Detroit Free Press editorial: Should Michigan raise the compulsory school age from 16 to 18?

The real question is why are students leaving school before graduation? Although
I believe that as a community it is our responsibility to compel children to
attend school until graduation or at least to the age of 18, forcing attendance
without supporting the students' education and growth by attending to individual
challenges is a waste of time and educational dollars, and fosters frustration
in the student as well as the teachers. Knowing why a student needs to leave or
wants to leave gives us the groundwork to serve that student properly and
encourage success after high school.

Kathryn Bedikian, 44, Wyandotte, nurse-midwife, U-M Women's Hospital, and Wyandotte school board member

I agree that we should value education so much in Michigan that the dropout age should be raised to 18. However, before I would vote for this change, I would want to see how the state would pay for this. School districts are already pinching every penny. Trying to keep a 16-year-old in traditional school is futile and costly. There would need to be an alternative setting for these students so they could continue their education.

Patricia Kolodziejski Kilby, 55, Rochester Hills, teacher

Schools must offer different curriculums for different students. Some brilliant
kids quit at 16 because they are bored and others could stay until they are 25
and never get it. Readin', writin' and 'rithmatic are the basics needed to
function in our society; however, all kids need to get training to get a job.
Schools must offer something for all kids.

Bill Belcher, 67, Farmington Hills, mortgage loan officer

Keeping kids in school is a valiant goal, but if it means tolerating the
atrocious behavior of a virtual prisoner, it just isn't worth it. Every defiant
student poisons a classroom. Let them go their own way, and they'll often come
back to school anyway, more cooperative this time.

Daniel Propson, 29, Detroit, high school English teacher

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Detroit Free Press: Detroit ready to turn a new page

Changes aim to improve each classroom
BY CONNIE K. CALLOWAY • May 4, 2008

This is an exciting time for Detroit Public Schools.

Over the next weeks and months, educators, community leaders, teachers, staff and parents will review data to work on new educational designs to enhance rigor, relevance and relationships for our students. With the strong support of foundations and agencies, including the Skillman Foundation and United Way, we plan to have one campus ready to go for the upcoming school year.

There is a growing discussion across Detroit surrounding community-wide awareness and ownership of the need to create data-driven educational models that assure that our children will succeed academically and graduate with skills that will support the future growth and vitality of our city and region.

All of our principals now have complete reports on their schools' academic, demographic, student conduct, enrollment and graduation data. We've also created a glossary of terms to assure that all participants can use the Language of Achievement.

As an example, the data report for one of the schools we are reviewing indicates it is a high school that did not make annual yearly progress in English/Language Arts or mathematics. Its AYP history from 2004-05 to present shows that it has moved from Phase 2 to Phase 4, and its Michigan School Report Card history shows that this school has received a "D-Alert" grade in each of the three past years.

A more rigorous curriculum means increasing the level of challenge in our academic standards. Academic rigor incorporates competitive proficiency levels in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts and technology required for success beyond high school. Relevance is to better address the need of the employment market, to better prepare DPS graduates to enter the workforce at skill levels needed to move our city and state forward. Building sustained positive relationships between students and educators is key to increasing the graduation rate, maintaining student engagement, and course completion.

Our actions will significantly move Detroit Public Schools toward the AAA Schools model, where everyone is held accountable, is expected to add value, which will result in increased academic achievement for our students, thus positively impacting the communities we serve. This paradigm shift filters every school function through the lens of effective instruction, what is best for each child.

Models in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Providence and elsewhere are working and give hope for this initiative. Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposal for smaller high schools, which aims to reduce the dropout rate and requires partners in the process, creates an opportunity for Detroit to step forward to submit multiple proposals for this funding.

Remember, the heart of instruction is what takes place in the classrooms of this district.

Teaching and learning are the most important business of DPS. Please take care of the children; they are our investment in our future.

CONNIE CALLOWAY is superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools. Write to her in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226 or at oped@freepress.com.

Detroit Free Press editorial: Graduate to solutions

Stop treating dismal graduation rates like a hot potato; all involved need to bite into the challenge
The children deserve better. The taxpayers are entitled to more. Society needs dramatically improved results. Everybody agrees this situation cannot continue.

And so the problem of staggering high school dropout rates, acute in Detroit but not exclusive to the city, can no longer be passed around like a game of hot potato. It's time for all the stakeholders -- and who isn't? -- to take a bite. Otherwise, we will continue to spend money without solving problems that just cost more money, because kids who quit school are the most likely to have children they can't afford and to end up in prison.

Think of Detroit Public Schools as a $1.3-billion enterprise and ask yourself: What enterprise would tolerate the utter failure of 22 of its 27 divisions, and for how long, without an urgent overhaul? Yet students in 22 of Detroit's 27 high schools are failing to meet minimum state benchmarks for progress. Three-quarters of the students who start high school don't finish.
And it has been going on for a long time. The social costs are beyond computing. There's no point anymore in trying to figure out who's responsible for DPS sliding into this mess. What's needed are urgent resolve and engagement. Michigan cannot afford thousands of undereducated, unskilled people in its largest city. The children entering the DPS system deserve to be on a track to productive citizenship.

The sound of change can be heard, at least, in DPS Superintendent Connie Calloway's candor about the district's failings and her call for smaller, themed high schools to replace the chronic failures.

But Calloway needs parental involvement, staff support and community allies.

Many potential allies met late last month at a two-day dropout-prevention summit cosponsored by the America's Promise Alliance, the organization founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, which chose Detroit to kick off a series of 50 summits nationwide on dropout prevention.
Summits aren't a solution, but they can explore policy initiatives for schools and community groups to push forward together.

Four that would help in Detroit and other high-dropout districts:

• Managing teacher morale: Calloway could blaze a trail if she agreed to bring the Detroit Federation of Teachers to the table now, at the outset of change. Teachers are the foot soldiers in this struggle. Surely they would all rather be working in successful schools. They have legitimate issues to raise, just as Calloway has legitimate concerns about losing certified and nationally recognized teachers to other districts or states.

• Put a spotlight on attendance: Starting in middle school, it's possible to spot a likely dropout just by tracking attendance patterns. Eighth-graders who miss more than five weeks of school have a 75% chance of dropping out of high school, but too many absences go unnoticed. Computerized attendance gives schools the technology to do better at tracking students, and more resources must also be invested in tracking them down when they are missing. Education officials need to devise a coordinated way to use attendance data to identify students headed for trouble before they hit high school. The data also will show which of the middle schools feeding Detroit's high schools are failing students, too.

• Personalizing freshman year: Ninth grade is critical. Students who start high school having failed math or English in middle school are especially at risk of dropping out. High school principals should be empowered to customize ninth-grade academics, providing early remedial intervention as part of a protective support ring. Ideally, a mentor -- a student, graduate, parent or staff member -- would be assigned, on the promise to help the student complete that critical first year. Sound outlandishly costly? Remember the cost of losing the kid to the streets.

