Solidarity for Children, Their Families & Communities

A Statement from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

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Aug 09, 2019, 07:19 ET

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Aug. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- W.K. Kellogg envisioned a future where children everywhere could "face the future more confidently, healthier in mind and body, and more secure in their trust of this country and its institutions." Almost 90 years of dedicated work to support Mr. Kellogg's vision affirms that children thrive within the support of their family circle and community.

Yet at this moment, children, families and communities are reeling from recent assaults — the violence in El Paso and Dayton, the ICE sweeps in Mississippi and the ongoing family separation at the border. Thousands of children are suffering trauma today from grief, from fear, from uncertainty, from the use of power to threaten rather than protect. Our grantees and partners across every network and coalition are working steadily to reduce that trauma. We stand in solidarity with them for we know that for children to thrive, their families and communities need to be safe and whole.

Our generational commitment to New Mexico and Mississippi, and our work in many other places illustrates how leaders across every sector can band together to reduce the shocks, to address the root causes and to make our institutions, our systems and our laws more equitable and trustworthy. We commend organizations like these and many others who stand with children, families and communities.

ACLU
Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Hispanics in Philanthropy
Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA)
National Women's Law Center
NAACP
New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty
New Mexico Dream Team
Opportunity Agenda
UnidosUS
United We Dream

We recognize their courage and resolve, and call on leaders across this country to join them — to act in solidarity on behalf of children at every decision point. Our actions at every level determine what is possible for families and their communities. Our children deserve better.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. To learn more, visit www.wkkf.org or follow WKKF on Twitter at @wk_kellogg_fdn.

SOURCE W.K. Kellogg Foundation