DETROIT – Ten Detroit charities and their projects – ranging from homes for the homeless to after school music classes – will reap benefits from the funds raised last December by “Mitch Albom’s S.A.Y. (Super All Year) Detroit Radiothon.” Checks will be handed to each of the ten charities’ representatives at a ceremony this Wednesday, March 26, 10 a.m. at the WJR Radio studios in the Fisher Building on West Grand Blvd.
Nearly $400,000 in donations from Detroit citizens and companies was raised last December at Albom’s second annual “Radiothon” held at Somerset Collection North in Troy. As a result, each of the following will receive a chunk of the proceeds:
- Hope Village Detroit, which is committed to helping individuals positively turn their lives around
- Public School Academies of Detroit, which provides a tuition-free charter system that assists students of all ages through college prep
- Cass Community Social Services, which provides food, shelter, medical services, and jobs to Detroit’s underprivileged
- Detroit School of Arts Music Department, which provides music education to underprivileged children
- Real Life. My Music. Provides free afterschool music and dance classes for challenged public schools
- Detroit Food & Entrepreneurship Academy, which partners with high schools, educators, and those working in the food industry to help students launch their own food-related businesses
- S.A.Y. Detroit Family Health Clinic, which provides free medical care to homeless children and their mothers
- Detroit Dream Scholars Fund, which provides scholarships to underprivileged students wishing to pursue a degree in the fine arts
- Ravendale Community, Inc., which provides opportunities and educational programs to the citizens of Ravendale, one of Detroit’s most challenged communities
- Working Homes/Working Families, which provides suitable and fully-furnished homes for families who are working but struggling to make ends meet
- C.O.T.S./Bright Beginnings
- Michigan Veterans Matter
- A Time to Help
Representatives from each charity will be on hand Wednesday, as will Mitch Albom and Dr. Chad Audi of the Detroit Rescue Mission, which partners with Albom and facilitates the “S.A.Y. Detroit” charities that Albom established in 2006.
Says Albom, “We’re proud to help sponsor the magnificent and much-needed work of these Detroit charities, and we’re grateful to all the caring people who donate each year to our Radiothon and make this possible. Our goal is to give it all away, and we are.”
Albom’s first Radiothon, held in 2012, also raised nearly $400,000, all of which has been distributed to Detroit-based charities. Says Dr. Audi, “There are no administrative costs associated with S.A.Y. Detroit. Mitch pays those out of his own pocket. Therefore, we’re able to allocate 100 percent of these funds directly to the charities.”
The upcoming third annual “Mitch Albom S.A.Y. Detroit Radiothon” will take place 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. Thursday, December 4, 2014, once again at Somerset Collection North in Troy.
For more information contact: Marc Rose (“Rosey”) at (313) 225-1500 or Dr. Chad Audi at (313) 999-0202.