One D, the umbrella group for six leading civic organizations in the region, will unveil an action plan at the Detroit Regional Chamber conference later this month on Mackinac Island based on findings from the dropout summit. It should include nontraditional engagement with students. What if, for example, local companies chose a ninth-grade class to adopt at one troubled school for a year? The relationship could be as simple as pairing students with adult mentors or committing to help educate students for future job opportunities.

• Expanded early college enrollment: According to a study by the Bill Gates Foundation, 75% of ninth- and tenth-grade dropouts blamed a lack of motivation and boredom for quitting school. What better incentives to offer than a chance to jump-start their earnings potential? Dropouts, on average, earn, $9,200 less per year than high school graduates.

Michigan has a number of early-college high schools up and running. They allow students either to take a college level course or simultaneously to earn a diploma and an associate's degree.
Increasing partnership between school districts and community colleges should be a legislative priority.

None of these ideas alone can move the needle. They are starting points. But nothing gets started at all without a broad-based commitment to end one of Michigan's greatest and most costly failings.

Detroit Free Press: Only a full-scale team effort can cure high school dropout rate

BY MICHAEL F. TENBUSCH • May 4, 2008

For the past 40 years, public high schools in urban America have been easy to understand.

To paraphrase Jack Nicholson, "Just think of any other business, and then take away accountability and reason."

The failure of urban high schools has taken a huge toll here in Michigan and in Detroit. One study revealed that there are 73 high schools in Michigan that have graduated less than 60% of their freshmen class for three straight years.

Twenty-two are in Detroit, 12 are in its suburbs, and another 40 are spread around the state. High school dropouts are eight times more likely than high school graduates to end up in jail, and 75% of all prison inmates are dropouts. Clearly, our failure to build high schools that work has forced us to build prisons.

It doesn't need to be this way.

Thanks in part to No Child Left Behind, in part to hundreds of millions of dollars invested by the Gates Foundation, and in large part to the pioneering spirit of those who rightly view this as the civil rights issue of our time, high-performing high schools have popped up in high-poverty areas of America in the last five years -- graduating 80% or more of their freshman classes, in stark contrast to the schools they replaced that had graduation rates ranging from 20%-40%.

We know what works. According to Mass Insight, which analyzed successful strategies in districts like Boston and New York that turned student achievement around, principals must be given control over the people, budget and programs in their buildings -- and in turn they must be held accountable for ensuring that their students meet high but realistic expectations.
Schools have been run on the "Friends, Family and Neighborhood Plan" for too long, and this arbitrary hiring and contracting process has led to an entrenched view of the inviolability of seniority rights. Both must change.

This is not to say unions are the problem. Instead, unions must be invited to the table at every turn, and they must embrace their role as agents of social change. In New York, the teachers union played a leadership role in creating the conditions necessary for success, and high school graduation rates across the city shot up 10% in just three years.

Schools must also partner with an educational intermediary -- that is, a nonprofit organization with a proven record of improving student achievement.

Finally, this work cannot be done one school at a time. Clusters of schools must work together in a collaborative and competitive manner to lift up best practices until excellence becomes the norm.

The end result is smaller, more personalized schools and classes with a safer and more effective environment for teachers and students.

Thus, the question is not how to turn schools around, but whether we have the will. Gov. Jennifer Granholm, in proposing legislation for the Schools of the 21st Century Fund, has answered the call. Dr. Connie Calloway, Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools, demonstrates daily that she is in her position to lead that turnaround. She talks candidly and consistently about the dismal student achievement rates in Detroit's general admissions high schools, and she is putting the people and resources in place to launch and execute a comprehensive turnaround plan.

The unions must play a leading role in that plan, and Virginia Cantrell, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, has the vision and fortitude to do this. Her members must support her, and research consistently shows teachers overwhelmingly have more job satisfaction working in high-performing schools than in the dysfunctional ones.

There is too much to gain, and too much to lose, to tinker around the edges any longer. We must get this done. We can get it done.

MICHAEL F. TENBUSCH is vice president for education preparedness at the United Way for Southeastern Michigan and a former board member of the Detroit Public Schools. Write to him in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226 or at oped@freepress.com.

Detroit Free Press: Private groups push Detroit ahead | Freep.com

"That so outpaces anything else," said Michael Brennan, president of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. "We're always going to have other things that will add to the pain in the region, but I think the economic contraction by far is the single largest driver causing the region to work, behave and move in a different fashion."

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Crain's Detroit Business: Ilitch Charities for Children changes name, announces grants

By Sherri Begin

Ilitch Charities for Children Tuesday announced $50,000 in economic-development grants.

The charitable arm of companies owned by Michael and Marian Ilitch has also changed its name to Ilitch Charities to reflect its scope beyond programs that improve the lives of children in the areas of health, education and recreation.

Broadening the organization’s mission to include a focus on economic development “will allow us to address not only shorter-term needs, but support longer-term efforts that will result in increased jobs and an improved economy, which we believe attacks many social issues at the root,” said Christopher Ilitch, chairman of the charitable division, in a release.

“This approach, we believe, has the potential to cure problems, versus temporarily fixing them.”

At a Tuesday morning press conference, Ilitch announced grants of $25,000 each to Detroit Renaissance Foundation and to United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

The grant to Detroit Renaissance will support establishment of the Creative Economy Investment Fund, which will provide capital to entrepreneurs and small to midsize companies to help them establish and expand creative businesses.

The funding to United Way will support the 2-1-1 health and human services hotline.

Ilitch also announced Ilitch Charities’ inaugural golf outing scheduled for Aug. 25 and said the organization is seeking funding proposals from potential beneficiaries of the event.

The event, which will include participation from the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers, will benefit up to three local, nonprofit organizations with a total of up to $300,000, Ilitch Charities said.

[Source]

The Arab American News: DDP looks to the future of Detroit

2-1-1 On the Go is a United Way for Southeastern Michigan downtown homeless outreach program, started in October of 2007, due to a partnership with Strategic Staffing Solutions and the DDP. 2-1-1 On the Go employs two United Way caseworkers, who use bright yellow and white vehicles to survey Detroit for the homeless. The caseworkers conduct one-on-one interventions with individuals, assess their needs and help them gain employment and access to living facilities. 2-1-1 On the Go offers services such as voicemail, prepaid calling cards, mailboxes and state-issued photo IDs.

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Detroit Free Press: All three metro Detroit counties show decline in latest Census | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

For the first time in recent memory, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties all are experiencing an exodus of residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates being released today.

All three counties had more people move away between July 2006 and June 2007 than select them as places to relocate.

