Building Blocks is a partnership between Kalamazoo College and Kalamazoo’s low-income neighborhoods, in which students work as front-line organizers to promote the regeneration of social capital and democracy. Teamed in threes under a neighborhood-appointed supervisor, students undertake house-by-house canvassing, convene and facilitate resident meetings, and help plan and implement the small cooperative beautification and fix-up projects. An intensive seminar prepares students to undertake their organizing responsibilities. Students learn about the structures that generate the characteristic problems suffered by central-city neighborhoods. Both students and residents learn the skills and values of citizenship.
Contact: Kim Cummings, Professor, Sociology, Kalamazoo College at cummings {at} kzoo(.)edu. (“”I would be delighted to help other campuses/professors replicate this unique 10-week program.”")
