April 4, 2023 – Funds totaling more than $1.83 million were distributed today to SAY Detroit’s initiatives and community partners from donations received last December at the 11th annual SAY Detroit Radiothon.
Emceed by SAY Detroit founder Mitch Albom, the presentation featured representatives from more than two dozen local partner charities, including first-time recipients Boys Hope Girls Hope, Full Count Foundation, Jive Turkeys Detroit, North Star Reach, Peace Players Detroit, the TeMaTe Institute for Black Dance and Culture, Urban Innovators, Volleyball Elite, and Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services, which runs a drone technology program at the SAY Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park (SAY Play). SAY Detroit annually shares a percentage of donations from the Radiothon to partner organizations and charities that share the nonprofit’s mission to help Detroit’s neediest citizens by providing pathways to success.
Leadership from SAY Detroit-run programs — including SAY Play, SAY Detroit Family Health Clinic, Better Together and Mi-Cycle — were present to accept distributed funding and introduce its local partners.
Having shifted to a virtual ceremony in 2020, this is the first time in three years that the annual event was held in person, allowing recipients to meet, network, and make plans to collaborate on programming. It was also the first time the event was moved to StartUp Nation Media Group, in Birmingham, Mich. The event was live streamed to SAY Detroit’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Read more about the event in the Detroit Free Press
“This is one of the best days each and every year,” Albom said. “Helping other like-minded nonprofits in our region who help others is very meaningful and we know the money will be put to good use in their respective operations.”
Broadcast live each December for over 15 hours on WJR (760 AM) and mitchalbomradiothon.com, along with broadcast partner WDIV/clickondetroit.com, the Radiothon has raised nearly $12 million since 2012. This year’s Radiothon is December 7, at Somerset Collection in Troy. EAT Detroit, the charity’s second largest fundraiser, will also return this year on June 27.
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2023 Radiothon Distribution Charity Recipients
(From funds raised at the 2022 SAY Detroit Radiothon)
- The Avalon Village, $5,000;
- Better Together, $50,000;
- Bing Youth Institute, $5,000;
- Boys Hope Girls Hope of Detroit, $7,500;
- Building Better Men, $15,000;
- Cass Community Social Services, $25,000;
- Detroit Dream Scholars fund at the College for Creative Studies, $45,000;
- COTS Detroit’s Bright Beginnings, $12,500;
- D2N, $7,500;
- Detroit Culture Youth Company, $5,000;
- Detroit Hives, $7,000;
- Detroit Recovery Project, $5,000;
- Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries Genesis House II, $25,000;
- *Faith Tabernacle Choir/A Hole in the Roof Foundation, $5,000;
- *Full Count Foundation, $10,000;
- Humble Design, $15,000;
- Hugs from Heaven, $15,000;
- *Jive Turkeys Detroit, $5,000;
- LA SED, Inc., $15,000;
- Michigan Veterans Foundation, $15,000;
- Mi-Cycle, $50,000;
- Mother Batie’s Kitchen/United Sisters of Charity, $10,000;
- North Star Reach, $5,000;
- Notes for Notes, $10,000;
- Parker Village, $7,500;
- *Peace Players Detroit, $5,000;
- SASHA Center, $15,000;
- SAY Detroit Family Health Clinic, $100,000;
- SAY Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park, $800,000;
- SAY Detroit Tomorrow Fund, $355,000;
- *TeMaTe Institute for Black Dance and Culture, $2,500;
- *Urban Innovators, $5,000;
- *Volleyball Elite, $10,000;
- *Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services, $10,000;
- Westside Cultural & Athletic Club, $12,000;
- Working Homes/Working Families, $150,000.
*denotes first-time recipient
