As the SAY Play Warriors youth football teams played a series of age-group games on Matthew Stafford Field — with the aroma of grilled hotdogs and hamburgers wafting in the air — nearly 50 volunteers from A Time to Help were nearby making their own mark.

For four hours, beginning at 8:30 am, ATTH volunteers — captained by members of our SAY Detroit Muscle Crew — came together to beautify the landscaping at front of SAY Play as well as tackle a large painting project inside the building.

With the start of fall semester just over a week away for inner-city youth (ages 8-18) at the free academic enrichment center, volunteers painted areas in need of immediate sprucing up, including the cafe and kitchen, lobby, two offices, a conference room and several doors.

SAY Detroit is grateful to two local businesses that partnered with ATTH on the project and donated materials and supplies: Motor City Paint (a division of O’Leary Paint) and English Gardens.

“We were so happy to be able to donate paint to SAY Detroit,” said Motor City Paint sales rep Karen Gilbert, who also volunteered on Saturday. “It’s such a great organization to be able to have that literacy factor (at SAY Play) in bringing kids in after school and allowing them to have someplace safe to play and learn. We were really excited to be able to honor that by bringing in some paint and freshening up certain areas.’’

The largest volunteer contingent joining ATTH for the day came via longtime SAY Detroit supporter Kevin Ramsby, pastor of Arise Church on Eight Mile Road. Ramsby’s 14-member team tackled the cafeteria and kitchen under the leadership of Tom Monte, a professional painter and one of three members of the SAY Detroit Muscle Crew who helped oversee the project.

“I’m here to back the mission of bringing opportunity to the kids in the city, and I love working with the volunteers and the crew,’’ Monte said. “We had a riot today, just a really good crew.”

Mark Dettling, a general contractor and carpenter, and Tabitha Mendez, an advertising professional and skilled DIY-er, were the other Muscle Crew volunteers who guided teams Saturday morning. The Muscle Crew is a group of tradespeople who volunteer to assist SAY Detroit with physical projects.

SAY Detroit is also grateful to experienced gardner and longtime ATTH volunteer Donna Mesyn, who captained the beautification project at the building’s front entrance.

ATTH’s next project is Oct. 12 at Motown Soup. Registration for that event will open at the end of the week at atimetohelp.org.

On the heels of Albaugh Masonry’s gift of labor in replacing the concrete entrance to the SAY Play Center two weeks ago, another marked improvement took place on Wednesday.

Dennis and Tami Caren, owners of D&T Signs in Wyandotte, outfitted three SAY Detroit passenger vehicles used to transport the children with signage that promotes the nonprofit’s slogan: “SAY Detroit. . . And SAY Something Amazing.”

Tami and Dennis Caren have been members of the Muscle Crew since SAY Detroit founder Mitch Albom started a local chapter in 2017; the “original’’ crew helped rebuild an orphanage/school in Port-au-Prince after the 2010 earthquake. The orphanage eventually was renamed the Have Faith Haiti Mission, which is operated by Albom’s A Hole in the Roof Foundation.

The Muscle Crew is a team of skilled tradespeople who volunteer their labor for projects that benefit SAY Detroit.

The Carens said they’re proud Muscle Crew members who love to give of their time.

“We were looking for a way to volunteer and this is a really good organization,” Tami Caren said. “It makes us feel good to help these kids.”

Mike Tenbusch, SAY Play’s executive director, said he’s beyond grateful for the signage.

“We’re trying to be like a family here, and having the Muscle Crew is like having an uncle who can come in and fix anything,” he said. “Like Dennis (who’s also an electrician) is now trying to help us fix a lighting problem that we have.”

As for having new signage on three of the four formally all-white vehicles, Tenbusch said their members can now ride with more pride in the city.

“Our kids have been riding around in anonymity, and now, well, it truly is amazing — it reinforces who we are,’’ he said.

But Scott Albaugh and his crew from Albaugh Masonry was fulfilling a commitment that he made last year, when he raised his hand to join the Detroit Muscle Crew II and donate his time when he can for a physical project to benefit SAY Detroit.

This time, the project involved replacing the deteriorating front entrance at the SAY Play Center at Lipke Park, an after-school academic enrichment facility for children age 8 to 18, before summer session begins next week.

Albaugh and his brother Greg and son Sam began the work last weekend when they embraced the arduous task of busting up cement that was eight-inches deep.

The work continued with a five-member team on Monday; today (Tuesday) Albaugh was joined by seven others for the concrete pour. The job is scheduled to be completed Wednesday, when the pavers are put in place and the cement is saw cut. The crew also repaired an area in the parking lot.

All told, the job took two full cement truck loads, Albaugh said.

Albaugh was part of the original Detroit Muscle Crew, a group of skilled tradespeople who volunteered to help rebuild the infrastructure of an orphanage that would become the Have Faith Haiti Mission in Port-au-Prince after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

On Monday, Albaugh received a personal phone call from SAY Detroit founder Mitch Albom thanking him for his service.

Albaugh said he likes helping a charity like SAY Detroit because he can “see” exactly where his donation of labor is going. On Monday, he was given a tour of the SAY Play facility.

“It’s been a hot road,” Albaugh said with a smile. “But worth it.”

Thank you, Albaugh Masonry!

Those words were music to S.A.Y. Detroit when Detroit Muscle Crew II members Tami and Dennis Caren of Wyandotte offered their services to make two of the signs that will soon be on display at the Franklin Cider Mill — home of the Detroit Water Ice Factory’s seasonal pop-up store, which opens May 18 in Bloomfield Township.

Check-out the photo featuring their 3 1/2-year-old grandson!

Tami and Dennis are owners of D&T Signs (contact them at dandtsigns@yahoo.com). They’re also thrilled to participate in their first DMCII project since becoming members last year.

“I’m just so happy to help with Mitch’s charities and be part of the rebuilding of Detroit,’’ said Tami, whose company donated one of the signs and produced the other at a reduced cost.

The nonprofit DWIF, which opened its flagship location in downtown Detroit in 2015, is entering its second year offering delicious water ice to patrons at its seasonal location in Oakland County. The store is adding its line of gourmet popcorn to the mix this year. The Franklin Cider Mill is located at the corner of 14 Mile and Franklin Roads.

The Muscle Crew couldn’t exist without your commitment to give of your time and labor. We are grateful for our ENTIRE DMCII roster of folks!

During the event, we debuted a slide presentation, which includes a projected list of scheduled projects to date–more will be added soon. Click here to view the presentation.  Please note that we have fulfilled our request for a masonry company to donate the labor required to replace the crumbling concrete entrance to our S.A.Y. Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park. That project will completed this summer by Albaugh Masonry. