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ARISE DETROIT! NEIGHBORHOODS DAY RISES
TO A NEW LEVEL
A 'Super Bowl' for Neighborhoods: Thousands turn out
for more than 100 events around city
By Luther Keith
Executive Director
Thank you, Detroit! You did it again!
From the UNCF Walk for Education on Belle Isle, to the strutting
horn section of the Martin Luther King High School Band, from the
sweet sounds of the Urban Stringz II violin ensamble to the colorful
Crary St. Mary parade in northwest, the second annual
ARISE Detroit! Neighborhoods Day was an awesome display
of pageantry and community spirit. Thousands of Detroiters reached out to each other
on August 2 to show their pride, concern and hope at more than 100 events that stretched
from the riverfront to Eight Mile Road, from the far east side to the far west side.
The 80-degree and sunny weather was a good omen for picnics, basketball games, pony
rides, outdoor concerts and festivals. "Everything was great," said Tony McIlwain,
describing the more than 200 people who turned out for Ravendale Community's
20th anniversary celebration on Harper on the city's east side. Ravendale
invited the community to learn about its many programs, involving education, health
and computer literacy.
"Even though we have been around for a long time, a lot of people still didn't know
about our programs," McIlwain said. "We signed up a lot of people for our GED program
to help them get their high school degrees.
ARISE Detroit! Neighborhoods Day gives non-profit organizations
an opportunity to say to the community, 'Here we are. This is what we are doing."'
The Next Detroit Neighborhoods Initiative was represented
by six events, including a community fairs throughout the city. At Grandfather's
Place, on west McNichols, Next Detroit member Tonya Gray described
the community response as "fantastic, wonderful and more." "We had people coming
back the next day, thanking us and wanting to get more involved in our community
programs."
Business owner Tony Farida proudly displayed his ARISE Detroit! Neighborhoods Day
banner on the outside of his Greenfield Market. "This
is great for the community," he said. "Neighborhoods Day shows the positive side
of the city. It really should be called the Super Bowl for neighborhoods in Detroit."
Pastor Annie Adams of Everybody's Universal Tabernacle Church of Holiness
on Meldrum on the east side, described the day as "an opportunity to make fellowship
and new friendship and get problems solved." Her event had information on community
programs and health screenings. "It's more than a day or a picnic," she added. "It's
a chance to give something back to the community. It is hope in action, hope come
alive."
The Detroit Public Library made a major contribution to Neighborhoods
Day with all 23 library branches hosting "sidewalk" open houses and book fairs.
At the Elmwood Branch near Lafayette in downtown Detroit, branch manager Callie
Cypros said the library was connecting with area residents who had not utilized
the library before. "I was actually surprised at the number of people who came up
to us and wanted to know more about us," she said. "Most of them live right in the
neighborhood but simply hadn't used the library even though we are right nearby."
More than 500 neighborhood residents turned out for the Communities in Schools
of Detroit event on the east side. Activities included health
and dental screenings, entertainment, games for children and pony rides. "For some
of these children it was the first time they had their teeth cleaned by a dentist
or rode a horse," said Charles Anderson, executive director of CIS. "We are already
planning for next year. We want to make it bigger and better."
The Skillman Foundation's partnership with the Kresge Foundation
and the College for Creative Studies was represented at
seven sites, all part of the Community and Arts Project, which features the work
of local artist in city neighborhoods. "We saw a lot of interest around the city
from residents when they saw what the artists are doing," said Sioux Trujillo, who
heads the effort for the College for Creative Studies. Among the local artists featured
were Chazz Miller and Donald Calloway, both of whom worked on community murals.
Over in Palmer Woods in northwest Detroit, Craig VanderBerg, president of the
Palmer Woods Association, said he was overwhelmed at community
response to a neighborhood garage sale and picnic. "We might have had 1,000 people
come through here for the day," he said. "ARISE
Detroit! is really making people feel like they are part of
something all over the city."
Linda Butler had an up close and personal view of Neighborhoods Day. She volunteered
as an ARISE Detroit "ambassador,"
greeting neighborhood residents at events around the city with donuts and good cheer.
Among her stops were the Jefferson Branch Library on east Outer Drive, In
Season and Out Dance on east Warren the Next Detroit Neighborhoods
event in East English Village and Pentecostal Temple Church.
"It was awesome," said Butler, president of the food service division of Unite
Here Local 24. "It almost made me cry. To see churches involved, people
coming from all over the neighborhood. It was just beautiful. "People were able
to feel good, get information. ARISE Detroit!
Is really bringing people all over the city together, small organizations are joining
with others and figuring out what they can do for the community together. "Neighborhoods
Day is important because it gets people to step out of their circles all over the
city, to become involved and get to know their neighbors again.
ARISE Detroit! is replacing what has been missing in Detroit."
Thanks to the media who helped tell the story of Neighborhoods Day, including
WDET/101.9 FM, WWJ 950 AM, the Warren Pierce and Mitch
Album radio shows on WJR 760 AM, Paul Bridgewater of WGPR, Dr. Jimmy
Womack of WGPR, The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, the Michigan
Chronicle, Michigan Citizen, the Michigan Front Page, WJLB 92.3 FM,
Hot 102.7 FM, Laydell Harper and The Monitor, WDIV Channel 4, WXYZ-TV
Channel 7, MYTV20-Detroit, African American Family Magazine
and WHPR 88.1 FM.
Our thanks as well to our major sponsors for Neighborhoods Day, including Comerica
Bank, the Detroit Public Library, Wayne State University
and St. John Health. Other sponsors and supporters included
The Skillman Foundation, Wayne County Community College District, Radio One, Waste
Management of Michigan, Eastern Market, the Ribs N Soul Festival, Metro Youth Day,
the Detroit Tigers, WADL TV-38 Detroit, Pepsi Bottling Company, Ramona Henderson
Pearson, C.P.A., AAA Michigan, Communicating Arts Credit Union and Cobo Cleaners.
MARK YOU CALENDARS! ARISE Detroit! NEIGHBORHOODS DAY
- Saturday, August 1, 2009. ARISE Detroit! Neighborhoods Day
is now an official city wide observance by proclamation of Detroit Mayor, Kwame
Kilpatrick.
www.arisedetroit.org
313-921-1955
THANK YOU, MAJOR SPONSORS!!
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