Purdy-Kresge Library with a five and ten cent store that opened in 1899 in Downtown Detroit and now there are thousands of K-mart stores in the U.S. and in other countries. Also being a successful business man Kresge was a philanthropist. When The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924, he thought his gains would be able to better mankind. The Kresge Foundation has donated millions of dollars to many colleges and organizations but the foundation is also known as a “bricks and mortar” foundation because it helped institutions and non-profit organizations. In 1949, the trustees of The Kresge Foundation offered Wayne State
Kresge College S. S. Kresge department store at the entrance to the college, but this idea met too much resistance. Kresge College is currently home to several co-ops (Music Co-Op, Natural Foods Co-op, Photo Co-op, Garden Co-op) as well as the social justice organization, Common Grounds. Residential housing themes include the Writer's House and the Eco-Village. One of the alumni of Kresge, Marti Noxon, went on to produce "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", and managed to sneak in-joke references to Kresge as well as Santa Cruz into many of the scripts, most recently in the "Angel" spin-off where a supporting character (Eve) is