W.K. Kellogg Foundation Awards First Steps $400,000
Grand Rapids, Mich.-First Steps today announced the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is making a significant investment in Kent County’s youngest children.  The Battle Creek-based foundation is committing $400,000 to help build a comprehensive and coordinated network of support services for young children and their families.

Kent County Community Providing Support to Meet Growing Needs of Local Children and Families
Michigan’s economic difficulties are having a profound impact on the state’s youngest children.  The percentage of young children living in poverty has steadily climbed since the turn of the century, with one in four now relying on food stamps for their basic [...]

First Steps Announces First Initiative:  Children’s Healthcare Access Program
Grand Rapids, Mich.-The number of Kent County children who rely on Medicaid for their medical coverage increases every year; it’s now approximately one in three.  As that number grows, it becomes more and more difficult for low-income families to access primary healthcare.  The Children’s Healthcare Access Program, [...]

Community leaders launch a new early childhood initiative
Grand Rapids, Mich.—Thousands of children in Kent County are already one or two years behind on the first day of kindergarten. That achievement gap only widens as the children get older. To combat this trend, community leaders announced First Steps, a major new early childhood initiative committed to [...]

Speaker to Discuss Importance of Early Education to Develop Strong Workforce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Committee for Economic Development have all come to the same conclusion about strengthening the U.S. economy:  we must invest in early childhood education.