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"We recognize the importance of being a good corporate citizen. Givingback has been a core value of the Ilitch companies for nearly half a centuryand is evidenced by our investments and support of this community in an effortto make it a better place for all," explained Ilitch. "We believe thatbroadening the Ilitch Charities mission to include a focus on economicdevelopment will allow us to address not only short-term needs, but supportlonger-term efforts that will result in increased jobs and an improvedeconomy, which we believe attacks many social issues at the root. Thisapproach, we believe, has the potential to cure problems, versus temporarilyfixing them."
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The new Ilitch Charities will invest in the community's future bysupporting innovative, collaborative and measurable programs that promoteeconomic development and spur job growth, which is a means to address socialissues such as poverty, unemployment, homelessness, and hunger. Theorganization will fund programs that improve the well being of individuals inareas such as human services, job creation, education and recreation.
$50,000 in Grants
The first grant is a $25,000 contribution to the Detroit RenaissanceFoundation toward the establishment of the Creative Economy Investment Fund.After in-depth research, Detroit Renaissance determined that there is viableopportunity to leverage creative assets in the region to stimulate economicgrowth and new jobs, which leads to an increase in the amount of disposableincome in the community. The fund is being established to provide neededcapital to entrepreneurs and small to mid-size companies to help them growtheir creative businesses. Advertising, marketing, public relations,architecture, design, media, film, video, music and performing arts areexamples of creative economy industries. Similar investment funds establishedin other regions have been successful in helping to grow creative economybusinesses, thereby having a cascading effect that ultimately addresses theincreased social challenges that can result from a slowed economy.
The second grant is a $25,000 contribution to United Way of SoutheastMichigan in support of the innovative 2-1-1 program that provides people witheasy access to health and human services on a 24/7 basis. A major communitybenefit of 2-1-1 is its ability to partner and collaborate across sectors inorder that citizens in need of everything from food and shelter to help withmortgage foreclosure or assistance with prescription drugs and Medicare arelinked to more than 10,000 programs and services throughout the region.Diverse and customer-focused, dialing 2-1-1 immediately connects a person inneed with a specially trained operator who speaks English, Spanish or Arabicand begins the process of getting that person in contact with the rightprogram for what they need.
"The announcement of these two grants directly supports our new mission,"explained Ilitch. "Both Detroit Renaissance and United Way of SoutheasternMichigan are community partners in the One D Initiative, and bothorganizations are committed to developing innovative and collaborativeprograms that advance community and economic development across our region.We believe the Creative Economy Initiative and the collaborative benefits ofthe 2-1-1 program offer a longer-term approach to solving the real andsignificant challenges our community faces today."
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