LookUpDetroit.com/blog — Metro Detroit

Have You Ever Felt Displaced?

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Faith & Fellowship,Macomb County,Oakland County,Service & NonProfits,Wayne County

From A Local Author and Friend: Dave Arnold

Pilgrims of the Alley is a book about how to live out an authentic faith in a world where we don’t fit in and often find challenging to live in. It’s a book about hope and learning to see how God is at work in the alleys of life.

We are not called to fit in, to be status quo. We are called to thrive and do extraordinary work for God’s Kingdom.

To do so requires us to be uncomfortable, to get out of the “nest” and allow God to mold us and shape us to change the world.

You’re looking at a book that will move you to feel compassion and motivate you to express the love of God to your corner of the world. Dave Arnold has done an exceptional job of merging personal experience, story, and biblical guidance into the message of this book. It is a message easy to read and hard to forget.-

Tim Grisson, author and editor (including the co-author of the best-selling book, Seeking Him: Experiencing the Joy of Personal Revival)

Drawing from my experience with working with refugees and immigrants, I have divided the book into three sections – three stages – that refugees and immigrants typically experience when they arrive in a new country.

They are:
•   Disorientation: The stage of vulnerability and openness. Disorientation is the place where God works to mold and shape us.
•   Assimilation (what I call Blessing): This is the stage of growth, of learning to adjust to a challenging environment. Blessing is where God takes our lives and uses it to impact others.
•   Longing (what I call Homecoming): This is the stage of remembering, of longing for a Place, for Home. This is the stage of hope: of one day experiencing our long-awaited destination.

Pilgrims of the Alley gives me hope of things to come. Dave writes with a profound purpose and reflects the light of a loving God calling his people home.

- Justin Zoradi, Founder of These Numbers Have Faces & JustinZoradi.com

Who Is This Book For?
This book is for…
•   People who are tired of the status quo, of trying to fit in.
•   People who are willing to take action and learn to give rather than take.
•   People who want to change and grow into the person God wants them to be.
•   People who want to love the poor, the stranger, and the broken of the world.
•   People who are longing for what is to come, for the Place God’s created for us.

Madeleine L’ Engle once wrote:

“One of the great sorrows which came to human beings when Adam and Eve left the Garden was the loss of memory, memory of all that God’s children are meant to be.”

I hope to recapture some of that memory; to inspire you to see how God works in the ordinary things of life – in the alleys. For it’s in the alleys where we are pushed and stretched and grow the most.

Buy The Book
Pilgrims of the Alley at:

Amazon, CreateSpace and (coming soon!) Barnes & Nobles

Want to sample the book first?

Download the introduction and first chapter for FREE!
Click below:

Pilgrims of the Alley Sampler

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Michigan bonds get ratings upgrade; state’s rebounding economy cited

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Business & Economy,Macomb County,Oakland County,Wayne County

New York bond agency Fitch Ratings upgraded on Tuesday its rating for Michigan’s general obligation bonds to AA from AA-.

The action by Fitch Ratings is the first rating upgrade Michigan has received amid a recent series of positive moves by bond agencies. Earlier, Standard & Poor’s & Moody’s upgraded the outlook for Michigan bonds to “positive” from “stable,” while leaving their existing ratings in place, at AA- and AA2 respectively.

Fitch assigned an AA rating to $200 million in new general obligation school loan bonds, while upgrading to AA the rating on about $2 billion in outstanding State of Michigan general obligation bond debt. Fitch revised its outlook for the bonds to stable from positive.

Fitch, who had not improved its rating for Michigan bonds since 2007, also upgraded other state-related ratings to AA- from A+.

“The upgrade is based on the state’s rebounding economic performance, including the improved competitive posture of the state’s auto industry after its restructuring,” Fitch said in a news release.

“Moreover, the state has made considerable progress in bolstering its finances, with structurally balanced budgeting, growing reserves and an improving cash balance.”

Gov. Rick Snyder, who met last month in New York with representatives of the three rating agencies, said the changes are a signal that Wall Street is responding to Michigan getting its fiscal house in order.

“Michigan is the comeback state and our progress is being recognized,” Snyder said in a news release.

Improved ratings can mean significant savings in debt costs for the state.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com

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City receives far more money per person than any other city in the state

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Business & Economy,Law & Government,Wayne County

By Tom Gantert, published on April 4, 2013

One common theme in the media across the state and nationally has been the tale of how the city of Detroit’s financial crisis stems from a lack of revenue.

An analysis by Bridge magazine says the city receives less than expected in state-shared revenue, or money the state distributes to all local governments it gets from collecting sales taxes. The Huffington Post cited the main root of Detroit’s problems as “the simple lack of revenue.”

But a report released this month by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan suggests that Detroit gets more than its fair share of state money when measured per capita and compared to what other cities are receiving. And the city’s revenue per person has changed little over the past decade.

“They get a lot of money on a per capita basis. They just can’t control their spending,” Bettie Buss, the report’s author, told Reuters.

The report notes that while the city of Detroit received $161.1 million less in state shared revenue in 2012 than it did in 2002, it gets $335 per person in state-shared revenue – by far the highest in the state. Pontiac was second-highest at $176 per person.

James Hohman, a fiscal policy analyst for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, says the city’s real issues are administrative and not revenue.

