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Category: Legacy Fund Grantee

  • Access Diverse Learning Resources with Hartland’s Cromaine Library

    “There’s still that traditional notion that libraries are only about books, but we’re more than that,” explains Marta-Kate Jackson, Youth and Teen Services Manager at Hartland’s Cromaine Library in Livingston County. “Our programming supports a variety of interests and ways to learn.”  Apart from reader services, the library has a range of offerings including storytime with babies and toddlers, themed camps for middle-schoolers, art, nature, and STEM take home kits, community wide events, and sports equipment lending. 

    As one of 15 SportPort community partners in southeast Michigan, Cromaine Library has been able to purchase sports equipment and make borrowing them as easy as borrowing books. SportPort is an equipment sharing pilot program led by Project Play: Southeast Michigan and made possible by the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Legacy Funds.

    While SportPort provided traditional equipment such as soccer balls, basketballs, and footballs from the get-go, Hartland community members expressed an interest in a variety of additional activities including golfing, fishing, and fitness training, as well as family yard games like bocce ball, volleyball, pickleball, and yard Yahtzee. Through SportPort, the library has helped provide specialty and often costly equipment to community members in order to facilitate all sorts of play. For the winter season, the library is stocked with ice fishing kits, snowshoes, snow scooters, snowboards, and cross country skis for toddlers.

    Library staff were surprised by what captured the community’s interest. “Bocce ball is one of the most popular things, and … oddly enough, the agility ladders are very, very popular. People are using them to make fun obstacle courses in their backyards and a lot of local coaches are using them too,” Marta shared.

    Conversations with community members about their needs and interests are a daily occurrence at Cromaine Library, and have directly informed the types of equipment they carry. Parents with young children have expressed their hesitation to buy pricey equipment their kids will continually grow out of. Many families have highlighted their interest in activities they can do together as a respite from being cooped up during the pandemic. When one parent shared that their child would be attending a lacrosse camp, but they were concerned about equipment costs the library was able to acquire and lend the family lacrosse sticks. 

    Cromaine Library’s sports lending service has also helped introduce kids and families to new activities. One family specifically shared that they never would have gone snowshoeing together, and that Cromaine Library made that possible for them. “Of course it’s nice to see kids enjoying and learning about new sports, but we didn’t expect to see families coming together around sports equipment and enjoying it together.” noted Marta. 

    Library staff have intentionally made the sports equipment more accessible, especially for those kids who may not be inclined to try something new, by setting up equipment inside and on the library grounds. When it’s there and ready to be played with, kids usually give it a try.  

    While sports lending might not be something that comes to mind immediately or at all when you think of a library, it does further the library’s efforts to foster lifelong learning. The library has seen greater demand for books in their collection on specific sports. And, another bonus of being a SportPort partner is that it has snowballed into new partnerships for the library with area parks and a local aquatic center. They’ve co-produced events where the library brings sports equipment to their locations for community members to lend and use. 

    For Marta, Hartland’s close-knit, rural and creative community is her inspiration. She feels a sense of achievement from facilitating the community to come together as organizers, sponsors, and participants for their annual Polar Express Day that celebrates and brings to life the popular children’s book. Seeing a kid light up when they realize the library has a certain book or type of sports equipment is a joy she experiences everyday. 

    At the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and Project Play, we strive to lift up the impactful work of our grantees who are creating positive permanent change in people’s lives throughout southeast Michigan. This post is part of a series of profiles about our youth sports grantees.

    Project Play: Southeast Michigan is driven and funded by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation’s Youth Sports & Recreation focus area in partnership with the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program.

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    Denise McGeen

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  • Building Character, Strength, and Confidence with Girls on the Run Southeastern Michigan

    Youth who participate in sports and regular physical activity experience physical, social, emotional, and cognitive health benefits that help to shape positive life experiences. But data shows that girls participate in sports 10 – 15% less than their male peers, and by age 14 girls drop out of sports programs at twice the rate of boys. There is concern that this gap is increasing in part because, while girls already face unique social pressures, they are also dealing with higher levels of stress and anxiety. Limited opportunities for physical activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the problem.

    Girls on the Run of Southeastern Michigan, which is a local chapter of Girls on the Run International works to decrease that participation gap while helping girls gain confidence, build character, and develop healthy relationships. The program utilizes a social and emotional learning curriculum that intertwines physical activity with life lessons such as identifying what matters to you, how to choose friends, how to support others, and how to participate in and be of service to your community. Since its founding in 2001, Girls on the Run of Southeastern Michigan has grown from serving 90 girls at 2 locations in Ann Arbor to engaging a couple thousand girls at 100 sites across five counties each year. 

    “The program gives young girls a safe place to meet and provides lessons that encourage them to use their voices, raise their hands, and develop friendships.”

