Initiative Foundation Gives Grants To Three Local Nonprofits

(KNSI) – The Higher Works Collaborative is one of three nonprofits receiving at least $50,000 from the Initiative Foundation. Director of Operations Buddy King says the money his group is getting, $62,000, will go to help open the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Learning Center.

The goal is to welcome people inside by August. King says momentum is building for his organization.

“It’s the start of something great. It’s centrally located, right at Midtown Square Mall. Accessible on the bus line. Accessible from anywhere. Everybody knows where it’s at, whether you just moved to town or have been here forever. It’s in a landmark area.”

In addition to educational programs for black children, the new MLK Center offers childcare services, so adults can enroll in the other programs put on by the Higher Works Collaborative. King says the majority of his organization’s efforts goes to workshops aimed at helping black parents to deescalate potential domestic disputes.

King says the HWC oversees supervised visits between parents and their children. He says society has changed what it deems acceptable in regards to corporal punishment and not all parents have kept up with the new standards.

The group aims to help black children of all situations. King brings up the example of a boy in the northern part of Stearns County. He says the kid began to act out against the white parents who had adopted him. King says his perspective helped the mother figure out what was wrong.

“One lady was like, in her mind, for her adopted son to be around other black children was never a thought at all. She felt that as long as he was around other kids, that’s all that matters. He is truly the only black person…child in their whole town. She couldn’t understand why he was trying to rebel.”

The MLK Center is meant to provide black children, of all backgrounds, a space where they can develop a cultural connection with those sharing a similar heritage.

Other area nonprofits receiving money from the Initiative Foundation include Homeless Helping Homeless ($100,000) for renovations to living quarters at Lincoln Center and the Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization ($50,000) to aid immigrants and refugees.

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