“They are getting more state revenue sharing than anyone else. They’ve had it cut, but so has everyone else,” Hohman said. “Yes the revenue has gone down a bit in the last decade, but so has everything else in the city of Detroit.”

Detroit population has dropped 22 percent from 905,996 in 2002 to 706,585 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, Detroit’s total revenue dropped from $2.589 billion in 2002 to $2.302 billion in 2012, an 11 percent decline. Governmental activity revenue fell from $1.855 billion in fiscal 2002 to $1.537 billion in fiscal 2012, a 17 percent decline.

“They haven’t adequately planned for a decrease. It’s an administrative issue,” Hohman said.

The CRC report and a review the city’s finances shows that Detroit has revenue that is actually higher per capita than it has been in the past. In fact, the city receives about $1,289 per person in total revenue (property taxes, income taxes, other local taxes and revenue sharing) – the highest amount in the nation and 50 percent higher than any other city in Michigan.

Anthony Neely, spokesman for Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

~~~~~

Source Article from the Mackinic Center - Click Here

Home Plate 2013

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Faith & Fellowship,Macomb County,Oakland County,Service & NonProfits,Wayne County

Home Plate Detroit 2013 offers a great opportunity to enjoy Saturday, April 27 at Comerica Park. Spend the day together as a family and invite a friend to go with you. Hear testimonies from current and former Tigers, and enjoy the ball game as the Tigers take on the Atlanta Braves. Each Home Plate ticket will include a game ticket, access to the Home Plate activities, a food coupon, and souvenirs.

Start time: The program starts at 9:30 a.m., and the game starts at 1:05 p.m.
Ticket price: $29 per ticket. (No tickets are needed for children under age 4, but without a ticket, a child will not receive a reserved seat, food coupon, or souvenir.

Questions? For more details, including how to purchase tickets directly go to www.homeplatedetroit.org

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Keep Metro Detroit a health tourism destination

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Macomb County,Oakland County,Science & Medicine,Wayne County

“People might be surprised to know that we have the best health care in the world,” said Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano after a State of the County address touting Metro Detroit health systems as an attraction for so-called health tourism.

“We just need to do a better job of marketing.”

Actually, the world already knows that the U.S. has the world’s best health care. It is Ficano’s political peers in Washington who have panned U.S. health care as second rate and in need of an extreme makeover.

Today, Detroit is a destination for foreigners — some 50,000 Canadians cross the border for treatment every year — desperately seeking specialists for everything from cancer to joint replacement.

But as the U.S. moves toward Obamacare, modeled on universal care systems abroad, fewer U.S. doctors will be less able to serve foreign customers, much less American customers.

“I fear (for Detroiters’ health care) access because more and more people in the medical field are going to revolt against a system that tries to control them,” Detroit native and world-renowned neurosurgeon Ben Carson tells me.

Ficano is correct — the U.S. is No. 1 for health care. So why does the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development rank the U.S. just 28th in life expectancy?

Because the U.S. is the murder capital of the developed world. Strip out fatal injuries from OECD tables and the U.S. vaults to the top. Wealth equals health. It also equals unparalleled access. For example, the U.S. has the highest breast cancer survival rate according to the Centers for Disease Control, 9 percent higher than Canada. From prostate cancer (184 percent higher) to colon cancer mortality among men (10 percent higher), Canadians suffer worse cancer survival rates than their neighbors.

Why? Because universal care does not mean universal access to treatment. In nationally-regulated systems from Canada to Germany, government regulation and health reimbursement creates doctor shortages and reduced treatment. This means “waits of six months or more for elective surgeries were reported to occur ‘very often’ or ‘often’ by 26-57 percent of executives” in non-U.S. systems, according to Harvard professor Robert Blendon. “Only 1 percent of U.S. hospitals reported this.”

Click for the Full Story

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130404/OPINION03/304040311#ixzz2PvadV600

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JOIN TUSKEGEE AIRMAN LT. COLONEL ALEXANDER JEFFERSON SHARING “HOW I SURVIVED WORLD WAR II!”

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Macomb County,Metro History,Oakland County,Wayne County

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17 AT THE DETROIT HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The Detroit Historical Society continues its Scholar Series with former Tuskegee Airman Lt. Colonel Alexander Jefferson , who will discuss his time in the Army Air Force during World War II on Wednesday, April 17 at 6 p.m. at the Detroit Historical Museum. Jefferson will also be awarded a plaque from the Society’s Black Historic Sites Committee for his contributions to African American history. College graduate Alexander Jefferson, having enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves, was turned down when he first applied for flight training in the Army Air Force during World War II.

However, in 1943, the Army assigned Jefferson to the 332 nd Fighter Group of the black “Tuskegee Airmen,” based at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. The 332 nd , which flew distinctive “Red Tail” P – 51 Mustangs, escorted bombing raids and provided air support for ground troops. During his presentation, Jefferson will show a brief video and explain how being a Tuskegee Airman helped him survive World War II. In addition, he will discuss how his Tuskegee Airman status contributed to his life during the Civil Rights era.

The program will feature a flag ceremony; an introduction from the chair of the Black Historic Sites Committee, Kimberly Simmons; reenactors from the Historic Fort Wayne Coalition; a question and answer session and an award presentation. Lt. Colonel Jefferson will also be available to sign copies of his book, Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW , after the event. Guests will also be invited to tour the Museum’s new Arsenal of Democracy exhibition, featuring Jefferson.