Wayne lost more residents — 35,296 — than any other county in Michigan. In Oakland, a total 7,101 fewer people called it home. And in Macomb the number was 1,412 fewer.

“For the first time, all these counties are experiencing outmigration,” said Kurt Metzger, research director of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, who noted that 73 Michigan counties had a net outflow of residents."

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Crain's Detroit Business: MARY KRAMER: '2-1-1' program good news for our region

Forget the debate over Washington's "economic stimulus" package. The quickest way to put money into the hands of working, low-income residents in metro Detroit is through their tax returns.

Mike Brennan, CEO of the United Way of Southeast Michigan, figures $70 million to $100 million is "left on the table" in the region by unclaimed Earned Income Tax Credits.

For a family of four earning under $40,000, it could mean a tax credit of up to $4,300.

United Way is trying to recruit tax preparers and volunteers in the region to help get the word out. But employers can help, too. If you have employees on the payroll you think might qualify, you can get more information to distribute companywide from the United Way.

Just call the "2-1-1" help line and ask for information.

You'll be introduced to one of the most successful "good news" stories in our region. 2-1-1 is the magic number for all kinds of help. Facing foreclosure? You can find out the programs that best fit your circumstances. Out of food at home? Gas or electricity being shut off? Ditto.

In its first year, it logged 100,000 calls, rising to 160,000 in 2007. United Way expects to handle 250,000 calls in 2008 and 500,000 within five years.

In three years, it's the second-largest 2-1-1 program in the country.

The 24/7 help line has 40 trained staff members, and assistance in Spanish and Arabic is always available. An online system of "prompts" with a resource data base allows staffers to identify 7,000 services in 1,200 service categories.

United Way sends data on calls to service providers monthly. More important, the program tracks where the needs are — and can identify where geographic service gaps are in the region.

The program also has been used to target outcomes. For example, when the Michigan Dental Association wanted to offer free dental services during February, 2-1-1 operators asked callers with other problems: Does your child have a dentist?

In three weeks, 900 children were signed up for the "Make a Kid Smile" program.

The talented call-center workers deserve applause, along with Sullivan and Brennan. Three businesspeople who helped make 2-1-1 a reality deserve kudos: Lear Corp.'s Jim Vandenberghe for raising the money; Joan Gehrke, the volunteer chair of the effort; and Strategic Staffing Solutions CEO Cindy Pasky for an innovative 2-1-1 "on the go" program to help people on the streets.

[Source]

Detroit News: Metro area gets spring makeover

College-age volunteers kick off rehab projects

Christine Ferretti / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- For Adam Harris, cleaning up nearby neighborhoods is just as critical as traveling across the country to rebuild areas destroyed by natural disasters.

As a veteran participant of the United Way Alternative Spring Break program, the University of Michigan-Dearborn senior has spearheaded an effort that's made Detroit the pilot city for this year's firstoutreach project beyond hurricane relief efforts.

Since 2006, the alternative break program has drawn about 400 college-age volunteers to hurricane-ravaged regions in Mississippi and Louisiana; now they have come to Detroit.

"I threw the idea out we can revitalize Detroit during this economic downturn," said Harris, 21, of Southfield, who approached his local United Way chapter about the opportunity last March.

"If we are working here in the city, people will begin to care and come together socially."

This week, more than 60 students ages 16-26 from Michigan, California, Florida, New York, Ohio and Illinois are working with Metro Detroit service agencies, rehabilitating homes and building ramps for disabled individuals. The projects, in Detroit, Pontiac and Dearborn, serve as the kick-off for Alternative Spring Break 2008.

"Detroit is a great example of the first community outside the Gulf to have young leaders working to advance the common good by creating opportunities for a better tomorrow," said Sally Fabens, spokeswoman for the United Way of America.

"Once the young people see first-hand the issues communities face they want to bring their involvement home to make changes where they live."

Five teams with about 10 students each are splitting their time between beautification projects and cleaning parks and removing graffiti.

Virgle Story III, a part-time student at Southwest Community College in Memphis, Tenn., who also works for program sponsor FedEx, said the experience has been humbling.

"I wanted to come and experience the lifestyle of Detroit. I'm getting to know who I'm helping," said Story, 23. "This is a good city that needs rebuilding."

You can reach Christine Ferretti at (734) 462-2289 or cferretti@detnews.com.

[Source]

Model D: Who Shall Lead?

We need young leaders. As the city's core gets 'cooler' and redevelopment heats up, so does the pressure to keep young professionals around and engaged. If the kids don't stick around, who is all of this new stuff being built for? And if they don't get opportunities to lead, why will they stick around?

More and more organizations and programs are pushing to build up the leadership base in Detroit.

Matt Clayson, 26, promotion manager for ePrize in Pleasant Ridge, is involved in a couple of efforts aimed at doing just that.

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Crain's Detroit Business: United Way exploring ideas for new sources of revenue - Crain's Detroit Business

In many minds, the United Way brand is often synonymous with workplace campaigns.

But the agency is hoping that won't always be the case.

"One of our long-term goals is that the campaign account for 50 percent of total (revenue)" versus its current 98 percent, said Michael Brennan, CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

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A Hand Out

1/10/2008
Tanya Muzumdar/metromode

"Joe the dragon didn’t breathe fire, he breathed sushi. He had a crazy, curly mustache that was five miles long. Joe loved playing catch with cinderblocks, and he collected dragon stamps ..."

You can get to know Joe in The Adventures of Joe the Dragon and Zegwen the Talking Bologna, a tale written by students in a program run by 826 Michigan, the Ann Arbor non-profit devoted to teaching students age 6-18 the art of creative and expository writing. It's one of many Detroit-area volunteer corps, large and small, that invigorate communities by picking up where schools, private enterprise, and governments leave off.

Many, whether through teaching or other means, are volunteer-bound. Over 32% of Michigan residents offer their time and expertise, gratis, for an average 37 hours annually, per a 2007 Corporation for National and Community Service report.

"Financial resources are important, but putting money behind an issue isn’t the only way you're going to make change," Patricia McCann, director of the George W. Romney Volunteer Center at the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, believes. "It's really the human capital that makes a difference, that's going to change community conditions."

Pass the pen

While most educational organizations supplement school literacy efforts through reading tutorials, 826 Michigan focuses on the art of writing. After all, its parent, 826 Valencia, was founded in 2002 by Dave Eggers, author of the best-selling A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and former teacher Ninive Calegari. With the addition of the Ann Arbor chapter in 2005, 826 has grown to seven locales nationwide. The belief? One-on-one attention will help develop strong writing skills that are fundamental to future success.

Musicians, lawyers, teachers, and university students are among 826 Michigan's 125 active volunteer scribes set on passing their passion for the pen to the younger generation. "I think why some of us do it is it sort of takes you back a little bit," explains tutor and University of Michigan graduate student Rachel Lieberman.

