COMMUNITY
JEWFRO
I Do It For Detroit, And So Can You
By Ben Falik
A
gainst a backdrop of a former
mayor possibly being sen-
tenced to serve time in a
federal prison and a future mayor to
work under the likely backdrop of
an emergency manager — of broad
disagreements about the source
of the city's problems and their
solutions — more people than ever
feel compelled to do something for
Detroit.
But what? Should you live, work,
eat, drink, shop, vote, volunteer or
vacation in Detroit?
Nobody knows what the future
holds for the city, but there is a
sense of goodwill in the present
(even if it is sometimes steeped in a
past that exists only in the past) that
we would be foolish to squander.
For some people, doing some-
thing for Detroit means playing
softball in Southfield. Aliyah it ain't,
but the money the 800 attendees
and players raised at Pitch for De-
troit last August promises to nurture
grassroots efforts in Detroit neigh-
borhoods whose deaths have been
greatly exaggerated.
Pitch proceeds created the Do
it for Detroit Fund — a partner-
ship between CommunityNEXT, a
division of NEXTGen Detroit at the
Jewish Federation, and Repair the
World, a national Jewish service
organization heavily invested in
Detroit. Di4D is an opportunity to
check our baggage and cut the red
tape to efficiently allocate scarce fi-
nancial resources and tap abundant
human resources.
Flashback! I first stumbled upon
1200 W. Canfield in 2007, after it
had been Poe Elementary School
for a century, vacant for a year and
the Woodbridge Community Youth
Center (WCYC) for a week. Sum-
mer in the City volunteers cleared
out decades of detritus, with many
hands making light work of saving
what was worth saving and painting
what needed painting.
Mike and Margaret Wilson soon
filled the classrooms and calendar
with an exciting, evolving lineup
of youth enrichment programs,
ranging from baseball clinics (Mike
is a former pro ball player) to video
production and, most recently, the
Young Superstars Blogging Club
(see blogtastics.wordpress.com ) led
by volunteers from Repair the World
Moishe House down the street.
So WCYC was the perfect part-
ner and venue for the first Do it for
Detroit event, where we awarded
$5,000 in micro-grants to innova-
tive education initiatives. In all, we
A new winner every month!
visit redthreadmagazine.com for details
received 37 applications, each with
a creative proposal to do a lot with
a little.Three finalists presented,
without the aid of props or Power-
Point presentations, to an audience
charged with the responsibility of
voting for whichever they found
most compelling.
Joy Mohammed, a 24-year-old
Detroiter, recently started Scholar-
ship Detroit, a program to help
students — many of them undocu-
mented immigrants in Southwest
Detroit — secure admission to and
financial aid for college. Not only
did her amazing work and inspiring
story net Scholarship Detroit $3,000
as the top vote getter, Joy also
snagged new volunteers to help
edit students' essays.
Joy came in nine votes ahead of
Motorcity Urban Summer Enrich-
ment (MUSE) and the Detroit Food
Academy, both of which shared
their good works and volunteer
opportunities, receiving the same
number of votes and $750 (rather
than $1,000 for second and $500
for third) toward their efforts. Note:
Counting and recounting the votes
was like the world's most exciting
school election.
But wait, there's more! There are
four rounds of funding (and gather-
ing and noshing and learning and
voting and high-fiving) left to go.
Next up: Environment! You can:
Apply. At doitfordetroit.com .The
application is short and straightfor-
ward, and you don't even need to
be an official organization.
Advocate. Know someone who
should throw their hat in the ring?
They've already got your vote!
Attend. Sunday, April 14, when
like-minded people from all walks of
life will gather at Detroit Farm and
Garden, housed in the former Third
Police Precinct in the shadow of the
Ambassador Bridge. Everyone will
get a chance to smell the hay, scope
out the Banksy at 555 Gallery, hear
from the three finalists, vote and
volunteer to volunteer.
Marc giveaway
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Birmingham
244.p1ci-0(s5a
250 Value Gift Certificate
-Enchanted Family Portrait Session-
with Enchanted Photography by Marla Michele Must
www.EnchantedByMarlaMichele.com
last month's winner
Charlene of Ypsilanti
won Necklace designed and
handcrafted by
Michele Saulson
Prizes may vary and prize must be claimed within 30 days of winning or they are voided.
our giveaways
Are donated by local advertisers; to be considered for a spot in
our giveaway page, please contact us at (248) 351-5107.
how to win
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This contest opens at noon on the first Thursday of the month and
closes at 3 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month. Winners will
be chosen and notified by the end of each month. No purchase is
necessary to enter or win. One entry per person per month. Please
note: Winner's name will be printed in the following issue of Red
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RED THREAD I March 2013 27