The Scholar Series is free for Detroit Historical Society members and $10 for guests. Free for children under 18 years old. The Film and Scholar Series are supported by the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Detroit Historical Museum, located at 5401 Woodward Ave. (NW corner of Kirby) in Midtown Detroit, is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is free for all, all the time. Parking in the Museum’s lot is $5 at all times. Permanent exhibits include the famous Streets of Old Detroit , the Allesee Gallery of Culture , Kid Rock Music Lab , Doorway to Freedom: Detroit and the Underground Railroad , Detroit: The “Arsenal of Democracy , ” Frontiers to Factories , America’s Motor City , and The Glancy Trains . For more information, call the Museum at (313) 833 – 1805 or check out our website at www.detroithistorical.org .

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ART X DETROIT SHOWCASES DETROIT’S FLOURISHING ARTS SCENE

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Art & Culture,Wayne County

PROGRAMMING ANNOUNCED FOR MIDTOWN’ S FIVE-DAY ARTS EXPERIENCE, APRIL 10-14, 2013

Art X Detroit: Kresge Arts Experience will take over Midtown this spring as the free, five-day arts experience celebrates Detroit’s arts scene April 10-14, 2013. Throughout more than a dozen venues in the vibrant Midtown district, the public is invited to experience an exciting collection of visual art installations, dance, musical and theatrical performances, literary readings, and much more created by the Kresge Eminent Artists and Kresge Artist Fellowship Awardees.

Art X Detroit is funded by The Kresge Foundation. A complete schedule of events is available at www.artxdetroit.com . “A thriving arts and cultural community not only enriches the quality of life for residents and visitors to southeastern Michigan, but inspires fresh ideas and fuels the creative vitality of the region,” said Rip Rapson, Kresge’s president and CEO. “In attracting local, national and international audiences to experience the works of these artists, Art X Detroit celebrates the Detroit metropolitan area as a hub of innovation and human energy. We’re proud to support the event and celebrate the Kresge Eminent Artists and Artist Fellows.” The Kresge Foundation has provided $2 million to support more than 70 artists living and working in Metro Detroit through its Kresge Eminent Artist and Artist Fellowship programs since 2008. The Eminent Artist and Artist Fellowship programs are administered by the College for Creative Studies.

Art X Detroit Highlights

The event will feature exceptional works and performances by acclaimed Eminent Artists Bill Harris and Naomi Long Madgett, and art enthusiasts will experience so me of Detroit’s most creative talents at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall, College for Creative Studies and other great venues in Midtown’s Cultural Center. A s pecial visual arts exhibition runs through April 28 at MOCAD. The opening night of Art X Detroit is a multi-venue celebration on Wednesday, April 10, 6:15 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. at MOCAD and the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, with special live performances at the First Congregational Church and Wayne State Univ ersity. The opening night reception is free to the public; however, registration is required. RSVP by Monday, April 8 at www.artxdetroit.com/opening-night or call 313.420.6000. Art X Detroit captures the creativity and imagination of the Kresge Eminent Artists and Fellows whose works will be on display across Midtown, including:

“Have Mercy” and “Booker T. & Them: A Blues” by 2011 Kresge Eminent Artist Bill Harris. Award- winning playwright, poet, critic and novelist, Bill Harris’ plays have been featured in more than one hundred productions nationwide. In “Have Mercy,” Harris collaborates with Detroit’s own Reverend Robert Jones (a master blues historian and guitarist) for a demonstration of theatre at its most basic, in the tradition of Homer and African djelis, or griots. This one-act monologue will take place at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, GM Theater, to be followed by an excerpt from Harris’ book, “Booker T. & Them: A Blues,” directed by innovative stage director, Aku Kadogo, also a Detroit native.

Naomi Long Madgett – Poet and Publisher. With a career as a published poet that spans eight decades, 2012 Kresge Eminent Artist Dr. Naomi Long Madgett has amassed numerous accolades for her exemplary life of service and creative expression. The annual Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award, established in 1993, has helped shine a spotlight on African American writers – recognizing 20 young poets to-date and attracting the attention of major publishing houses. Madgett will read from her own work as well as present a program of readings and dialogue reflecting on the careers of five of the awardees: Bill Harris, Claude Wilkinson, Nagueyalti Warren, Edward Bruce Bynum and Esperanza Cintrón. Readings at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, GM Theatre.

“¡Viva America!” by Maria Costa. In her new comedy special film ¡Viva America!, renowned actress/comedian/writer Maria Costa portrays an array of hilarious and thought-provoking characters whose lives are profoundly affected by immigration in the U.S. Following this premiere screening, there will be a question and answer session and a muy caliente salsa music and dance after-party with the cast – be sure to bring your dancing shoes! Film screening at the DIA Detroit Film Theatre followed by Q&A and dancing in the DIA.

“My Brightest Diamond” by Shara Worden. Worden presents a new, 360 degree, surround-sound instrumental composition for The Detroit Party Marching Band. The performance begins at MOCAD for the opening ceremonies of Art X Detroit 2013, and is followed by a music procession with the marching band, leading the audience from the art museum to the First Congregational Church, where the indie- rock band My Brightest Diamond (fronted by Worden) will begin a full length concert choreographed by Jessica Dessner. Concert performance beginning at MOCAD and moving to First Congregational Church.

