Western Michigan BBB Nonprofit Connector

01/16/2024

Our food pantry is a walk-in food pantry, you don't have to schedule to come to our pantry! You are able to use our pantry as long as you live in Kalamazoo County East of Sprinkle Road. All adults must present an ID to use our pantry once every 14 days on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm to 3pm.

Our pantry is not very large, and we service a large portion of Kalamazoo County. If you don't live within our food distribution area or need extra help, please visit https://comstockcc.com/food-pantry-program/ to find the Kalamazoo Resource Guide. This will show you other places that may be able to help depending on where you live!

01/05/2024

The organization will be using the expanded space to lessen the number of families on their waiting list.

06/23/2023

How cool - and impressive - is this?

06/19/2023

The food bank will be closed today, June 19, in honor of Juneteenth.

04/29/2023

How cool is this?

They're coming back! Plan now to grab your kids, friends, and hiking buddies and come out to experience the WILD THINGS!

04/28/2023

Mark your calendar for BBB Accredited Charity The Cereal City Concert Band's event on Sunday!

THIS SUNDAY!!

Under the direction of Dr. Stephen White and Ms. Amanda Burdette, the Cereal City Concert Band will be performing its Spring Concert, "Fantastical Features: Music of Stage, Screen, and Imagination”, on Sunday, April 30, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. at the Pennfield Performing Arts Center, 8299 Pennfield Rd, Battle Creek. Among the various TV and film themes, the audience will enjoy Symphonic Dances from “Fiddler on the Roof”, Great Movie Marches, A Disney Spectacular, The Magnificent Seven, and Gettysburg. Composer John Williams is famous for providing unforgettable music for movies and the band will be performing two of them: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Midway March.

In addition, Candide Suite is equally at home on the concert stage as the theatre, and this medley arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s wonderful music will not disappoint. The compelling piece of music by Steven Reineke, Pilatus: Mountain of Dragons, conveys the awe-inspiring grandeur of Pilatus Mountain in Switzerland. It opens with the brass slowly blowing air through their instruments as if to simulate the mountain wind, or perhaps the breath of dragons! Use your imagination!

Tickets are at the door: $10 for Adults and $5 for Students, Seniors 65+, and Veterans. Advance ticket sales are available by calling 269-962-2153 or by using Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cereal-city-concert-bands-spring-concert-tickets-580806195967. There will also be a 50/50 raffle at the event, bring cash!

For more information about the band, please visit its website at www.cerealcityconcertband.org or email [email protected].

04/28/2023

April is National Volunteer Month and the BBB is celebrating the many volunteers that make nonprofits succeed. Today we are celebrating BBB Accredited Charity Meals on Wheels Western Michigan. They are on a mission to provide quality nutrition services in a supportive environment to promote the health and independence of older adults. Their impact is undeniable. From home-delivered meals, to senior pantries and dining sites, they are there when seniors need them.

“We have an amazing staff, but we simply could not do this important work without volunteers. No matter what you do when you volunteer, you are an essential piece to supporting our vision to create a community where no senior is hungry or forgotten. We simply could not do what we do without our volunteers.”

04/26/2023

April is National Volunteer Month and the BBB is celebrating the many volunteers that make nonprofits succeed. Junior Achievement is the nation's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their futures, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA provides volunteer-delivered K-12 student programs focused on work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Whether it's doing mock interviews for high school students as they prepare to apply for jobs, being an inspirational speaker at a JA student event, letting students tour where they work to see what it's like in real life, or talking to middle schoolers directly in the classroom about their professional career to help them see what options are out there, our volunteers are the ones who inspire and prepare the next generation to make informed decisions about their future by showing them what's possible. A huge thank you to the volunteers that make this all possible. Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes

04/24/2023

April is National Volunteer Month and the BBB is celebrating the many volunteers that make nonprofits succeed. Today we are celebrating BBB Accredited Charity Comstock Community Center. This nonprofit develops resources and provides a setting for education, recreation, social events, human services and life-long learning activities to enhance the lives of community members and build a healthier community. “We provide services to Comstock and the surrounding areas. One of the main areas our volunteers provide service is in our food pantry. Our volunteers are sorting food for our commodities program as well as showing up every Tuesday and Thursday to our food pantry days. We appreciate them and would not be able to provide the level of care to the community without their help! Our volunteers love to give back to their community and also enjoy working with the Community Center Staff."

04/21/2023

This is National Volunteer Month and the BBB is celebrating the many volunteers who make nonprofits succeed and soar in their missions. Today we shine the spotlight on BBB Accredited Charity Comprehensive Therapy Center.

Since 1982, CTC has helped neurodiverse children get the therapy they need to walk, talk, learn and play. We use a holistic, play-based approach that includes resources and activities for families to feel confident and involved in all areas of their child’s growth. Much of this is done through our summer program, Therapy & Fun. While the primary goal of Therapy & Fun is to help children with disabilities keep up with therapy goals during the summer, the program's impact extends to their families and communities.

According to CTC, “The hard work of our volunteers is what makes our summer programs so successful. Without their help, we wouldn't be able to operate Therapy & Fun and Therapy & Life Skills on such a large scale! Our returning volunteers love to see the growth that our clients have from the beginning to the end of summer, and we're so grateful for how enthusiastic they are with their involvement in the program. Many of our volunteers are former clients, or have family members who have received services, so it's really amazing to see the ways in which people give back to their community. This opportunity is open to middle and high school aged individuals interested in a career in healthcare, working with children with disabilities, or just want to have a fun summer helping out the Grand Rapids community!”

A huge thank you to these wonderful volunteers who make such a difference in the lives of the people they serve.

04/14/2023

The BBB continues to shine its light on local volunteers during National Volunteer Week. BBB Accredited Charity Buchanan Area Senior Center is a community focal point on aging, where area older adults gather for services, programs and activities that reflect their experiences and skills, respond to their diverse needs and interests, enhance their dignity, support their independence and encourage their involvement with this senior community center and the larger community. BASC depends on its amazing volunteers to help achieve its mission. More than 60 volunteers kick in and help with the newsletter, Garden Club, crafts, baking, and even crocheting mittens for preschool students! A huge thank you goes to the amazing people who give not only their time, but their hearts!

04/13/2023

In honor of National Volunteer Month, we are shining a spotlight on the huge difference volunteers make in the nonprofit world. A huge thank you to this group who helped BBB Accredited Charity Alpha Grand Rapids recently.

Today, a group of National Honors Society students from NorthPointe Christian High School came by to volunteer their time in material resources. They were a huge help in sorting and folding clothing to stock up AGR's store. Thank you so much for your service!