Nike Community Store to give $50,000 to nonprofits in Detroit

Nike Community Store in downtown Detroit - Press photo by Nike

Nike has announced that applications for the next round of funding through the Nike Community Impact Fund (NCIF) are now being accepted through July 31, 2018. With the goal of building stronger communities and giving kids positive experiences with sport, play, and physical activity, the Community Store in Detroit will award a total of $50,000 via grants of $5,000 to $10,000 each to local organizations that are focused on getting kids active.

Six Community Stores throughout the nation will award a total of $300,000 in grants—ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 each—in Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Ivy City in Washington D.C., East Los Angeles and the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn. NCIF is administered with the support of the Charities Aid Foundation of America and funds projects that help kids unleash their potential through physical activity, sport, and play.

NCIF is an innovative approach to grant-making that engages a committee of Nike employees to advise where grants are awarded to support the work of local organizations in the communities where they live and work. Since its launch in 2010, NCIF has awarded more than $4.97 million in grants to 502 nonprofit organizations in the United States: This includes 401 grants in Oregon and Southwest Washington, where NCIF began; nine grants in Memphis, where the Nike North America Logistics Campus is located; and 92 grants in communities where Nike has Community Stores: downtown Detroit; South Chicago; New Orleans; the Ivy City neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; East Los Angeles; and Brooklyn.

“We know that active kids do better--at school and in life. That’s why the Nike Community Impact Fund supports grassroots organizations that are focused on getting kids moving, “said Caitlin Morris, General Manager of Nike Global Community Impact. “We’re proud to support the important work of our community stores’ neighboring nonprofits, schools, and community centers as they bring positive experiences in play, sport, and physical activity into kids’ lives to help them reach their potential.”

At the Barney McCosky Baseball & Basketball League in Detroit, the NCIF grant in 2017 went toward equipment and uniforms for multi-sport activities that allow youth whose family may not be able to pay for traditional league play to find their place in a program that will help them to develop and build safe relationships while learning the basics of the game.

According to Barney McCosky Baseball & Basketball League President Isaac Orton, V, “We’ve been constantly growing over the past two years, and this grant has allowed us to have the proper equipment and uniforms we need, while maintaining our practice fields and gyms, so we can continue to grow the program and reach more kids. We’re thankful to Nike for this grant that has allowed us to continue to support these efforts.”

Applications for Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Ivy City in Washington D.C., East Los Angeles and the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn are due July 31, 2018. All grant awards will support projects that deliver impact through the lens of sport and physical activity.

The online grant application along with the required information can be accessed at nike.com/ncif.                 

Warrendale bakery featured in Detroit News

Paczki - Stock photo

It seemed like everyone else in the Detroit area was in Hamtramck getting their authentic paczki or at some supermarket getting paczki of generally lesser quality. Those of us in Warrendale, however, knew that the best paczki came from our neighborhood. Whether it was Chene Modern Bakery, Sisters Cakery, or West Warren Bakery, all of them produced some of the best pasties in the metropolitan area.

One of our local bakeries, Sisters Cakery (15730 W. Warren Ave.) was featured in an article from The Detroit News. You can find their story here.

I love it when the local news media show Warrendale businesses a little love.

Detroit named one of the top cities for shopping locally

Small business in action - Photo by Frank Nemecek

As millions of small retailers prepare for Small Business Saturday on November 29, I believe it's worth noting that Detroit was recently named one of the best cities in America for shopping locally. A survey conducted by Yelp and Nielsen found that Detroit has the sixth highest concentration of highly rated retail businesses where consumers can buy gifts this holiday season.

Detroit, I should add, is also the largest city to make the top 20 in this list. Portland, Maine took the top spot in the survey. They were followed by Lawrence, Kansas, St. Petersburg, Florida, Asheville, North Carolina, Santa Cruz, California, and then Detroit in the number six spot.