Passalacqua: The Experience Part 1 & 2. Together, Detroit-based MCs Mister and Blaksmith form Passalacqua. The duo is responsible for inventive live presentations, conceptual, theatrical, almost performance art, which are altogether curious and highly engaging. In Part 1, they present a documentary retrospective of their group as told by friends, collaborators, and themselves. In Part 2, Passalacqua performs their complete discography live and exclusively debut their newest songs. Film screening and performance at the Michigan Science Center’s Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre.

“The People’s Vision,” a mural by Hubert Massey. Massey, whose work can be seen at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Paradise Valley Park and Campus Martius, works in a variety of media to create large public art installations and is noted for collaborating with communities to create art that tells their stories. For Art X Detroit, Massey is creating a 30’ x 60’ mural to be installed on the WSU Press Building at the corner of Woodward and Warren avenues. At MOCAD, Massey’s preliminary drawings of the mural will be on view throughout the month of April. Mural installation at WSU Press Building, drawings at MOCAD.

“Corner Store” by Design 99. Corner Store is a three-channel video installation inspired by experiences during two days when plywood boards covering the Design 99 studio/storefront space in Hamtramck were removed. Design 99 video recorded the reactions and questions of the neighborhood’s residents as they passed by. These reactions will form the basis for the video in the Corner Store installation. Three-channel video, mixed media installation at MOCAD.

“An Evening with Charles McPherson” by Mark Stryker. Stryker, Music Writer for the Detroit Free Press, presents “An Evening with Charles McPherson, ” one of the important figures in Detroit’s modern jazz explosion in the 1950s. At 73, the alto saxophonist has had a major career and remains at the top of his game. This evening with Charles McPherson is designed to illuminate Detroit’s remarkable jazz legacy and influence. Discussion and performance at the DIA Detroit Film Theatre. Art X Detroit is made possible by The Kresge Foundation and is supported by its partners ArtServe Michigan, the College for Creative Studies and MOCAD. It is produced by Midtown Detroit, Inc., a nonprofit organization that has spearheaded reinvestment in Midtown through the arts, beautification and economic development.

For a complete schedule of events, visit www.ArtXDetroit.com and Facebook for exciting updates. For more information on the Kresge Arts in Detroit program, visit, www.kresgeartsindetroit.org .

About The Kresge Foundation

Kresge is a national philanthropy with deep roots in Detroit. Six of its seven program areas support nonprofit organizations across the United States, assisting with work to create access and opportunity for underserved communities, improve the health of low-inco me people, support artistic expression, increase college achievement, and address global climate change The foundation’s Detroit Program focuses on Kresge’s hometown. Using a comprehensive framework, Kresge’s Detroit Program invests in efforts to foster long-term economic opportunity that advances social equity, promotes cultural expression, and re-establishes the city as the center of a vibrant region.

Kresge Arts in Detroit is part of that program. In 2012, Kresge’s Board of Trustees approved 410 grants totaling $130.6 million; $150.3 million was paid out to nonprofit organizations over the course of the year.

About Midtown Detroit, Inc.

Midtown Detroit, Inc. (MDI) is a nonprofit planning and development agency charged with revitalization of Detroit’s Woodward Corridor. Representing over 100 area stakeholders, including Detroit’s anchor educational, medical and cultural institutions, MDI provides public space maintenance and security services; marketing support; technical assistance; infrastructure and real estate development; grant administration; and arts programming for the district. MDI and its predecessor organization, the University Cultural Center Association, have raised over $60 million in direct support for Midtown initiatives over the past ten years for str eetscapes, greenways, parks, community gardens and commercial and residential developments. In 2010, MDI and its philanthropic partners secured over $22 million in loans and grants through the Living Cities Integration Initiative. New programs launched as a part of this national project include a residential incentive program for anchor employees , financing for targeted mixed-use developments, procurement initiatives and a community land trust. In addition, MDI is developing a neighborhood arts district with support from the New Economy Initiative and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

www.midtowndetroitinc.org .

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Carol Cain: Barbara Bush Foundation comes to Michigan

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Learning & Libraries,Macomb County,Oakland County,Wayne County

Former first lady Barbara Bush is bringing her foundation, and its nearly 25-year mission to end illiteracy, to Michigan.

The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy has plans for Michigan, including a publication aimed at new moms that will be given out at hospitals called Love, Read, Learn. It also will partner with a charter school in Detroit to provide family literary services this fall.

“Individuals, communities and states must step up if we are to succeed in creating a nation where everyone has a chance to learn the skills they need to succeed as parents, workers, and citizens,” Bush said.

No doubt she’ll mention her foundation during an appearance in Grand Rapids on Monday along with daughter-in-law and fellow former first lady Laura Bush at the Gerald R. Ford Foundation luncheon celebrating first ladies.

Barbara Bush is the matriarch of the political dynasty.

It was very different decades earlier when, as a young mom, she had to figure out how to help her son, Neil Bush, who was having trouble reading. He was diagnosed with dyslexia.

“Mom spent hours reading with him,” daughter Doro Bush Koch said. Her brother overcame his learning disability.

Koch is now co-chairwoman of her mom’s foundation along with her brother former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Barbara Bush will remain an adviser.

That experience of seeing her son suffer with a learning disability left an imprint. She wondered about children who didn’t have parents willing or able to help because they were illiterate, too.

