Features

Feature Story M

Metro Detroit moms build a community to navigate parenting in the pandemic

“I’ve a friend who just had her fourth kid during the pandemic, and she loved the fact that no one could visit them and they could just be alone as a family,” says Maye Abdo, founder of the Mary’s New Mamas support group. “But if you’re a first-time mom who’s learning and growing, it’s an experience that’s really hard to explain. This community of girls just gets it.”

Feature Story Diane Banks

Advancing Macomb works to be a community hub of resources for local nonprofitsThe Nonprofit Journal Project

"Before Advancing Macomb existed, there wasn't an institution in our county outside of government that looked at ways to build a culture of giving through philanthropy to focus on community development needs," says executive director Diane Banks.  

Longform Dr. Leslie Pelkey, Cherry Health’s chief medical officer.

Lack of broadband access is a barrier to health care – and Michigan is aiming to eliminate it

COVID-19 exposed Michigan's digital divide, and its sobering effect on residents' ability to access health care during the pandemic. But efforts are underway to address it.

Feature Story Howell Downtown

3 downtown placemaking projects recognized for improving their communities

Which downtown designs across the state are impressing the experts? The Michigan Downtown Association’s annual awards this year included several notable projects emphasizing the importance of placemaking and community building our downtown public spaces.

Partner Content Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts research is key to building today’s leadersGirl Scout Research Institute maintains relevant and current data on what today’s girls want and need to lead

Want to know about girls in business startups, high tech, and cybersecurity? How about where girls stand on issues of equal pay and gender equality? Ask the Girl Scouts.

Feature Story Isabel and Shaun Drone are starting their own F45 Training franchise in downtown Farmington.

Husband and wife team up to bring new physical fitness center to downtown Farmington

“One day I saw a photo of myself with a belly sticking out and I said, that’s not the guy that played D1 basketball in college,” says Shaun Drone. Now he and his wife Isabel are opening their own fitness center in downtown Farmington.

Development News “The fact that Sterling Heights was chosen over a competing site in Massachusetts makes me incredibly proud of this community and what we have to offer advanced tech companies like DCS,” says Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor.

Defense contractor’s new R&D center to bring jobs, private investment to Sterling Heights

State officials expect 92 jobs and a total private investment of $4.3 million to result from the development of the new facility in Sterling Heights.

Partner Content Land + Water WORKS

This nonprofit coalition is leveling up public understanding of Detroit's water infrastructure

"Everyone can learn and everyone can play a role in the future," says Nicole Brown, a senior program manager for Detroit Future City, and leader of the Land + Water WORKS Coalition. "It has to be all hands on deck to move the needle further."

Feature Story Auntie Na

Auntie Na's Village helps neighbors in need, bringing 'unity to its community'The Nonprofit Journal Project

"The pandemic has brought out our humanity and our need for each other. I can get weary," says Detroiter Sonia Brown, aka 'Auntie Na,' "but being able to help even one person is what gets me out of bed each morning."

Longform Alonzo Marable with daughter Kendall Marable and baby Teagan Photo by Nick Hagen..

Searching for Detroit’s middle-classAs Detroit’s middle-class declines, Model D documents residents’ stories in one of the city’s iconic middle-class neighborhoods

Will new families moving into Grandmont Rosedale plant long-term roots in the city, and invest their businesses, dollars, and time? 

Feature Story The Ferndale Crow's Nest on Woodward and 9 Mile, 1921.

Looking Back: Ferndale museum making history personal again


Development News Participants in Macomb's October birding trail launch event look for birds at Lake St. Clair Metropark.

St. Clair and Macomb counties announce new details for coastal birding trail

Progress is being made on a joint project between St. Clair and Macomb counties that aims to make birdwatching much more accessible for residents and visitors alike.

Development News Muralist Hubert Massey works on the center of the triptych at Lawrence Tech, while his assistants work on the right.

Nine new Massey murals (and an obelisk) going up at the LTU campus in Southfield

Nine murals and a towering obelisk from celebrated Detroit-based artist Hubert Massey are going up along the new Southfield City Centre shared-use trail along southbound Northwestern Highway on the campus of Lawrence Technological University.

Feature Story Jerron Totten, social outreach coordinator and legislative advocacy specialist for LGBT Detroit

Communities left questioning the redistricting process as they don’t see themselves represented

Communities of interest cut. Potential violations of the Voting Rights Act. With the release of ten draft maps from the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, communities cut from the maps have more questions than answers.

Development News The Farmington Civic Theater began showing first-run movies when it opened in 1940, switched to second-run films in the 1980s, and has now returned to showing first-run movies for the first time in decades.

For the first time in decades, Farmington Civic Theater is a first-run movie house

“Being able to make changes like this has a big impact on the survivability of any business,” says Scott Freeman, general manager of the Farmington Civic Theater. “We have to provide what people want because there are a lot of entertainment options out there now.”

Development News The Jollibee restaurant chain is expected to open in Sterling Heights next summer.

Buzz builds as Jollibee announces its first Michigan restaurant to open in Sterling Heights

The news of a Philippines-based restaurant coming to Sterling Heights has been making waves across the internet this week.

Feature Story A waterfront view of the bike trails at Lake St. Clair Metropark.

This innovative regional effort could help grow land and water trails in Macomb CountyGreat Lakes Way offers bold new vision for SE Michigan coastal trail system

An audacious new framework for trails along Michigan's SE coast could lead to major changes to Macomb County's greenway and blueway infrastructure.

Longform Affirmations

LGBTQ+ center stretches to increase care in communties near and farThe Nonprofit Journal Project

For over 30 years, Affirmations has been the hub of Southeast Michigan’s LGBTQ+ communities and their allies. In the heart of Ferndale, in a 17,000-square-foot building owned by the community (its mortgage is paid), people of all sexual orientations, identities, expressions and cultures find socialization, support and programming to enrich their lives.   

Feature Story Desirae Simmons

ICPJ works in collaboration to bring community voices to decision-making tablesThe Nonprofit Journal Project

As organizations, we cannot do all of the things, even if we feel compelled to," says Desirae Simmons, co-director of the Interfaith Council on Peace and Justice. "And we don't want these areas of work to be moving without one another because that diminishes power and impact, and can make it feel like we have different goals, which is not true. So how do we stack solutions to the issues we’re trying to solve so that we can have a wider coalition and move multiple things at one time?"  

Feature Story Katha Lee James and the Friends of Pontiac Parks are working to improve Pontiac's park and play spaces.

Pontiac revival: How a collaborative is building momentum, and funding, for inclusive local projects

“One of the biggest benefits is something you can’t see but you can feel it — is the level of trust across these organizations,” Freyja Harris says, adding the collaborative is working with 40-plus groups. “We have to learn to go at the speed of trust, even if we have to slow down to keep the trust.”

 
Nonprofit leaders across southeast Michigan are contributing their thoughts via journal entries on how COVID-19 is affecting their organization. 
This series is made possible with the generous support of our partners, the Michigan Nonprofit Association and Co.ACT. Click here to read the journal entries.