The group offers unrestricted free drop-in tutoring and workshops for students to put ink to subjects not normally covered in the classroom: the killer college essay, comedic playwriting, and horror writing not being the least of them. Some students even see their names in print, in either their own books or the group's annual teen-edited book of scribbles, aptly titled Vacansopaporosophobia – "fear of a blank page."

Each year, tutors also visit about 20 schools dealing with sub-par written test scores. Contrary to expectation, assistance isn't only in English classes. Often, "we'll be in a science classroom and we'll let the teacher teach the science lesson and then we step in and help [students] write about that subject in a creative, engaging way," says 826 Michigan's Executive Director Amanda Uhle.

The group plans to expand school programs, now primarily in Ypsilanti, deeper into Wayne County and beyond, says Uhle. "That is such a powerful thing for students to feel they are competent in the writing area and also what they write is valued by their communities, teachers, parents, and other adults that are mentoring them," she explains. "It's about expressing themselves and being confident in that way and opening up more possibilities for their careers and their lives. We see that a lot – we see kids who learn to call themselves writers and that's exciting."

A legacy of help

The organization most synonymous with charity is, of course, the United Way. The organization is a community leader and invaluable resource, matching thousands of volunteers with 300 to 400 other agencies in the tri-county area. A recent search for Detroit area opportunities on its website yielded nearly 400 choices.

The non-profit also places thousands annually in its own programming to fill areas where business and government fall short. Its earned income tax credit program recruits volunteers to become certified tax preparers and places them at free income tax assistance sites for low and moderate-income families, many of whom are unaware of their eligibility for the credit. Accordingly, raising their purchasing power puts green back into the local economy – to the tune of $1 million in 2006, says McCann, who characterizes the 100 volunteer effort as "another way in which people are using their skills or learning a new skill to make change in a community."

Full house

Nowhere is a volunteer heritage more evident than at the 75-plus year-old Community House in Birmingham. It's best known for offering 800 educational classes per year, with content running from the intense – Chinese language; to lighter fare – "Face Reading For Singles".

Last summer, over 30,000 metro Detroiters passed through the doors of this exemplary local fixture – an undeniable part of Birmingham's vitality. President and CEO Shelley Roberts says, "I know when people move into town, the realtors point out what the Community House has to offer … it definitely adds something to the community and I think the [city manager and mayor] would be the first to agree."

Thousands of citizens donate upwards of 10,000 hours annually to coordinate classes and plan events like the Jazz fest, art show, and youth theater performances. The non-profit also runs several respected community outreach programs – in 2005, its Race Relations and Diversity Task Force received the Closing the Gap award from New Detroit, a race issues leadership coalition.

Volunteers bring "all kinds of skills from people in the garden club who come and help pull weeds to retired executives who come and help us do our business forecasting," says Roberts, adding that the scale and scope of the Community House's programming is unparalleled in the local area – and nationally admired as well. "I get calls all the time from all over the country from people who would like to copy it in their communities."

Wild and free

Those yearning to serve outside walled confines will find the wild at close hand in local parks.

"At various times, and it's just when they've done master plans for parks and recreation, [cities have] always had nature programs – and the city doesn't put tax dollars into them," Bob Muller, program director and founding member of the Royal Oak Nature Society, explains. Hence, the society formed in 2001 to handle programming, trail maintenance, and infrastructure projects in Royal Oak's Tenhave Woods and Cummingston Park.

Muller credits the society's efforts with bringing locals in to walk and jog the formerly deserted parks, where 300 different plants and 45 members of the arbor family, including the Hop-hornbeam and the tree-of-heaven, grace the grounds.

Last year, nearly 1,600 people enjoyed the free year-round programs. Frequent naturalist-led weekend and nighttime nature walks include activities both academic – wildflower identification; and charming – owl hoots to coax replies from the great horned and screech owls lurking in the trees. And speakers present topics on all earthly levels, ranging from the underground fossils of the Middle Devonian Michigan basin to the celestial bodies glittering in the night skies high above.

"If you want someone to do volunteer work, you look for the busiest person around and ask them because busy people are stupid enough to do more," advises Muller, a model volunteer. The General Motors engineer guides most of the society's nature walks and boasts 40 years of Boy Scout leadership to boot.

"With less than 20 [volunteers] we're putting on this kind of program, which I think is phenomenal. It doesn't take a lot sometimes, it just takes several individuals," Muller says. "People have to do everything from reading to the infirm to having baseball for kids to having this nature society to all of these things that flesh out and add the real bulk to a community and to our society – those aren’t done with tax dollars .... It's people that just enjoy doing it and want to do it."

Tanya Muzumdar is a regular contributor to metromode. Read her previous article Double Lives: Aliccia Berg & Bob Zabor.

Neighborhoods project spurs millions in additional grants

3:01 a.m., January 7, 2008
By Sherri Begin/Crain's Detroit Business

The Skillman Foundation's $100 million investment in six Detroit neighborhoods over 10 years could leverage an additional $400 million if the pace of supplemental grants continues.

Just two years into its effort, Skillman's $14.7 million investment has brought in commitments for another $64.5 million — or more than $4 for every $1 Skillman has invested — in those neighborhoods.

"We were shocked it happened so soon," said Tonya Allen, vice president of programs at Skillman. "We got a lot of good initial investments early."

Typically, similar multiyear projects don't leverage other substantial grants until their later years, she said.

"If the initial investments are any indicator, we expect the investments to grow towards the end of the initiative," she said. "We're going to try our best to attract (total) investments of another $500 million to those neighborhoods."

Skillman launched the 10-year project in 2006 to foster healthy, safe and supportive environments for children and their families. More than 65,000, or a third of Detroit's children, live in the target neighborhoods, Skillman has said. About half of them live in poverty.

Skillman's grants in the neighborhoods are paying for such programs as after-school activities, family support, income-building and personal finance. They also provide smaller grants to help volunteers in the community work with children.

Several of the six neighborhoods identified by Skillman overlap neighborhoods that the city of Detroit and Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corp. are focusing on in their funding.

LISC, part of a New York City-based national organization, has invested $36 million to improve housing and economic development in five of the six neighborhoods.

Those five neighborhoods are: Chadsey/Condon and Vernor in southwest Detroit, Brightmoor on the west side, Central in the middle of the city, and Osborn in northeast Detroit.

The sixth neighborhood, Cody/Rouge, on the west side, has better housing stock than the others, Skillman said.

LISC had targeted the neighborhoods in 2004 as part of a broader, $100 million-plus plan for new housing, health clinics, commercial revitalization, recreation centers, parks and other public improvements.

"The goal is that we're building healthy, sustainable communities," said Deborah Younger, senior program director at Detroit LISC.