Once in the White House, she launched her foundation.

“The stark reality of illiteracy can burden families and futures for generations. Today, there are 30 million Americans who are illiterate, unable to help their own children succeed in school and life,” she said.

Her foundation started with a mission of creating and expanding classrooms where families and children could learn to read together.

Since then, the nonprofit has invested more than $50 million in grants to 1,200 literacy programs.

Michigan is one of the largest states that the foundation — based in Tallahassee, Fla. — is focusing on. Its focus had been in Texas, Maine, Florida, Maryland — home states of the Bush family.

Liza McFadden, director of the foundation, said it decided to expand into Michigan because “Michigan is important, as it is a leader in charter schools. The uniqueness of Michigan’s education reform makes it something we are taking a look at.”

Rob Tiede, an auto executive in metro Detroit, is leading the foundation’s efforts in Michigan.

“For almost 25 years, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy has been making an amazing impact on the landscape of our society, one mother and one child at a a time,” said Tiede. “Mrs. Bush should be applauded, celebrated, respected and admired. ”

The foundation has been raising money though Celebration of Reading events with authors. Like most nonprofits, it is looking for donors.

Koch has been to the state many times campaigning for her family.

The Bush clan is also gearing up for the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on April 25.

With so much going on in the Bush household, the mission of what Barbara Bush intended when she started her foundation is never lost or far removed from the family’s conversations.

“One-hundred percent literacy is our motto,” said Koch of her mother’s foundation.

Source Article

Contact Carol Cain: 313-222-6732 or clcain@cbs.com. She is senior producer and host of \”Michigan Matters,\” which airs 11:30 a.m. Sundays on CBS 62.

More Details: If you want to go

Barbara and Laura Bush are to appear noon-1:30 p.m. Monday at the Gerald R. Ford Foundation luncheon “America’s First Ladies: An Enduring Legacy” at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids.

• For more information: www.geraldrfordfoundation.org /events-schedule or 616-254-0396

• For information on Barbara Bush’s literacy foundation: www.barbarabushfoundation.com

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The Detroit Food Academy – Providing Opportunities for Detroit Youth

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Macomb County,Oakland County,Travel, Food & Shopping,Wayne County

This post is part of our Millennial Impact spring series “Getting Fresh.” These blogs highlight our young, innovative contributors who have new ideas to solve old challenges. Check out more here.

Detroit is a loaded word. Some people think of decrepit “Ruin Porn.” Some think of Hipsters in a blossoming Wild West for start-ups. I think of the 300 students that called me teacher (or maestra) in the heart of Southwest Detroit. And I think about how their challenge wasn’t about an Achievement Gap (they had the will and hope to achieve… and they did), it was an Opportunity Gap. Educators call it the “lack of opportunity for equal education for all students.” I see it as just plain lack of opportunities.

The Detroit Food Academy was formed by Jen Rusciano, a food systems educator, Noam Kimelman, who runs Fresh Corner Café, and me, a teacher. At the heart of our organization are three complimentary ideologies: to promote food justice, to expand social entrepreneurship, and to teach using experiential education. We believe in creating engaging, inspiring, and empowering opportunities for young Detroiters, ages 14-21, to better themselves and their communities. Our peer-led curriculum and real-world entrepreneurship training address the immediate need for employment, constructive activity, and community engagement as well as the long-term need for solution-based thinking, leadership, teamwork, career development, healthy habits, self-confidences, and self-determination.

Our participants are given the opportunity and support to design and build their own food business. Since our inception in 2011 – formerly known as the Detroit Youth Food Brigade, our participants have engaged in food systems education, entrepreneurial internships, and real-world application, selling products at farmers markets across the city. Participants go through a 3-day-per-week, 120-hour certificate program powered by three threads: Kitchen, Conversation, and Community. Participants graduate with a polished triple bottom line food product (one that is environmentally, socially, and financially healthy), a certificate in food entrepreneurship, a network of potential employers, and guaranteed acceptance to our Small Batch Entrepreneurship Camp. The summer is always the most fun. Small Batch Entrepreneurship Camp is a summer program that employs certificate-carrying Food Academy graduates to build triple bottom line distribution channels around their made-from-scratch products. Examples include setting up a stand in their neighborhood, selling their product at local markets, establishing accounts in nearby corner stores and restaurants, or pursuing larger wholesale accounts with grocery stores and supermarkets.

Former Food Academy participants formed a Chips&Dips Collective where they made seasonal root vegetable chips to pair with their personalized line of dips: Super Spinach Dip, Grand Sage Dip, and Presto Pesto. They debuted their product at the Redford Library Holiday Bazaar and the Eastern Market’s Saturday market. They sold out within hours both times!

We have seen our students transform into high-energy, creative, and passionate individuals in the short amount of time we worked with them. At the end of every round, we ask students to give us feedback on our program as we continuously seek to improve their experience. Here is what they had to say:

“If you have a chance to take this class in the future, take advantage. It’s like a family. This class helped me make healthier choices, I stopped going to McDonald’s, started cooking at home, and I’ve lost like 5 pounds.” – Haider, 2012

“I was thinking I could own my own restaurant… and maybe one day it can happen, now I’ve got some skills.” – Sherrion, 2012

