We had two guests at our meeting this morning, one by Zoom, Brian Morgan, and the other, in person, Tristen Bonifield. Welcome!
The speaker for today was Ishmail Terry with All for One located in Detroit. Their mission is to empower individuals and communities to reach their full potential as productive, caring citizens.
Our work stems from the growing need to empower those trapped in the cycle of poverty by providing educational tools, mentors, and community-building projects we inspire and present pathways out of poverty.
The non-profit started in High Schools in poverty areas with mentors working with kids, molding them into students. They teach the kids financial skills and knowledge of banks. If you don't have a checking account, getting paid for your work is difficult. The mentors also present financial programs for the students. The program takes place in High Schools, using mentors and school staff during their prep periods. They currently offer a $2,000 scholarship if a student goes into education.
Another aspect of the program is improving the areas surrounding the schools and in the community. All for One has worked on developing parks/playgrounds in those areas using the Kaboom playground group. They want the students to have good recreational facilities. They have recently made improvements to two city parks in Detroit including the Ida W Jones Park with the help of area students and volunteers. Other programs are expanding such as Urban Farms.
The group has received many awards such as Brightest Star and has been recognized by PBS and United Way.
Ishmail's main focus was to ask our club to donate money to reach the goal of getting 850 new bikes for low income students in Redford, Detroit Cody Rouge, and Dickinson Educational area. These bikes will be given out on June 7th.
Susan Paluchniak
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