found here - Urban Neighborhood Initiatives

8300 Longworth - Detroit, MI 48209 - Phone: (313) 451-8380 - Fax: (313) 841-7926 - Email: [email protected]
Reasons to Celebrate This Year in Southwest Detroit’s Springwells Village:
Imagine a Detroit neighborhood where teens labor with excitement and pride to improve parks and public
spaces, where delighted adults enthusiastically contribute gloves, pizza and encouragement? Imagine
young people who instead of tagging with graffiti are commissioned by community residents and business
owners to create public art?
We’re all barraged by media reports of people who can’t get along and politicians and communities that
cannot get things done. In our corner of Detroit, true, there is crime, blight, vacated structures and
occupied homes sorely in need of repair and a lot of need; 30% of the households have less than $15,000
in annual income. But then there is joy! Young people in UNI youth employment programs are discovering
that the pleasure and fulfillment that comes from making a community beautiful can be exciting. Young
people in our Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) program tell these stories:
“My first job at DNR taught the importance of responsibility. I’ve learned that teamwork, respect, and
being on time play a big role. Our community is so much bigger than we realize, it is our home. When we
started DNR there were several parks in good condition, but good is only average so we made them
great! It feels good knowing you’re doing things for others instead of yourself.” Deshamarie Lopez
“I
love helping my community and love working with the people I work with.” Esteban Lopez
We love these kids! Their enthusiasm gives meaning and joy to the work of each one of us at UNI. This
same spirit permeates our public art program, the young people and staff who produce it and the
residents and businesses who commission and applaud it. Working here in Springwells Village is a
privilege that you, our supporters make possible.
Together, we are making the city shine. However, we have so much left to do. We have a world class staff
dedicated to a realistic, creative, holistic and highly effective way of making life better in the city with
special attention to the needs of low income families. Please consider donating to support work that is
bringing joy to city life where there ample grounds for despair, that is celebrating service to community
instead of exploitation, that is building life instead of diminishing it. Thank you for any and every form of
support you are able to give this year.
On behalf of our board and staff, I wish you the very best during the holiday season and in 2015,
Dennis Nordmoe,
Executive Director
December 2014
Celebrating seventeen years of neighborhood development
www.unidetroit.org . www.facebook.com/uni.detroit . www.twitter.com/uni_detroit
Board of Directors: Michael Boryca, Mike Clement, Stephanie Mason, Nina Rodriguez, John Solano, Dennis Waitzman, Mary Wallace
The DNR youth employment program is organized and supervised by UNI’s Christine Bell, Michelle Lakey and Lisa Rodriguez.
Wages and stipends are paid by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
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This garage door mural was commissioned by a resident and executed by teens in UNI’s Southwest Urban Arts Mural
Program (SUAMP), organized and supervised by Christine Bell and Megan Muma with artistic leadership and training by
Janice Polzin of the College for Creative Studies. Springwells Village has one of Detroit’s largest concentrations of public art.
SUAMP’s work earned the attention of CultureSource which featured our student artists in the September 2014 Blog by its
Executive Director, Maud Lyon. See it at
http://www.culturesource.org/executive-directors-blog/building-healthycommunities-through-art/. Student stipends and wages are paid for through City Connect. Workforce and Career
Development Workshops are supported by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation as well as work experience with local businesses.