What is the Kalamazoo Promise?A group of citizens interested in economic strength and quality of life in the City of Kalamazoo announced in the fall of 2005, a tremendous contribution on behalf of KPS students. All students who graduate from Kalamazoo Public Schools, are residing in the district, and have been students four years or more will be given funding for college tuition and mandatory fees. The amount of available dollars depends on years of residency and the number of grades attended in KPS, up to 100% of tuition and mandatory fees. The funds will be available to use at any public university or community college in the State of Michigan. “There is no doubt in my mind,” said School Superintendent,
Janice Brown, “that this will spur housing sales, attract new business
development, and add to an already solid quality of life in Kalamazoo. |
Once they arrive at the Multi-Cultural Center and get settled into their seats, jackets still on, they are greeted by an enthusiastic Linda Comer, President of the local chapter of the international organization LINKS, Incorporated. “It’s important that we become something in life,” Linda announces to the group. She proceeds to tell the girls about one of her favorite childhood memories. She recalls a trip to the circus and watched the trapeze artists with great amazement. She talks about one performance when an artist slipped and dropped down to the net below which kept him safe from injury. “As you move through Middle School and High School, the Kalamazoo Chapter of the LINKS wants to be your safety net in life. We are going to walk with you and your family. We want you to be successful,” Comer continues. The LINKS, Incorporated These women represent an impressive array of talents, abilities,
know-how and financial resources. Their understanding of the needs
of local children and families is evident as is their desire to make
an ongoing, positive impact on these families’ lives. |
By Matthew Downey
It’s 8:00 AM on a rainy spring Saturday (May 13, 2006) on Kalamazoo’s
north side and twenty girls ages eleven to fifteen – and their
mothers – have boarded a bus. Their destination is the Multi-Cultural
Center on Western Michigan University’s campus. They know where
they are physically headed this morning, but they are less aware
that they are about to embark upon an emotional and educational journey.
future events are all sponsored by a dynamic new volunteer
organization that its members refer to as the LINKS. The local LINKS
was chartered only five years ago as the local chapter of a powerful
international network of more than 11,000 African-American women. 
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