The city also is funding efforts in three of those neighborhoods —Brightmoor, Osborn and Central — as part of the Mayor's Next Detroit Neighborhood Initiative, a $225 million five-year pilot revitalization project in six neighborhoods launched in May.

"When the mayor was choosing his neighborhoods, we advocated very strongly that there be some overlapping," Allen said.

Other money will come from housing developers and other community development organizations; foundations, including the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation and the Berman Family Foundation; companies, including DTE Energy Co. and AT&T Inc.; Wayne County; federal money directed by the Michigan Department of Human Services; Local Initiatives Support Corp.; and The Virgil H. Carr Society of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

Having different organizations funding programs in the same Detroit neighborhoods "allows a comprehensive strategy to develop," Younger said.

Sherri Begin: (313) 446-1694, sbegin@crain.com

The Goo Goo Dolls take center stage for United Way on Thanksgiving

United Way/NFL Thanksgiving Day Halftime Show • Ford Field, Detroit • November 22 at 12:30 p.m. (ET) on FOX

NFL football on Thanksgiving Day is one of the most treasured traditions of the holiday season and United Way's halftime show with the NFL has become a welcomed addition.

This year, the NFL and United Way are teaming with the Goo Goo Dolls who will perform Top 10 hits “Better Days” and “Stay With You” from their recently released new album The Goo Goo Dolls Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 – The Singles, from Warner Bros. Records.

The performance will be the highlight of the halftime show, which focuses on the United Way and NFL’s commitment to youth health and fitness. In this show, United Way hopes to inspire millions of NFL fans to get involved in helping to reverse the growing epidemic of childhood obesity and encourage young fans to “Play 60” by getting 60 minutes of activity each day. Approximately 300 kids will join the Goos on field to help deliver a message about the importance of physical activity.

In recent months, The Goo Goo Dolls, who have had 14 successive Top 10 Hits, set the all-time record for the artist with the most Top 10 hits in Hot AC Radio ever with fourteen. The Goo Goo Dolls Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 – The Singles will include the band’s three Number One smashes — “Name,” “Iris,” and “Slide,” — as well as the Top 10’s “Black Balloon,” “Dizzy,” “Broadway,” “Here is Gone,” “Big Machine,” “Sympathy,” “Better Days,” “Stay With You,” and “Let Love In,” the title track from The Goo Goo Dolls most recent album, which has been certified gold.

The group hails from Buffalo, where they are opening a non-profit recording studio, a place for local up-and-coming artists to hone their skills. The group also works closely with USA Harvest to distribute meals to needy residents in each city where they perform. To date, the Goo Goo Dolls and their fans have collected and distributed over two million meals.

The NFL most recently worked with The Goo Goo Dolls in September 2006 when the band helped the New Orleans Saints reopen the Louisiana Superdome. The band performed just prior to the gates opening.

Previous performers at the Thanksgiving Day Halftime Show have included Mariah Carey, Bon Jovi, Mary J. Blige, John Mellencamp, Enrique Iglesias and John Fogerty. It takes hundreds of people from throughout southeastern Michigan volunteering their time and talents to deliver the 10-minute show, which is produced annually by sports/entertainment company e2k.

United Way's better way

Source: Crain's Detroit Business
Published: 3:01 am, August 20, 2007

The exhaustive effort to overhaul the way United Way for Southeastern Michigan approaches solving social problems in the region is starting to take shape.

Now that United Way has identified the three major regional issues it wants to focus on, it's opening up its funding model to allow new agencies to apply for funds for the first time in 10 years. (See story, Page 1.)

United Way now will focus on three primary goals: helping children be prepared and successful in school, making families and adults financially stable and meeting basic human needs.

And it plans to create a “scorecard” to see how its funding has met any of those three goals.

Change is difficult, and there may be grumbling in the nonprofit sector about the course United Way is taking. It is a big change. But as any business leader knows, you can improve what you can measure.

This new model is a good start.

United Way board member, Ismael Ahmed, named director of Michigan DHS

Source: Crain's Detroit Business
By: Robert Ankeny
Published: 4:10 pm, August 13, 2007

Ahmed named human services director

Gov. Jennifer Granholm confirmed Monday that she has appointed Ismael Ahmed to succeed Marianne Udow as director of the Michigan Department of Human Services.

Crain’s first reported that Ahmed’s appointment was planned last Wednesday.

Michigan’s Department of Human Services is the state’s second-largest agency, with nearly 10,000 employees and a $4 billion-plus annual budget, handling federal programs.

The department’s staff serves 1.5 million medical assistance cases and 1.2 million cash- and food-assistance cases statewide. It administers child- and adult-protective services, foster care, adoptions, juvenile justice, domestic violence, and child-support programs. It also licenses adult foster care, child day care and child welfare facilities.

Ahmed is scheduled to take over at Human Services on Sept 10; his appointment stands unless rejected by the Michigan Senate.

Ahmed co-founded ACCESS, the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, and has been executive director since 1983.

A contributing author to “Arabs in America: Myths and Reality,” Ahmed is considered a national expert on immigration, welfare reform and Arab-American issues.

“I am honored that Governor Granholm has given me the opportunity to serve in this important role,” Ahmed said in a statement. “The Department of Human Services does so much to bring help and hope to people in need; as director, I look forward to working with the department and its partners to reduce poverty and improve the lives of children and vulnerable adults in our state.

Said Granholm in a statement: “Ismael has a wealth of experience in responding to the needs of people, and we are so fortunate to have someone with his leadership skills and compassion moving the Department of Human Services forward.

“Ismael shares our goals of encouraging strong families and helping citizens become self-sufficient, and we look forward to his leadership on these issues and more.”

Ahmed will resign from the Eastern Michigan University board of regents, a post he was appointed to by Granholm in January.

Start with education to avoid home loss

Source: The Detroit Free Press
By: Hansen Clarke
Published: August 12, 2007

We can no longer tolerate a lending environment that puts profits over the well-being of borrowers. For years, this was the easy thing to do, as low interest rates, loose underwriting standards, and a booming housing market enabled lenders to sell mortgages to just about anyone who wanted one -- regardless of their actual financial situations.

Many lenders were much more interested in making a quick buck than finding out if their customers were actually going to be able to handle future payments. Not all of them were predatory lenders, but quite a few of them were overzealous, to say the least.

Now that we're seeing the consequences of such a carefree lending environment, we must commit ourselves to fighting predatory lending and tightening things up for legitimate lenders.

This would obviously start with education programs for potential borrowers. Education should become a mandatory part of the mortgage process, from the first time a future home owner walks through the door right up to the moment that he or she signs the papers.

Even after that, having counseling services available for when times get tough could do wonders for most families. Instead of thinking that they don't have options, they could see that there are many ways to hang on to their homes. One missed payment does not automatically have to lead to mortgage foreclosure a few months down the road.

