to ncarvalh@kzoo.edu.​
    • This event welcomes all students, but will center Students of Color, and provide exclusive space to BIPOC lived experiences and concerns about the future. Those who do not respect this will be removed from the event.
    • Facilitated by Natalia Carvalho-Pinto and Dr. Kenlana Ferguson.

Partners in the News

Posted on by Moises Hernandez

Farmworker Legal Services is a CCE partner for almost 20 years in service-learning courses and Community Building Internships. Their advocacy for human rights for “essential workers” was highlighted recently in this piece from Michigan Radio: https://www.michiganradio.org/post/we-are-not-disposable-people-farmworkers-speak-out-conditions-have-led-outbreaks

Community Building Internships Summer 2021

Posted on by Paulette Rieger

We look forward to another successful CBI Summer as 25 grants of $4,000 per student have been awarded through a competitive interview and selection process with our local community partners. These internships are 6-8 weeks in length and are comprised of 240-280 hours. CCE Staff meets with the student interns for reflections once per week, and showcase their summer’s end reflection projects in an August Celebration. These internships are funded by the CCPD, anonymous donors and the SAGA foundation. In the CCE’s ongoing commitment to work toward greater equity in resource allocation, these internships are a competitive application process open only to students who meet eligibility criteria, i.e. first-generation college students (as self-reported to the College) and/or students with high financial need (as determined by the Financial Aid Office).  For more information on CBIs, please visit: Summer 2021 Center for Civic Engagement Community Building Internships