At Monday night's meeting, the Kalamazoo City Commission voted unanimously to spend almost $1 million dollars to fund three youth development programs for this coming summer.

The three programs are: Supervised Playground, All Things Possible, and a Summer Youth Employment program.

Supervised Playground began last year with about 40 children, ages 5-12 at one location, LaCrone Park. This summer the program will expand to four locations.

All Things Possible is designed for children transitioning from elementary to middle school and those losing interest in school. The program centers on "active learning and experiential-based activities such as field lessons, hands on math, science and literacy activities, a health, cooking, and nutrition class, empowerment groups, daily reflection, and physical fitness & outdoor learning", according to the City's press release.

Kalamazoo Parks & Recreation has been partnering with Youth Opportunities Unlimited since 2005 to offer the Summer Youth Employment program. "New in 2017 will be an age-based tiered placement system to focus on certain skills. Younger participants will focus more on general soft skills with more specific training as they get older. Youth that are about to enter the workforce will focus on more specific training opportunities. The program will also have an increased focus on financial literacy and entrepreneurship in 2017:, accrding to the same release.

Young people interested in any of these employment programs can contact K-RESA.

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(103.3 KFR via YouTube)


 

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