PND (8/29/2000) -- Kellogg Foundation Program Helps Youth Address Racism

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan, has announced a new program designed to enable hundreds of young people across the United States to take action against racism and cultural misunderstanding. Through the foundation's Youth Engagement Strategy (YES!), 14 organizations will implement youth-led programs that seek to bridge racial barriers in their communities.

According to Guillermina Hernandez-Gallegos, lead Kellogg Foundation program director for the project, the YES! project will encourage young people to collaborate with people of all ages in working to improve conditions in their communities.

"Throughout its 70-year history, the foundation has encouraged various aspects of diversity through its grantmaking," said Hernandez-Gallegos. "With YES!, we're taking what we've learned to the next level. This program will enable everyone involved to learn how nonprofits can better deal with racism or cultural misunderstandings in their communities."

The YES! participants will receive grants ranging from $30,000 to $60,000 to implement a community-based project. The organizations selected represent a cross section of the Kellogg Foundation's grantmaking areas: health, youth and education, philanthropy and volunteerism, and food systems and rural development.

FCnote: The W. K. Kellogg Foundation (MI) had assets of $6,387,840,996 and made grants totaling $202,919,594 in the fiscal year ending 8/31/99.

"Youth Nationwide Will Join Adults to Address Racism in Their Communities Through New Kellogg Program." Kellogg Foundation Press Release 8/8/2000.

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