The Community Catalyst

Come talk to BWL and over two dozen community partners ready to help you! Come to the BWL Community Resource Fair at Gier Community Center on October 21 from 3-6pm.

Learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/share/1HEuaNTVDC/.

📚✨ ONE BOOK. ONE COMMUNITY. ONE GRAND READ.

A community-wide reading initiative is bringing mid-Michigan together through the power of shared storytelling.

The 2026 One Grand Read selection is There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib. The previously listed title, Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper, was the 2025 selection.

The initiative brings together local libraries, bookstores and Michigan State University in a celebration of books, conversation and community. 🐦📖

👀 Read more from The Chronicle News:
https://www.thechroniclenews.com/post/one-grand-read-to-unite-community-through-shared-storytelling

🍗🔥 THIS SATURDAY: LANSING, IT’S TIME TO WING IT!

The 12th Annual Michigan Chicken Wing Festival kicks off Saturday, September 5 at Adado Riverfront Park!

Come hungry for 30+ wing flavors, live music, line dancing, the Kids Zone, the legendary Wing Eating Contest and plenty of family fun. 🎶🍗🏆

Even better — a portion of festival proceeds supports the Against All Odds Foundation and its work with underserved communities, disabled veterans and cancer survivors throughout mid-Michigan.

📍 Adado Riverfront Park, Lansing
📅 September 5–6, 2026
⏰ 2–9 PM daily

🍗 Who’s coming out Saturday? Tag your wing crew!

👀 Get the full festival details from The Chronicle News:
https://www.thechroniclenews.com/post/the-12th-annual-michigan-chicken-wing-festival-returns-to-lansing-s-adado-riverfront-park-this-labor

Sometimes people need more than encouragement.

They need somewhere to go. Someone to talk to. A resource. A meal. A moment to remember that their current circumstances do not get the final word.

This Saturday in Dowagiac, gospel recording artist, author and entrepreneur Bonita Mitchell is bringing together music, mental wellness, faith, family activities and practical resources through the free Believe, Don’t Give Up! Rhythm & Resource Fair.

It is a local event carrying a universal message: hope works best when we put action behind it.

❤️ Read Bonita Mitchell’s story and learn more about Saturday’s event at The Chronicle News.

🥕 When a neighborhood grocery store is fighting to survive, sometimes far more than groceries are at stake.

Lansing’s Eastside Lansing Food Co-op, known as ELFCO, says it needs stronger sales to remain open. But the story stretches back decades and is deeply connected to the Allen Neighborhood Center, a community institution built around food access, health, entrepreneurship, housing and resident-led neighborhood development.

The struggle facing ELFCO reflects a challenge communities nationwide know well: How do we preserve neighborhood institutions that provide value far beyond their cash registers?

Read the full Chronicle story:
https://www.thechroniclenews.com/post/more-than-a-grocery-store-eastside-lansing-food-co-op-s-fight-to-survive-is-tied-to-a-decades-long

🏠 What does it really take to move someone from homelessness into permanent housing?

Lansing is betting on a new approach.

The NOVA Lansing Housing Initiative proposes a 50-unit transitional housing community using compact “Mod Pods” paired with case management, mental and behavioral health support, employment assistance, recovery services and help securing permanent housing. Residents could remain in the program for six to 24 months while working toward greater stability.

As communities across the country search for better responses to homelessness, Lansing’s model raises an important question: Can small spaces, paired with meaningful support, help create a lasting bridge to independence?

Read the full story from The Chronicle News:
https://www.thechroniclenews.com/post/lansing-s-nova-initiative-aims-to-create-a-bridge-from-homelessness-to-permanent-housing

LOCAL SUPPORT MATTERS. ❤️🛒

The Eastside Lansing Food Co-op (ELFCO), located inside the Allen Neighborhood Center, is asking the community to show up.

This neighborhood co-op provides fresh produce, meat and other products from local farmers and producers — and right now, low sales are putting its future at risk.

The goal is simple: average $1,200 a day in September to help keep the doors open.

So, Lansing, here’s the assignment: stop in, shop local, spend $20 if you can, and tell a friend. Small purchases add up — and strong neighborhoods are built when we support the businesses and organizations serving them.

📍 Eastside Lansing Food Co-op
1605 E. Kalamazoo St., Lansing
Monday–Friday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Let’s help keep this important neighborhood resource going. 💚

DON’T GIVE UP. ❤️

For gospel recording artist, author and advocate Bonita Mitchell, those three words are more than a song title — they’re a testimony.

This Saturday, Bonita’s “Believe… Don’t Give Up!” Rhythm & Resource Fair brings faith, music, mental health awareness, community resources and encouragement together for an afternoon centered on hope, healing and restoration.

🎶 Live music
❤️ Powerful testimonies
🤝 Community resources
🍽️ Free food & vendors
✨ Pampering & spa treatments
🙏🏾 Faith, hope & encouragement

📅 Saturday, August 22 | 12–3 PM
📍 Mt. Zion MBC
100 Miller Street, Dowagiac, MI

The event also celebrates the release of Bonita Mitchell’s new single, “Believe, Don’t Give Up,” an anthem rooted in perseverance, purpose and the reminder that even in life’s darkest seasons, there is still reason to keep going.

What does “don’t give up” mean to you? Drop a ❤️ or share a word of encouragement for someone who may need it today.

👉🏾 Read The Chronicle’s feature on Bonita Mitchell and the movement behind the music:
https://www.thechroniclenews.com/post/from-faith-to-purpose-bonita-mitchell-s-believe-don-t-give-up-movement-inspires-hope-healing-a

🎉☀️ ONE MORE BIG DAY OF SUMMER FUN BEFORE SCHOOL IS BACK!

Save the date for Back to School End of Summer Park Festivities at Comstock Park! 🎒🌳

Bring the kids, bring the family and come enjoy an afternoon packed with food, fun, games, lawn activities, a bounce house, cars, motorcycles and more.

📅 Saturday, August 29, 2026
⏰ 12 Noon–4 PM
📍 Comstock Park

🍔 Food
🎯 Games & lawn activities
🏰 Bounce house
🚗 Cars & motorcycles
🎒 Back-to-school fun
❤️ All are welcome!

Summer may be winding down, but we’re sending it out with a celebration! 🙌🏽

🎒📚 LANSING, GET READY FOR BACK TO SCHOOL!

Two local businesses are coming together to give back to the community! ❤️

Join Savago’s Home Improvement and Mari’s Taqueria TODAY for a Back 2 School Community Day featuring FREE school supplies while they last, food, raffle prizes, activities for all ages and plenty of family fun!

📅 Saturday, August 15
⏰ 1–6 PM
📍 Mari’s Taqueria
3418 Pleasant Grove Rd., Lansing, MI 48910

✏️ Folders
📓 Notebooks
🖍️ Crayons
✏️ Pencils
🌮 Free food
🎟️ Raffle prizes
🎈 Activities & more!

Come out, bring the family and help us celebrate Lansing businesses pouring back into the community. 💛