    Executive Director, Danielle Plunkett

    Earlier in her career, Danielle worked with women who had experienced violent assault, and was drawn to the Girls on the Run program because of its preventative approach. The program is designed to help girls build confidence and connections so that they can be more successful moving into middle and high school and beyond. A recent independent survey of program participants nationally found that it does that successfully. 97% of those surveyed said they learned critical life skills in the program, and 85% improved in confidence, competence, caring, character, and connection to others.  

    Over the course of Girls on the Run’s 10 week program, participants gradually build strength and confidence. The program culminates in a 5k run. For Danielle, it’s a powerful and celebratory event that brings the girls, their families, and the coaches together. She shares about a girl who participated in the program but wasn’t interested in running. She’d walk or skip laps or make excuses to leave. But when she finally got to the 5k, something clicked for her. She put in tremendous effort to run the entire time, and after the run, she was beaming with pride.

    Girls on the Run invites families to train and run the event with their girls, and about 30% of families choose to participate. Often it’s the first 5k run for family members, and usually they lag behind the girls during the run. For Danielle, “it’s heartwarming to see girls complete the race, and then run back to cheer on their families.” 

    Girls on the Run of Southeast Michigan provides a supportive community in an era of increased isolation, especially with the pandemic. Over the past nearly 20 years, Danielle has had the honor of seeing multiple women who participated in their programming as girls come back to coach and teach. Having participants come full circle further validates that the program works for Danielle.

    At the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and Project Play, we strive to lift up the impactful work of our grantees who are creating positive permanent change in people’s lives throughout southeast Michigan. This post is part of a series of profiles about our youth sports grantees.

    Project Play: Southeast Michigan is driven and funded by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation’s Youth Sports & Recreation focus area in partnership with the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program.

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    Denise McGeen

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  • Creating Pathways to College and Career Readiness with RacquetUp Detroit

    “First and foremost this is not really about squash.” Derek Aguirre is the Executive Director of Racquet Up Detroit, a nonprofit that works with young people in Northwest Detroit from fifth grade and up to help them succeed at school, build meaningful relationships, and embrace their potential. 

    Growing up in Michigan, Derek was not a squash player himself. After college, his commitment to education, youth development and community service led him to a Boston organization called SquashBusters. It was founded in 1996 by former professional squash player Greg Zaff to have a positive impact on young people in urban areas where kids didn’t have access to as many opportunities or exposure to a sport like squash. Fourteen years later, Derek had moved back to Michigan and brought the model with him. He founded Racquet Up Detroit, which is part of a network that grew from SquashBusters of 20 organizations in the U.S. and abroad called the Squash and Education Alliance. 

    Derek has a love for squash, but for him the sport is a pathway to deeper personal growth. “If [Greg Zaff] had been a bull rider, maybe we’d be talking about bull riding,” he says. “Twenty-five years later, there’s a reason why there are twenty organizations like this. There’s something about squash that has enabled this model to be successful. It’s a fun sport, great for health and fitness, great for your whole life. It’s a really special way for kids to spend their time.”

    The intensive academic support, including homework help, literacy teaching, and college access guidance, that RacquetUp Detroit provides in a positive environment alongside coaching and playing squash allow the young people to make friendships, learn social-emotional skills, and develop character. 

    Kids who participate in the organization’s programming for many years tend to have the most positive outcomes. In 2010, Starnisha Ramsey joined the first cohort of RacquetUp Detroit students as a fifth grader. In a 2015 essay titled “I Play Squash Like A Girl” Starnisha wrote “I believe that to ‘play squash like a girl’ simply means to try your hardest at all times. If someone asks me do I play squash like a girl, I would say yes, you can see by the way I hustle.” Starnisha’s love of the sport combined with her strong academic performance helped her gain admission to St. Lawrence University. In January of 2022, she played and won her final home squash match. Following in her footsteps, fellow RacquetUp participant Aaron Levy is now pursuing a Bachelor’s in Business Administration at St. Lawrence University where he was recently made captain of the men’s squash team.

    Starnisha’s younger siblings Antoinette Ramsey and Antwan Ramsey joined RacquetUp as fifth graders. Antwan now works as a squash trainer and coach at RacquetUp while attending Wayne County Community College. Antoinette is pursuing a double major in psychology and Black studies as well as playing on the squash team at Denison University. Aaron and the Ramsey siblings exemplify the impact of Racquet Up Detroit’s education, personal development, and sports coaching.

    With support from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Legacy funds, Racquet Up Detroit has been able to purchase new equipment like squash ball feeding machines and a sound system that makes practice more efficient and enhances the joy in the environment. In early 2022, the organization will put these to work in their brand new, 19,000 square foot facility in Northwest Detroit that includes state of the art squash courts and education spaces. The new facility will allow them to expand their squash offerings but more importantly for Derek, to provide a space where kids can learn, gain confidence, and build lifelong friendships.

    At the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and Project Play, we strive to lift up the impactful work of our grantees who are creating positive permanent change in people’s lives throughout southeast Michigan. This post is part of a series of profiles about our youth sports grantees.

    Project Play: Southeast Michigan is driven and funded by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation’s Youth Sports & Recreation focus area in partnership with the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program.

