Kellogg Foundation seeds GR urban group

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The W.K. Kellogg Foundation awarded a grant to begin development of a community program in the neighborhood around Dickinson Elementary on the southeast side of Grand Rapids.

The foundation granted $305,800 to Seeds of Promise, a local organization dedicated to urban improvement. The money will help train 40 residents to create self-sustaining developments in an area bordered by Hall, Griggs, Union and Jefferson.

The area surrounding Dickinson Elementary is ripe for community development, with 30% of residents in that area at or below the national poverty line, according to a press release, with 66% of households run by single parents.

"Our development module focuses upon community engagement and racial equity to produce economic and educational security for children and families,"  Eric Foster, a community governance coach and project manager, said in a statement.

Seeds of Promise officials said the organization has three main objectives: self-governance, empowerment of residents and life skills training.

Ron Jimmerson, the president and co-founder of Seeds of Promise, said in a statement, "Self-governance guides our belief that residents in urban neighborhoods can facilitate their own goals and plans for sustainable community development."

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States.  

Funding for Seeds of Promise begins immediately and continues through February 2015.