We can certainly change things for the better without having a negative impact on business. I know this, because perhaps the biggest lender of them all, Freddie Mac, has already embarked on major initiatives that will both mitigate the effects of this crisis and prevent a recurrence.

At the very outset, Freddie Mac voluntarily stepped forward to tighten its underwriting standards and strengthen its award-winning education programs on smart borrowing and predatory lending. Then, just a few weeks ago, Freddie Mac announced $20 billion in new products that will provide lenders with more choices for subprime borrowers. These fixed-rate and hybrid adjustable-rate products will limit payment shock by offering reduced adjustable rate margins, longer fixed-rate terms, and longer reset periods.

Freddie Mac has definitely set the pace -- which makes it all the more disappointing that so many other institutions have failed to step up and make similar changes. We are going to need all hands on deck if we're going to truly change things for the better, and that includes lenders of all sizes, in every community.

It's not just in the borrowers' interest to hold on to a home. And it's not just in lenders' interest, either. It's important for all of us, as Detroiters, as Michiganians, and as Americans. We can't afford to do nothing. We can't afford to let this happen on our watch.

We're all in this together, and we'll all be better off if we fix these problems and preserve affordable housing for the next generation of home owners.

State Sen. HANSEN CLARKE, D-Detroit, represents Michigan's 1st Senate District.Write to him in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 600 W. Fort St., Detroit 48226 or oped@freepress.com.

United Way starts Leadership Next program

Date: June 21, 2007
By: MARGARITA BAUZA, FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Source: Detroit Free Press

United Way of Southeast Michigan on Wednesday launched Leadership Next, an initiative to keep professionals under 40 from leaving the state.

The event, held at McNarney's Public House in Detroit, was expected to draw 120 people, said organizer Matt Clayson, a United Way volunteer and a legal coordinator at Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize LLC.

General Motors North America President Troy Clarke was expected to speak.

Jeanette Pierce, special events coordinator at United Way, said the group's vision is to support emerging leaders in an effort to improve the area's economy.

Leadership Next will hold educational workshops, develop volunteering experiences and organize events that encourage collaboration among different industries.

For more information about the Leadership Next launch, visit www.uwsem.org/leadershipnext or call 313-226-9494.

Contact MARGARITA BAUZA at 313-222-6823

United Way board member, Lizabeth Ardisana, named a Michiganian of the Year

Source: The Detroit News
By: Louis Aguilar
Published: June 2007

Since 1978, Detroit News readers have nominated outstanding citizens who have helped make living in this state a richer experience for the rest of us, either by their good works or by the example they set. Here, you'll meet our 2006 winners, a passionate group dedicated to the work they do in the worlds of business, entertainment and community life. They were chosen from hundreds of entries. Prepare to be inspired...

Committed to state's diverse talent

If eclecticism has a role model, it is Lizabeth Ardisana.This successful Latina has turned her varied life experiences into a source of strength that enables her to maintain a highly respected career and an admirable life, and keeps her grounded.

While her love of fast cars inspired the launch of her own auto racing team, she personally drives a Ford Focus.

As she talks about planning her next mountain climbing venture -- she's scaled peaks from India to Utah -- she casually mentions that she happens to be a breast cancer survivor.

Though she recalls her upbringing as being "just another military brat" who moved from one U.S. Air Force base to another, her father, Bernard Ardisana, ended his career as a brigadier general and deputy director of the National Security Agency.

No matter what angle you come at Ardisana -- whether you know from her community activism or her business acumen -- she is a person of many interesting facets.

"You're never smart enough to stop learning. You're never big enough to not keep growing," she says, trying to sum up her wide-ranging life.

"Beth" is CEO of ASG Renaissance, which she co-founded 20 years ago with Greg Rouke, whom she later married. The Dearborn firm is as multifaceted as Ardisana. It started as a technical company that helped Ford fix its ambulance vehicles that were facing recall. Today, ASG provides marketing, consulting and staffing to automotive and nonautomotive clients. Those clients include Jaguar, Land Rover and, of course, Ford. They also include the city of Detroit, pharmaceutical giants and once the People's Republic of Bangladesh, whom she advised on how to curb air pollution.

ASG has offices in five states and another in Vancouver, B.C. It earned $20 million in sales in 2006 and employs 225 people; 45 percent are women and 20 percent are people of color.

She could choose to relocate to one of those other states.

"I choose to stay here because I truly believe there is too much talent here to leave," she explains.

"She uses her eclectic background to understand what entreprenuers have to do," says Armando Ojeda, director of Ford's Supplier Diversity Development. "She's also quite charming."

Her commitment to diversity doesn't stop at the office. She spends up to three nights a week serving on various boards. She's on the boards of Kettering University, Citizens Bank, Ford Hispanic Supplier Council and Focus: HOPE. And she's heavily involved in fundraising for University of Michigan-Dearborn, where she earned a master's degree.

She also happens to be the first woman chair of the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"I'm not ambitious," Ardisana says. "I can't imagine -- I hope it never happens -- never being curious."

New alliance looks to unite young leaders

Source: Crain's Detroit Business
By: Sheri Begin
Published: 6:00 am, June 18, 2007

Emerging leaders don't currently feel invested in the region, and that's a problem, according to one of them.

“It's very easy to just get up and move to greener pastures” when you aren't invested, said Matt Clayson, a legal coordinator at ePrize L.L.C. in Pleasant Ridge, who's chairing a new young leaders society at United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

“We want them to stay so they build a community they want to see.”

Emerging leaders have an opportunity in Southeast Michigan, Clayson, 26, said. “There's something to build.”

United Way plans to launch Leadership Next, a new organization for under 40s, on Wednesday.

“Our goal is to increase regionalism and to bring all of the young leaders together,” said Jeanette Pierce, 26, special events coordinator for the United Way and a member of Crain's 2007 class of 20 in their 20s honorees.

Patterned after the One D collaboration of six civic groups and similar groups at United Ways across the U.S., Leadership Next plans to work with other groups from around the region to come up with volunteering, mentoring, networking and leadership training opportunities for younger adults, while engaging them in the community by making them aware of issues that affect the community and showing them how to get in touch with legislators.

Retention is the overall goal of other young professional groups, Pierce said. Leadership Next “starts them thinking in a cohesive, collaborative, regional way ... that is more effective.”

“If you have 100 people ... all digging holes in different parts of the region, they'll make a little bit of difference in a lot of places,” she said.

“If you bring them together, and they combine their efforts, they can make more impact more quickly.”

United Way by July 1 plans to pull together a committee of 10 to 15 people to set the direction for the group and to develop events in cooperation with other young professional and leadership groups to avoid duplication and have a greater impact, Pierce said.

Clayson was a good candidate to chair the new group, Pierce said.