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    Denise McGeen

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  • Supporting Happier, Healthier Childhoods with Free Bikes 4 Kidz

    “I ride my bike to school every day, and I do that year round. Summer, winter, rain, snow.” Bob Barnes’ almost daily seven mile commute from his home in Royal Oak to Bloomfield Township where he teaches high school gives him time and space to daydream, reflect, and process his thoughts. As a passionate cyclist who began his career in the automotive industry, Bob found himself looking for a way to give back and to share the benefits of biking with others. Biking is not only good for the environment, it improves physical and mental health, creates community amongst cyclists, and is a tool for fun, freedom, and independence, especially for young people. 

    Bob was inspired to launch the effort in 2018, after learning about the Free Bikes 4 Kidz model launched by Terry Esau in Minnesota in 2007. The Detroit organization is the eighth of (now) twelve affiliate organizations nationwide. As Executive Director of Free Bikes 4 Kidz (FB4K), Bob’s passion for cycling and desire to do good intersect. The nonprofit collects used bikes that would otherwise end up in landfills, refurbishes them, and gives them to kids whose families cannot afford bikes.

    Free Bikes 4 Kidz operates with a seasonal, partnership-driven, and event-based model that is sustainable and super efficient. 

    They operate from September through December, concentrating all their activities – and overhead costs – in four busy months. The organization collects thousands of bikes each fall, any they require warehouse space where they can store the bikes and set up work stations for volunteers to refurbish the bikes. Since they only operate for a short period, they’ve been able to find organizations willing to donate unused space. In 2021, the Piston Group Detroit provided Free Bikes 4 Kidz with an otherwise empty warehouse in Southwest Detroit.

    Every year, FB4K hosts a big giveaway event before Christmas. The event usually attracts a lot of media attention, which has resulted in an increase in interest, bike donations, volunteers, and distribution requests every year. For an organization whose model relies heavily on community members, the extra attention has been especially welcome. 

    Last year, Free Bikes 4 Kidz partnered with Home Depot to collect bikes at 22 of their locations across southeast Michigan during a big collection drive in early October. People were able to drop their used bikes off at a convenient location, and the logistics around collecting and transporting bikes to the warehouse in a given time period became more manageable.

    With thousands of bikes collected, volunteers are needed to help fix bikes and run the annual event. In 2021, FB4K engaged 1,575 volunteers who spent 6,600 hours fixing up the bikes over a 10-week period. The organization works with families and nonprofit organizations like church groups, neighborhood groups, and schools to sign up kids to receive the free bikes. At the end of the year, they were able to give away over 2,000 refurbished bikes and new helmets to kids in metro Detroit. Bob proudly notes that “the process brings together people of all backgrounds, people who might never cross paths otherwise. The whole community comes together to make it happen.”

    Ashia Phillips, who is the CEO and Co-Founder of D-Town Riders has been volunteering with Free Bikes 4 Kids since the beginning. “The first year was crazy, I personally touched every single bike that came into the warehouse, which was like 11,000 bikes. The second year, probably the same thing.” She finds the work especially meaningful. “I’m so selfish. I enjoy seeing all the kids and all the parents be so happy. When they are happy, it makes me happy. It does something to my energy. When I see the joy that they’re getting I just suck it all up. I’m a selfish philanthropist like that. And it’s personal to me because this wasn’t around when I was a kid. Nobody was doing anything like this. It’s beautiful.”

    Funds from philanthropic partner, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds for Youth Sports, have helped the organization purchase more repair stands and tools as well as upgrade their website with a volunteer registration system. This made it easier for Free Bikes 4 Kidz to handle the volume of bikes they received in 2021 and make the most of volunteers’ time and expertise.

    Last year’s giveaway event was held just a couple weeks before Christmas on Saturday, December 11 and Sunday, December 12. Dozens of kids were pre-registered to shop for bikes in the safe, socially distanced space.

    A few kids shared about their interest in biking and their biking plans: 

    “I’m going to ride it during the summer. I don’t really go out much unless it’s hanging out with my friends. With my bike, I have the opportunity to do more things.” – Xia Rogers, 13
    I like skinny tire bikes because they’re faster. This one seems pretty light. I like to ride long distances; you get better wind. Me and my dad, we go on biking trips so it’s pretty cool to get a bike like this.” – Ryan Neal, 14
    “I like riding bikes because my mom got me into it. It helps me exercise and gets a lot off my mind. I like the wind blowing in my hair and everything.” – Jaslyn Davis, 14 
    “It’s BMX.” Enough said. When asked if he’d want to be a BMX rider, Jamari says “no, I’m not risking my life!” – Jamari Austin, 11

    At the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and Project Play, we strive to lift up the impactful work of our grantees who are creating positive permanent change in people’s lives throughout southeast Michigan. This post is part of a series of profiles about our youth sports grantees.

    Project Play: Southeast Michigan is driven and funded by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation’s Youth Sports & Recreation focus area in partnership with the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program.

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    Denise McGeen

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