June 2014

Howdy Y’all! The Bell Building resembles a lighthouse as it stands erect amidst a sea of boarded homes, overgrown lawns, and makeshift worships spaces. Likewise, a vivacious flame radiates from the within the building. It’s quite difficult not to catch onto the affable spirit. Everyone is smiling, especially on “Turn It Up Tuesday.” This summer, […]

I am working with the Southeast Michigan Regional Office at the Suburbs Alliance on its Energy Management Plan and LED Light Initiative. The Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office partners with 26 member local governments to help them save energy and improve the quality of life for residents in their community. Dedicated to fostering and supporting

This blog post is about the organization that I’ve started working for this summer, Friends of Parkside. Friends of Parkside is a non-profit community organization that provides services to residents in the Villages of Parkside, a public housing complex on Detroit’s east side. FOP offers assistance to residents in a number of ways, including monthly

Upon reflection, it’s hard to believe that I’ve only been here for a little over a week! I’ve taken in so much information, met so many people, and learned so much about the city in such a short period of time. What a crazy thing to think that I moved in last Sunday! The community

My community placement is Friends of Parkside; it’s an organization that assist the community of Villages at Parkside, which is a public housing unit with subsided rent. Some of the services that FOP provides to Parkside residents are cooking classes, health seminars, access to computers and Internet, food programs, a gift giveaway called the Dear

My first week and a half in Detroit and at the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation (GRDC) has been an interesting one! I am really enjoying my placement at GRDC. GRDC is a place that seems to have a very strong presence in the Detroit community,and even with just a little time here I can tell

Wow I can’t believe its been a whole week since I’ve been here. So far I can definitely say that Detroit is treating me really well. This past week has been a challenge as well as a learning period. A couple of individuals and I have definitely taken advantage of our weekends to explore the

Hey everyone, I couldn’t be happier to be working for the Michigan Suburbs Alliance (MSA) this summer!  The organization strives to foster cooperation amongst the communities of metro Detroit, as we believe unity to be the most effective tool in solving regional problems.  We tackle all sorts of issues facing the region including municipal finance

The community placement I am working with is called the Detroit Food Academy. Their mission is to work with children in the Detroit Schools to develop their own business based on sustainable food systems. They combine elements of business, entrepreneurship, and marketing with a curriculum where students actually prepare and sell their food products. Right

Hey everyone! I have really enjoyed my time at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation this far and I know I’ll love it there over the next 8(.5) weeks. Working at DHDC over this past week has also been quite hectic for me. Everyone is involved in a wide range of projects, and I have been working in everything that