Kellogg Co., foundation team up on initiative

• A community stakeholders meeting is set for Monday to review data on the Battle Creek community on jobs, talent development and a culture of vitality.
• W. K. Kellogg Foundation President and CEO La June Montgomery Tabron, and Kellogg Co. CEO and President John Bryant will lead the meeting.

Kellogg Co. and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, in the early stages of renewed involvement in the Cereal City, want residents to take part in what they describe as a “collaborative community transformation effort aimed at addressing Battle Creek’s most important and long-fought opportunities: jobs, talent development and a culture of vitality.”

The two organizations will host a community stakeholder meeting from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Monday, at Burnham Brook Community Center, 200 W. Michigan Ave.,

Organizers said the public meeting will lay out current data and a glimpse of the direction of the collaborative effort. A press release from the two organizations indicated their commitment to supporting long-term, sustainable change.

In April, John Bryant, CEO and president of Kellogg Co., said the company was “committed to continuing our partnership with Battle Creek and actively participating in the development of a thriving community.”

La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the Kellogg Foundation, has often spoken of her support for the community. In a recent opinion piece published in the Enquirer, Tabron said “Let us build a better future together and in the process let us build mutually respectful and highly productive relationships.”

Dana Linnane, communications officer at the Kellogg Foundation, said the new joint effort is building on work the community, the Kellogg Foundation and Kellogg Co. have already begun.

“There’s no time like the present and we’re not starting something new, we’re building on conversations in work that we’ve seen in the community,” she said. “From the foundation’s perspective, we’re expanding on that.”

Tabron and Bryant will lead the Monday meeting and will discuss steps needed to achieve an economic community development plan.

It’s the first joint effort of its kind between the Kellogg Foundation and Kellogg, said company spokeswoman Jodi Gibson. It will address employment and talent development in the city, although bringing new jobs to the Battle Creek area is not the focus.

Linnane said the foundation will provide and share data from previous projects from multiple sources within the community.

She said the foundation’s goal is to help lead the effort in the beginning stages as community residents and leaders work from across multiple sectors for long-term development.

“It’s really imperative to have insight from community stakeholders at every step,” Linnane said.

Kellogg Co. also wants the community to have ownership of this initiative, Gibson said.

The work is something the company has been building on through conversations this year and in years past with the community, she said, and now it is ready to engage the full community.

“While we expect that the project as a whole will eventually be owned by the whole community, there will always be a role for the company,” Gibson said.

She said Kellogg will also introduce a new approach to interaction with business leaders in the community.

“The company has offered to help to engage the business community actively in this process as well,” she said.

Gibson said the initiative will be community-owned, with alignment of resources from Kellogg and the Kellogg Foundation.

Call Olivia Lewis at 966-0581. Follow her on Twitter: @TheWrittenPeace

If you go

• WHAT: Community stakeholders meeting

• WHEN: 3:30 to 5 p.m. Monday

• WHERE: Burnham Brook Community Center, 200 W. Michigan Ave.