$55,000 Raised at City Year Detroit’s Leadership Breakfast

City Year Detroit’s Leadership Breakfast brought together local leaders from the business, education, and philanthropic sectors to discuss education and social-emotional well-being in a post-pandemic world. The program featured a panel consisting of Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Nicole Wells Stallworth, CEO of The Children’s Center, and Dr. Darienne Driver Hudson, CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan, who discussed the intersectionality of education and social-emotional well-being in a post-pandemic world

“When we choose to work together, we can do the things they said were impossible …. There is something that we all have in common, we all have potential.”

– Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist

Over 160 individuals attended the Leadership Breakfast and listened to the panel discussion. Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist shared about his work during the pandemic to improve equitable health outcomes for Michigan residents and highlighted the need to continue finding opportunities to grow the potential of students. Dr. Darienne Driver Hudson talked about the United Way’s efforts to make resources available to organizations to provide needed resources for the community and ensure children and teachers have access. Nicole Wells Stallworth emphasized the need to “take care of those who take care of others” and provide safe and healthy places for children.

“Who’s taking care of the people that are taking care of the people? As a leader, it’s my job to make certain that we are taking care of our people.”

– Nicole Wells Stallworth

All three of our panelists reiterated the importance of mental health and well-being to children’s ability to achieve academic and social success, noting that the presence of City Year AmeriCorps members in schools during and after the pandemic provided critical additional support for students.

“We need all hands on deck right now to make sure our children and our teachers have access …. Never underestimate the power of a single action.”

– Dr. Darienne Driver Hudson

Nearly $55,000 was raised to kick-start our 25th anniversary year Leadership Breakfast goal of $75,000. These proceeds will provide critical funds needed to further serve Detroit students as we train and deploy diverse teams of young adult AmeriCorps members to serve full-time in Detroit public schools. We are also proud to share our video about City Year Detroit and the work our AmeriCorps members do in providing social-emotional learning and support to students:

Thank you again to our sponsors and supporters for continuing to support City Year Detroit and contributing to the success of Detroit’s students. If you missed your opportunity to give during the Leadership Breakfast, you can still contribute today here!