And Desmond, a returning member, said, “Kids can actually make a difference in our communities… be leaders instead of being out in the streets. I’m going back to school to get my high school diploma and go to college to become a teacher and it’s all thanks for Ms. B and the Food Brigade and the Boggs Education Center to help me find out what I want to do in my life.”

We are not the only organization that works relentlessly to provide opportunities for the next generation of Detroiters. There is a large network of good people starting schools, running churches, growing food, and managing small food businesses in this city that constantly donate their time and their hands to support the work of the Detroit Food Academy and the work of our participants. We believe Detroit is fertile ground for opportunities, not only for transplants and start-ups, but for everyone who calls Detroit home.

If you are interested in supporting or volunteering with the Detroit Food Academy, please do not hesitate to email us at team@detroitfoodacademy.com or visit our website.

Follow Amy Berkhoudt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/amyberkhoudt

Source Link

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Detroit synagogue undergoes resurgence as it hits fundraising goal

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Faith & Fellowship,Wayne County

Detroit — The Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue is the last of its kind — the final free-standing building in the city of Detroit that is a place of Jewish worship. Its future is getting brighter just a few years after the downtown synagogue appeared headed for history.

Monday afternoon the synagogue, located in Capitol Park at 1457 Griswold St., reached a $60,000 goal through an online Indiegogo fundraising campaign, which matches an earlier $60,000 private fundraising effort. All the money will go to renovating part of the building’s ailing infrastructure and removing graffiti.

The fundraising success is the latest testimony to the new surge of energy going on at the synagogue, recognizable for its multi-colored windows. Members credit an influx of young Jews moving to the city who, in turn, have worked to broaden the synagogue’s outreach. Others credit the overall revival of downtown as helping their cause, as well.

Membership has doubled to around 300 paid members in the past two years. Besides weekly Shabbat services, activities at the synagogue range from film nights to Torah studies to late-night dance parties.

“This is the most unique synagogue I’ve ever been involved in. I have never felt so connected to community as I have here. I would call it place-making Judaism,” said Anna Weitzer, 26, a recent Detroit transplant from Ann Arbor who is on the board of directors. Examples of that “place-making Judaism” includes the synagogue’s effort to work with a Detroit farm so that kosher food can be grown locally, and helping downtown residents learn more about tenants’ rights.

For the complete article:
From The Detroit News:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130408/BIZ/304080428#ixzz2Pv8Jsk30

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Shattering Major-League Idols

by Lookup Webmaster on April 8, 2013

in Faith & Fellowship,Macomb County,Oakland County,Sports & Recreation,Wayne County

by David Mathis | April 8, 2013

Permalink

It’s every pitcher’s worst nightmare. For the Detroit Tigers’ Darin Downs, the nightmare became a reality, and almost meant the end of his life.

On August 17, 2009, he took a 103-mile-per-hour line drive off the left side of his head. In an instant, his skull was fractured, blood began pooling, his head was swelling, and he couldn’t speak. Soon he lay terrified in an ambulance en route to the hospital. But in that moment, he had a strange peace and hope. God was at work.

His fellow Tiger Donnie Kelly tells a similar story — though not as dramatic. For Kelly, it was a mysterious injury in 2004 that sidelined him from the game he loved and threatened to end his career almost before it began. But it was God’s severe mercy that not only preserved his body, and provided spiritual comfort, but exposed the idol of baseball for what it was, and put Jesus securely back at the center. (Minnesota Twin Josh Willingham tells a similar story.)

It’s a common narrative among professing Christians in professional athletics — indeed, Christians in every profession — and no less significant because it’s common. All too often it is the good things in life — work, athletics, family, success — that can so subtly displace what is most important. But God frequently shows himself kind in startling us wide away with suffering and pain, and wooing us back to himself in his surprising timing.

So clear was God’s hand in Downs’s traumatic on-the-field head injury that he can say, “I’m truly glad it happened.”

The Tigers were in Minneapolis for the opening of the 2013 season, and a number joined us in worship at Bethlehem on Easter Sunday. We had the privilege to talk with Downs and Kelly on Tuesday, the morning after Opening Day. This time on Desiring God’s Behind the Blog podcast, we go into the dugout, and back into the clubhouse, to talk the Christian life and gospel advance outside the lines in Major League Baseball.

Stream or download the 33-minute audio podcast, or subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Here are the timestamps (counting backwards) for the topics we covered in our half hour together:

-32:45 What daily difference does faith in Jesus make in your profession?

-31:30 A common narrative: God saving Christian athletes from their sport

-30:35 Donnie’s story of God shattering his idol

-29:25 Darin’s story

-27:18 How Darin deals with the fear of getting hit again

-25:45 Christian camaraderie in baseball and life

-24:35 Corporate Bible study with fellow Christians on the team

-23:22 Gospel-advance behind the scenes in pro baseball

-21:50 Personal spiritual disciplines with major-league distractions

-19:50 The blessing Darin is receiving from John Piper’s ministry

-18:57 Getting to the Majors without making baseball god

-17:45 Advice for not letting athletics consume you

-15:00 Advice to young players about spiritual priorities and keeping God central

-12:45 How Darin deals with the pressure and difficulty of his utility role

-10:40 How faith makes a practical difference on the field

-9:25 Go-to verses and thoughts about God for pressured moments

-6:45 Navigating by the unseen in a game consumed with numbers

-4:25 Donnie’s journey in 2012

