Teen philanthropists award grants to five local charities

For Immediate Release

July 16, 2014

DEARBORN, Mich. – The Teen Grantmaking Initiative (TGI), a group of 20 young philanthropists in Michigan sponsored by the Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP), recently awarded five $1,000 grants to area non-profit organizations serving youth in the metro Detroit community.

The grants will be used for a variety of arts and health programs that focus on education and leadership skills for children and teens. These grants represent the culmination of a process that began last year. Over the past nine months, TGI members actively fundraised, learned about community needs, visited grantee organizations, participated in service projects, and reviewed grant proposals from prospective organizations.

TGI member Fatima Al-Hakim said she is proud of the work that the teens accomplished this year.

“Being a part of this program ignited my passion for philanthropy,” she said. “The most important idea I took away from TGI is that you really have to start from your local community to make a lasting change throughout the world.”

This year’s grant recipients are:

• Arts and Scraps – $1,000 for art kits, marketing and promotion of projects, and staff time at an environmentally-friendly, curriculum based arts organization located in Detroit.
• Detroit Food Academy -- $1,000 for staff salaries and marketing and supplies for the organization’s Market Day event.
• Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation -- $1,000 to implement a summer art program for youth that will provide various opportunities to build life skills, learn a new art form, and engage in service learning projects.
• HYPE Athletics -- $1,000 to support the Dearborn-based nonprofit with its free afterschool educational programming at the HYPE Recreation Center, which serves up to 80 local youth by providing extra tutoring in core subjects such as math and reading.
• Starfish Family Services -- $1,000 to help provide intensive fitness and nutrition mentoring and education, as well as self-esteem workshops for young women ages 14-18 attending two Dearborn-area high schools.

Heather Brown, project director for Starfish Family Services in Inkster, said the nonprofit is delighted to be included among TGI’s grantees.

“We are honored by this award,” she said. “I’m so impressed by the thoughtfulness this young group puts into their funding and grant process. They have an incredible understanding and appreciation for the virtue of philanthropy and the art of grantmaking.”

Brown said Starfish Family Services works with thousands of students every year through its early childhood programs that prepare young children for a successful start to school.

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About CAAP

The Center for Arab American Philanthropy strengthens the impact of strategic Arab American giving through education, asset building and grant making in order to improve lives and build vibrant communities. Visit us online at www.centeraap.org.

About ACCESS

Grounded in the Arab American tradition of hospitality, ACCESS has a 43-year history of providing health, education, employment and social services in greater Detroit to empower people to lead healthy, informed, productive lives. Today, ACCESS extends that mission to a national platform through advocacy, arts, culture and philanthropy. Visit us online at www.accesscommunity.org.