Urban Core Collective

RSVP today! Are you familiar with what the Urban Core Collective does? Maybe you know a bit about one part of our work, but aren't sure about the rest? UCC has four focus areas: climate justice, education justice, democracy, and emerging leaders. Attend Urban Core Connect to learn more about who we are and enjoy free food and giveaways while you're at it! https://lnkd.in/g256RUDW

Applications for this year's Transformational Leadership Program cohort 11 are live now at https://lnkd.in/gW_vVFVZ. We're looking for existing and emerging leaders of color in Grand Rapids who want to grow their skills and build community in our eight nine month leadership program.

The City of Grand Rapids is partnering with community stakeholders from different sectors to conduct a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. This plan will include how we collectively reduce our carbon footprint to curb our impact on climate change and it will also cover how we can be more resilient as a community. Join us Wednesday, August 7 to learn about recommendations specific to residential buildings. The housing we will focus on is small residential housing (4 units or less). Give us your feedback and come with suggestions for how we can invest in adapting resident housing and making it more resilient to climate change. RSVP here: https://bit.ly/4dpLSt3

#MemberSpotlight We're thrilled to highlight the 16 For 6 Pilot Compost Program in Grand Rapids, MI! This initiative offers six months of free food scrap pickup, empowering households to adopt sustainable practices. Kudos to the Urban Core Collective, the Community Collaboration on Climate Change (C4), Wormies Vermicompost, and Kent County DPW for making composting accessible and affordable. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gd9Vp23V hashtag #Sustainability hashtag #CommunityImpact hashtag #Composting

✨Save the Date! Join the Urban Core Collective team, our neighbors and partners for an evening of fun, food, and fellowship! Are you familiar with what the Urban Core Collective does? Maybe you know a bit about one part of our work, but aren't sure about the rest? UCC has four focus areas: climate justice, education justice, democracy, and emerging leaders. Attend Urban Core Connect to learn more about who we are and enjoy free food and giveaways while you're at it! Urban Core Connect will be an open-house style event with a brief presentation. The rest of the time will include opportunities to learn about each of our focus areas and how you can get involved, kids activities, and free food for everyone! We want to get to know YOU better, and hope you'll leave feeling excited about how you can participate in building a stronger community. Follow for most posts! https://lnkd.in/grAiA-hz Register here! https://lnkd.in/g256RUDW

✨¡Reserva la fecha! Únete al equipo de Urban Core Collective, junto con nuestros vecinos y asociados, para una noche de diversión, comida y camaradería. ¿Sabes qué hace Urban Core Collective? Puede que tengas conocimientos sobre una parte de nuestro trabajo, pero quizás desconozcas el resto. UCC se enfoca en cuatro áreas principales: justicia climática, educativa, democracia y el desarrollo de nuevos líderes. ¡Ven a Urban Core Connect para descubrir más sobre quiénes somos y disfruta de comida gratis y regalos mientras estás aquí! Urban Core Connect será un evento de puertas abiertas con una breve presentación. El resto del tiempo habrá oportunidades para aprender acerca de cada una de nuestras áreas de enfoque y cómo puedes participar, actividades para niños y comida gratuita para todos. ¡Queremos conocerte MEJOR y esperamos que te vayas emocionado por cómo puedes contribuir al desarrollo de una comunidad más fuerte!

Our primary election voter guide, focused on local races, includes responses from candidates running for Grand Rapids Mayor, Grand Rapids City Commission, Kent County Commission, Circuit Court Judge, and more! We invite you to share the link to the voter guide to support informed decision-making as community members continue to cast their absentee ballots/vote from home, prepare to vote at an early voting site or vote in person on election day. https://lnkd.in/gvfzVHmK

Looking for a way to make a difference ahead of the upcoming elections? Join the Urban Core Collective Canvassing Team for a volunteer canvassing day! We'll be chatting with neighbors about the issues that matter most to them and sharing important information about the upcoming primary election. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/3Wd3PEg

Next Monday, Grand Rapids Public Schools is holding a hearing regarding the termination and subsequent claims of retaliation by Leon Hendrix, Executive Director of Communications and External Affairs. We continue to advocate for a healthy and healing school district, one with a clear vision, actionable goals, and transparent accountability measures that support all staff members as they work toward the success of our youth. Learn more in our latest blog post! https://bit.ly/3Sh4cML

New Blog Post! Everyday People Everyday Power by Raven Odom "At the Urban Core Collective (UCC), we lean into a definition of power offered by the Midwest Academy which says, generally, to have power means you have “the ability to make one's vision a reality.” When thinking about notions of power and the ability to make our desires a reality, many of us are conditioned to believe in a narrow scope of what it means to be powerful—often associating power with having wealth or influence. There is no doubt that sometimes access to money can “help to make one’s vision become a reality,” for example we see this play out when CEOs of big corporations influence elections and policies through donating to candidate campaigns, but in our society, access to those particular forms of power are not readily accessible to everyday people. However, there is a form of power that we do/can have an abundance of and that’s—people power." Read more on the Urban Core Collective Blog: https://lnkd.in/gkYCrCDx