Before joining ePrize, Clayson oversaw the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau's public information campaign to get people reconnected to Detroit before the Super Bowl and subsequently helped to develop the monthly Campus Martius street festival, Fourth Fridays.

Clayson also is very involved in the community in a number of different groups, including Detroit Synergy, Pierce said. He also was part of Crain's first class of 20 in their 20s honorees in 2006.

“He's very intelligent, has experience working regionally and was excited to be an agent for change in the region.”

One of Clayson's prerequisites for chairing the group was that it had to be more than just a networking group, he said. “For me it has to be something that advocates concrete and tangible change.”

The group will recruit members from every ethnicity and every city, focusing its efforts in United Way's Wayne, Oakland and Macomb service area, Pierce said.

“We're not going to limit this group to just 9-to-5ers. We're going to try to bring in the creative class for a different perspective,” she said. “We need all types of people to effect change in the region.”

After the group's launch, one of its first events will be a joint meeting with all the current leaders of other young professional groups to discuss together how they can work as one to move the region forward, Pierce said.

But members won't just come to meetings or networking events, she said. “This will be a deep-dive and discussion into the region's problems, issues and best ways to solve them.”

The group has already planned a team-building trip this fall to help with rebuilding efforts in New Orleans, along with its United Way counterpart in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Pierce said. It will make the trip on a flight donated by Northwest Airlines Corp.

“Rebuilding is needed everywhere, including here (in metro Detroit),” she said. “Hopefully this will inspire our young leaders to come back to this region and work harder to make a difference here.”

Sherri Begin: (313) 446-1694, sbegin@crain.com

Aging population strains health care system, families

Source: Detroit Free Press
By: RUBY L. BAILEY, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Published: June 10, 2007

Experts say things will only get worse as loved ones seek living and nursing options

It was 2 a.m., the room was dark and Doris Wackerle, rising from the haze of sleep, didn't notice the bedside chair as she headed for the bathroom.

The 85-year-old stumbled, fell over the chair and onto the floor.

Wackerle crawled to the phone and roused her daughter, Peggy Trabalka, who lived nearby. Trabalka arrived to find her mother shaken, not hurt. But she realized that her mother's time in an independent-living center in Highland Township was nearing its end.

Trabalka, 63, had the difficult job of telling her mother, who'd always lived independently, that she'd have to move and accept more help.

"I thought, 'I can't drag my mother out of there against her will,' " Trabalka said, "so I tried to make it her idea. Once she lived with that thought for a while, she got comfortable."

The two then began a journey that thousands of families undertake every year: the search for appropriate long-term care.

Finding such options is likely to get harder as Michigan's population ages, straining nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and home-care dollars.

"The only growth in this region is going to be in the population 65 and older in the next 20 years," said Kurt Metzger, research director of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. "All the needs, from housing to long-term care, are going to increase dramatically."

Seniors now make up about 12% of Michigan's population. By 2020, the percentage will rise to 15%. By 2030, people 65 and older will make up roughly 19% of all residents, Metzger said. The issue also affects residents with disabilities, who make up about 16% of the state's population.

Nursing homes, the long-term care option most often turned to, are the most expensive, averaging around $5,000 a month. With more people seeking help to pay for nursing homes, Michigan's Medicaid payments ballooned from $900 million in 2000 to $1.4 billion in 2006. About 320,000 disabled Michigan residents and 90,000 seniors are on Medicaid.

Help centers open

Hoping to get a handle on the spiraling costs as well as to help residents through complex decisions, the state Department of Community Health quietly opened four help centers in April. Called Long-Term Care Connections, they serve limited parts of metro Detroit and outstate areas, but are expected to expand.

Though nursing homes can be the best option for those in need of 24-hour care or those with conditions that can't be cared for at home, such options as home-based care or an assisted-living facility could be better and cheaper for many others.

Michigan spends less on non-nursing home care -- 14% of its Medicaid dollars -- than the national average of 22.9%, said Lisa Alecxih, who works for the Lewin Group, a health research firm based in Virginia. She has studied long-term care centers in Wisconsin similar to ones in Michigan.

"The hope is, by getting to these people at the decision point, by providing information about their options, that more people will be able to remain in the community and live independently," Alecxih said.

The hunt for information is difficult. It can take dozens of calls to get details about in-home medical assistance, help with meals and baths and guidance through Medicare and Medicaid requirements.

People looking for options "are pretty much into the phone book, the senior center or whatever you can sew together," said Michael J. Head, director of the state Office of Long-Term Care Supports and Services.

Families stretch their budgets

Wackerle's family spent hours looking online and driving to check out several homes before finding an American House assisted-living facility in Grand Blanc. They've patched together a way to pay for it, using Wackerle's Social Security benefit of $1,100 a month to cover part of the $1,600 monthly fee, which includes meals and 24-hour care.

Trabalka will stretch her own household budget to cover the rest, including utilities. She'll do her mother's laundry to save on costs.

"We've been working around the clock, trying to get her where she needs to go," said Trabalka, who moved her mother in early May.

Kelly and Craig Satterfield have spent months searching for assisted living, health care and other assistance for their son, Steven, who has physical and mental disabilities. He'll turn 17 next year, and the Satterfields fear he could lose some or all of his state health care benefits and be dropped from special-needs programs. Finding information has been difficult, the Ferndale couple said.

"My fear is, when he's 18, he's on his own," said Kelly Satterfield, 42, who said Steven is learning to cook but fails to think about turning off the stove, bringing into doubt his ability to live on his own. "Even if he lived in a group home, he'd have to come up with his own insurance, transition to his own care."

Their son could continue to live with them indefinitely, but, "what happens once we're not around?" she asked.

"The hardest part is finding who's the gatekeeper for the information and how to access this stuff," said Craig Satterfield, 43.

"To just come up to a dead end, it's very disheartening."

Loved ones lack information

With little time and scant resources, many families end up choosing nursing homes, the fastest way to get all their needs met, said Robert Kane, a professor and endowed chair in long-term care and aging at the University of Minnesota.

"It's an emotionally complex decision typically made in a moment of panic with an incredible clock ticking overhead," Kane said. "There is no good source of information."

When Robert Gurk's 84-year-old father, Warren, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year, his son, 52, received the names of three nursing homes from a hospital social worker. Because the state doesn't have a system that ranks quality or provides information about the number of beds available, Gurk checked the homes in person.

One in Saline was affordable but had a year-long waiting list. Another in Toledo was too far away for easy visits. The third, Arden Courts in Livonia, was expensive but had an opening.

Warren Gurk has lived there since. But he's rapidly depleting his Ford Motor Co. pension and savings to pay the $8,000 monthly costs for nursing home care for himself and his wife, Loretta. He receives roughly $1,700 a month from his pension and Social Security benefits.