-2:00 Embracing God’s will in homeruns and strikeouts

-1:20 Closing prayer

[Subscribe to Behind the Blog in iTunes.]

Donnie Kelly, left; Darin Downs, right

Source: Desiring God Blog

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Homeschool “HIP” Days at the Michigan Science Center

by Lookup Webmaster on February 17, 2013

in Macomb County,Oakland County,Science & Medicine,Wayne County

HIP Classroom Our Hands-on Interactive Program (HIP) sessions take students on an in-depth exploration of science, technology, engineering and math and are the perfect complement to our hands-on exhibits.

Each program is conducted in one of our dynamic learning environments and lasts 25-60 minutes for preschool-grade 8. High School programs run 60-90 minutes. Program capacity: 25 students and up to 10 adults.

“HIP” Sessions

Preschool

Please see information under Kids Town.

Grade K-2 – (30 minutes)

Push/Pull – learn about the characteristics of magnets
Predictable Patterns – learn about how patterns are in our everyday lives

Grade 3-5 – (30-45 minutes)

States of Matter – learn about the four states of matter
Cells – learn about the parts of animal and plant cells and why they are different

Grades 6-8 – (45-60 minutes)

What’s up with DNA? – Participants will describe what DNA is, where it is found and how it codes for traits
Forces in Motion – Discover Newton’s Laws of Motion using different types of vehicles or objects that move

Grades 9-12 – (60-90 minutes)

CSI Discovery – Put your forensic skills to the test and solve our mystery. Students will learn the basics of fingerprinting and observational skills to solve this ‘crime’ (90 minute program)

DNA/RNA LEGO Experience – learn how DNA and RNA work to help our body complete the basic functions of replication (60 minute program)

Homeschool “HIP” Days

Hands-on Interactive Program sessions for home school students explore space, physical and life science concepts. Each program runs 35-45 minutes. Programs are offered for home school students the first Wednesday of each month.

Math – February

Math is everywhere. Explore the Science Center as a mathematician to figure out our mathematics challenge.

Famous Scientists – March

Celebrate the contributions made by scientists. Make connections to their work and our technology of today.

On the Road – April

Travel to the Science Center for fun. Students will engineer their way to knowledge by creating a small moving device.

Forensic Science – May

Use your crime sleuth skills to solve a crime.

Grade Levels/Times
Elementary: 11 am
Middle School: 12 pm
High School: 1pm

Rates: Member: $5 / Non-member $10
To register, call 313.577.8400, Option 5, weekdays from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Content questions may be directed to the Director of Education Programs at 313.577.8400, ext. 430

Michigan Science Center Website

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The Detroit Institute of Arts will host Dr. Edward Goldberg

by Lookup Webmaster on February 17, 2013

in Art & Culture,Macomb County,Oakland County,Wayne County

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will host Dr. Edward Goldberg, a distinguished Florence-based art historian and writer on Saturday, March 9, at 2 p.m. for a talk on Michelangelo’s relationship to his major patrons, the Medici. The lecture is free with museum admission and is sponsored by the European Paintings Council, a DIA auxiliary.

Goldberg, a specialist in Italian history and culture, will discuss the complex relationship between Michelangelo, a supremely gifted sculptor, painter, architect and poet, and members of the wealthy and politically powerful Medici family, who were also major art patrons and collectors.

Michelangelo created some of his most memorable works for the Medici, including the Medici tombs and the Laurentian Library in Florence, but he also worked for their enemies. Goldberg will trace Michelangelo’s relationship with the Medici and illuminate the turbulent world of Renaissance art, politics and patronage.

Goldberg has published numerous books and articles in areas ranging from Medici art collecting and patronage, to cultural relations between Italy and Spain, to Florentine Jewish history and culture. He received his doctorate from Oxford, taught at Harvard and founded the Medici Archive Project. He has made important archival discoveries, including 200 letters from Benedetto Blanis, a Jew in the Florentine ghetto in the early 17th century, and L’Ebreo (The Jew), an unpublished five-act comedy from 1613 by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger. In 2012, Goldberg won the International Flaiano Prize for Italian Culture for his book Jews and Magic in Medici Florence: The Secret World of Benedetto Blanis.

About the European Paintings Council
The European Paintings Council (EPC) aims to cultivate awareness of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ stellar collection of European paintings. The EPC offers an annual series of programs that enables members to become intimately acquainted with the DIA’s collection through private talks with curators and conservators, special access to related exhibitions, in-depth gallery tours and formal lectures. For EPC program information, to join, or for other questions, please visit www.dia.org/epc or call 313-833-9162.

Hours and Admission

Museum hours are 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesdays–Thursdays, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for ages 6-17, and free for DIA members and residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. For membership information call 313-833-7971.

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Budget Blues

by Lookup Webmaster on February 13, 2013

in Law & Government,Macomb County,Oakland County,Wayne County

Its the start of a new week and this morning Press Detroit has undergone a massive project; an in-depth review and analysis of the 2012-2013 executive budget for Detroit.

The 200 plus page report is available for public consumption at detroitmi.gov and a mere glance at the paper might be a bit overwhelming for the weak at heart.

Press Detroit’s initial observation of the report is that with this kind of massive data its no wonder the people of Detroit have been left out in the cold for so long. The sheer number of municipality expenses and the lack of coherent summaries within the report will make this a daunting task.