Rounding out the top twenty in this list of the best cities for shopping locally was

• Bend, Oregon
• Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Wilmington, North Carolina
• Hoboken, New Jersey
• Minneapolis, Minneapolis
• Portland, Oregon
• Frederick, Maryland
• Flagstaff, Arizona
• New Orleans, Louisiana
• Worcester, Massachusetts
• Savannah, Georgia
• Providence, Rhode Island
• Seattle, Washington and
• Baltimore, Maryland

I want to take a moment to congratulate all of the small business owners in the Warrendale neighbor and across Detroit for giving some great options for shopping locally.

Publisher's Note: This story is presented as part of this blog's semi-regular Friday Focus series, which features stories that I do not believe are getting sufficient attention from the mainstream media. Please check back next week for another Friday Focus story.

Open Letter to Jim Diamond (and everyone else downtown)

Downtown and Midtown Detroit are becoming expensive. They are becoming so expensive, in fact that Jim Diamond of Ghetto Recorders can no longer afford to operate there and is considering a move to the suburbs.

An article about this fact, by the way, is available from The Detroit News here.

That's a little sad because he is one of the creative pioneers who helped to make the rebirth of downtown possible.

However, if Jim Diamond or anyone else is interested, I can show them a bunch of really cool spaces in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood on the far west side that would be a great spot for you.

Plus, you'll be closer to Gracie See Pizzeria, named the best traditional pizza in North America at the International Pizza Expo, as well as Tijuana's Mexican Kitchen, which is one of the best Mexican restaurants in town. You'll also be closer to some shawarma that makes the stuff served downtown seem like left-over Chef Boyardee.

And when you need to burn off all of those calories, you'll also be closer to the largest park in Detroit - one that's bigger than Belle Isle, Campus Martius, Grand Circus, and Hart Plaza combined.

Chene Modern Bakery in Detroit to Create Jesse Jackson's 71st Birthday Cake

Photo by Eric Bridiers/United States Mission Geneva

The Rev. Jesse Jackson will celebrate his 71st birthday on October 8 and the folks at Chene Modern Bakery (17041 W. Warren Ave.) in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood have been selected to create his birthday cake, according to a post on the bakery's Facebook page. This is the second time that this Detroit bakery has created a custom cake for Rev. Jackson's birthday.

Rev. Jesse Jackson could conceivably get his birthday cake from any bakery in the free world. The fact that he has chosen to get it from here only confirms something that those in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood have known for decades - Chene Modern Bakery is an amazing institution and a local treasure.

I hope that Rev. Jesse Jackson has an amazing birthday next week. I also hope that he and his guests enjoy every bite of their cake.

Community Plans for Restoration of Joy Road in Detroit

Photo from Michigan.gov

Joy Road is scheduled for a total restoration in 2013 as part of the Downtowns of Promise program that is sponsored by Michigan State Housing Development Authority. As part of the community design initiative, Michigan State University will facilitate a meeting to obtain input into how this should happen.

This meeting will on Wednesday, June 20 from 6:30 - 8 p.m. It will be held at the Edison Branch of the Detroit Public Library (18400 Joy Rd.).

Everyone who lives in, works in, or otherwise has an interest in Joy Road, which is the northern boundary of the Warrendale neighborhood, is invited to attend this meeting and share their thoughts.

Featured Business: Pizza & Fish Express

Pizza & Fish Express (6540 Evergreen) opened earlier this week, taking over in place of the short lived Pizza - A - Go-Go. Hasan Harb is the owner of the newest Warrendale eatery, which also features a mini-mart.

Pizza & Fish Express - Photo credit: David L. Malhalab (MNS Photo)

Pizza & Fish is offering great take out food and mini mart. They hope to have a long relationship with the Warrendale neighborhood. Mr. Harb and his family own other Pizza & Fish outlets in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Los Angeles, and Kalamazoo.

Pizza & Fish is the Featured Business for this week. I think it great that the Warrendale neighborhood can attract a replacement business to that location as quickly as we did.