Gurk's son hopes the Veterans Administration will help his father, a Navy veteran who served in World War II. But the wheels are turning slowly. He contacted the VA last July and spent months gathering the necessary documents, including doctor bills and financial information.

If his father's application is not approved, Gurk hopes his dad's depleted assets would allow him to qualify for Medicaid, though he doesn't understand why his dad has to lose everything -- and risk eviction -- before he can get help.

"The system is not confusing. It's baffling," said the younger Gurk, who has decided to put his father on the waiting list at the Saline home and hope for an opening.

The four Long-Term Care Connections centers were funded with $4.5 million from Michigan's Medicaid budget and $4.5 million in matching federal money. Experts say the state could save millions by helping residents find alternatives that cost as much as 80% less than nursing home care.

"We're talking about taking a teeny bit of that Medicaid budget with the expectation that nursing home care will drop off enough to cover costs," said Head. "In the longer run, we are concerned about the availability for long-term care. Ten to 15 years out, we know there's going to be pressure on it."

The Detroit center, in Brewery Park on the east side, serves the city, Highland Park and the Grosse Pointes but plans in late September to include all of Wayne County.

Customized care plan

Clients are assigned a counselor, who offers care and housing options, referrals and nursing home admission screenings. The counselors work with hospitals, nursing facilities, home health providers and other community-based organizations to come up with a plan for each client, said Helen Love, director of the Detroit Area Agency on Aging, which runs the center and its 30 employees.

"We're talking about customized, one-on-one care," said Love, who said counselors travel to meet with clients in their homes if needed.

The Detroit center recently helped Arthur Rucker, who was discharged last year from Sinai-Grace Hospital to the Eastwood Nursing Home in Detroit after having a toe on his left foot amputated because of diabetes complications. Other options were never discussed, the 57-year-old said.

He lived there one year -- with the state footing the bill through Medicaid -- though he believes he was well enough to live in a less-costly setting. A social worker at the nursing home put Rucker in touch with a state long-term care counselor in April. He moved in early May to a Detroit apartment.

Mary Henderson's search for options is beginning. After colon surgery in early April, she had to move in with her daughter, Helen Phillips, in White Lake Township.

Henderson, 91, hopes one day to get back to her condo but figures she'll need help with shopping, driving, cooking and cleaning. She's hoping her income from rental units she owns and her small Social Security benefit will cover the costs.

"Having to go this route is new to me," she said, "but it just seems like it shouldn't be this hard."

Contact RUBY L. BAILEY at 313- 222-6651 or rbailey@freepress.com.

Waterloo native namesake for proposed Detroit cultural center

Source: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
By: Pat Kinney
Published: Sunday, June 10, 2007 6:11 AM CDT

WATERLOO -- A new proposed cultural center in Detroit is being named for a Waterloo native who led local United Way efforts there for more than a decade.

The Arts League of Michigan has proposed a cultural arts center named for Waterloo native Virgil H. Carr who died in 2003. In 1993, Carr became the first African American chief executive officer of United Way Community Services of Detroit and served in that capacity until his death at age 63.

Carr also served as president and CEO of United Way of Chicago, and prior to that, as CEO of Detroit and Wayne County Community Family Services. Carr also had chaired the board of trustees of the Arts League of Michigan from 1997 until his death.

The center "will be recognized as the hub for African and African-American cultural arts," according to Arts League of Michigan promotional information for the project. The proposed 47,000 square foot center is envisioned as a "clubhouse" for the neighborhood in which it would be located.

Carr is being singled out for the recognition as a "trend setter" in the delivery of human services in his United Way work, and also because of his role in the arts, his affinity for young people and his belief in "the necessity of providing direction, encouragement and opportunity for youth," according to Arts League of Michigan information on the project.

Carr was a graduate of East High School and Iowa State University. He was part of a state championship wrestling team for the Trojans in the late 1950s and a two-time individual state champion. He achieved All-America status wrestling for the Cyclones at Iowa State in the early 1960s under Coach Harold Nichols. He also received a master's degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

In 1979, he was honored as metropolitan Detroit's Executive of the Year for his work in the nonprofit sector.

In 1993, ISU's College of Education honored him with its Alumni Achievement Award, the college's highest honor for outstanding leadership and service in education, health, business and industry.

The Virgil H. Carr Society, a leadership program within the United Way of Southeastern Michigan recognizing major contributions by African-American business people and community leaders, is named for him.

Carr also was a featured speaker at multiple Cedar Valley United Way functions during previous campaigns here.

More information about the Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center, including how to donate, may be obtained by contacting Michigan Arts Council president Oliver Ragsdale Jr. at (313) 870-1680.

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or Pat.Kinney@wcfcourier.com

One D largely unknown to Southeast Michigan execs

One D largely unknown to Southeast Michigan execs

Source: Crain's Detroit Business
By: Sheena Harrison
Published: 6:00 am, June 11, 2007

Most Southeast Michigan business executives polled in the EPIC/MRA survey conducted for Crain's Detroit Business and Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn L.L.P. say they've never heard of One D, but believe the initiative will be effective.

According to the survey, 73 percent said they had never heard of One D, which is a group of six organizations working together on priorities for the region: the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Detroit Regional Chamber, Detroit Renaissance, New Detroit, United Way for Southeastern Michigan and the Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan.

Its five priorities are economic prosperity, educational preparedness, regional transit, race relations and quality of life.

Once the goals and partners of One D were explained to survey respondents, 60 percent said they expected One D to be effective in achieving its goals.


A third of respondents said they expect One D will be only slightly effective or not effective at all.

Marcie Brogan, CEO of Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing in Birmingham, said she's surprised more people aren't aware of One D since she said local media outlets have been reporting about the initiative.

She believes interactive marketing, such as Web sites and blogs, may help spread the word.

— Sheena Harrison

Edsel Ford: Make regionalism "a way of life"

Source: Crain's Detroit Business
By: Bill Shea and Jennette Smith
Published: June 04, 2007

MACKINAC ISLAND — An opening session for the Mackinac Policy Conference served as a rallying cry for the One D collaborative effort with participants urging more business and government leaders to join in.

In his opening remarks Wednesday, One D champion Edsel Ford asked for audience members to make regionalism a way of life. Afterward, a panel of members from the participating groups in One D discussed progress and challenges.

“Parts working together in harmony is an apt description of the communities of the Detroit region, when we are at our very best,” Ford said. “The way we pulled together for last year's Super Bowl is just one recent example. But that was an effort built around an occasion. For the communities of regional Detroit to shine their brightest, we need more than an occasional effort ... we need to embrace regionalism. We need to make it a way of life.”

For One D, a group of six regional civic groups that are working together on five priorities for the region, to succeed, each organization needs to exhibit organizational selflessness, Ford said. The groups behind One D are the Detroit Metro Conv