The goal of the Press Detroit analysis is to compare the budgetary woes of Detroit with cities of comparable size; Fort Worth, TX (pop 758,738) & Charlotte, NC (pop 751,087). Perhaps a comparative study could shed light on the ongoing budgetary crisis that Detroit has been facing for what has seemed like an eternity.

From Press Detroit Blog

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From the Detroit Free Press: Business website measures up Michigan’s universities

by Lookup Webmaster on February 13, 2013

in Business & Economy,Learning & Libraries,Macomb County,Oakland County,Wayne County

By David Jesse

The nonprofit Business Leaders for Michigan hopes a new, comprehensive website tracking Michigan’s public universities will help parents and students with decisions about which college to attend.

But the group, which unveiled the website in front of a joint meeting of the Michigan House and Senate higher education subcommittees Wednesday afternoon, also hopes it will guide legislators as they decide on funding for the universities.

The site compiles data across multiple categories, looking at state support, number of degrees granted, net cost and about 25 other categories and compares them to peer institutions across the country. The group used Carnegie classifications to find peers.

Read the Full Story

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From Christianity Today – My Boss Is a Detroit Carpenter

by Lookup Webmaster on February 13, 2013

in Faith & Fellowship,Macomb County,Oakland County,Service & NonProfits,Wayne County

My Boss Is a Detroit Carpenter

Detroit native Timothy Addy says his Handyman Ministries provides a doorway into people’s lives.

by Kevin Selders

Around the time the U.S. economy turned sour and Detroit’s automotive industry took a hit, Motor City resident Jeff Johnson lost his job with American Axle & Manufacturing after nearly 15 years at the auto-parts manufacturer.

Johnson took a severance package and tried to provide for his wife and three young children. But as he looked for a new job, the work on his family’s home, including much of the kitchen, remained unfinished.

That is, until Detroit native Tim Addy learned of the Johnsons’ needs in 2012. Addy and a crew of about 15 volunteer skilled tradesmen installed a new kitchen sink, hung new kitchen cabinets, laid tile, and repaired and reinforced the home’s front and basement stairs, finishing the job by planting flowers in the front yard.

“[Last year] was the first year out of the four years we have been in our house where we were able to have Thanksgiving dinner,” Johnson says. “Tim, through God, has been a blessing.”

The Johnsons are one of more than 100 low-income families whose homes Addy and his team of volunteers, known as Handyman Ministries, repaired in 2012. Founded in 2009, the nonprofit is a practical response to the disrepair that’s overwhelmed many Detroit streets—and ensures Detroiters can stay in their city in safety and relative comfort.

Read the Full Story

Link to Handyman Ministry Website

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Child Development Center Has Open House

by Lookup Webmaster on February 13, 2013

in Learning & Libraries,Oakland County

The Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit’s Pitt Child Development Center will host an open house 9:30-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 20 and Thursday, February 21.

The CDC, which offers programming for infants-Kindergarten, is nationally accredited and provides flexible scheduling, early registration discounts and an academic readiness and values curriculum. The program includes computers, swimming, cooking, art, science, plus regular visits to the Janice Charach art gallery, a full-size gym, playgrounds for all ages and more.

To register for the open house, please call the Pitt CDC at (248) 432.5582.

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GM signs first autoworkers contract — February 11, 1937

by Lookup Webmaster on February 13, 2013

in Macomb County,Metro History,Oakland County,Wayne County

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Bonhoeffer Tour an Evening with Eric Metaxas

by Lookup Webmaster on February 13, 2013

in Faith & Fellowship,Macomb County,Oakland County,Wayne County

Join Eric as he shares the story of how Bonhoeffer gives witness to one man’s extraordinary faith and to the tortured fate of the nation he sought to deliver from the curse of Nazism. It brings the reader face to face with a man determined to do the will of God radically, courageously, and joyfully—even to the point of death. Bonhoeffer is the story of a life framed by a passion for truth and a commitment to justice on behalf of those who face implacable evil.

Woodside Bible Church – For Tickets go to: http://www.gotothehub.com/liveevents/bonhoeffertour/bonhoeffer-tour-detroit-mi/

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Google Will Soon Begin Scanning About 50,000 Books from Michigan State University Libraries

by Lookup Webmaster on February 13, 2013

in Learning & Libraries,Macomb County,Oakland County,Wayne County

In December, we posted that Google was about to begin scanning books from two libraries in Italy and The Ohio St. University.

Today, news about Google’s plan to digitize books from Michigan St. University.

From MSU Today:

Books from the Michigan State University Libraries will soon be digitized by Google to become part of the Google Books website.

MSU’s participation is part of Google’s contract with the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, a consortium of Midwestern universities.

“Altogether Google will be digitizing about 50,000 titles from our collection,” said Nancy Fleck, associate director for technical services and systems. “The first batch will be officially handed over to Google on Feb. 12, and digitization will take about four weeks.”

MSU shipments will continue until the summer of 2014.

The books digitized from CIC libraries are also available through the HathiTrust Digital Library, a partnership among 71 university libraries.

MSU Libraries Director Cliff Haka explains the importance of projects like the Google Books digitization.

“As a land grant institution, MSU seeks to disseminate information across the state of Michigan and around the world,” he said. “The Google project will make a portion of our extensive holdings universally available, which contributes to our land-grant mission.”

See Also: Learn More About Google’s Agreement with the Committee on Institutional Cooperation

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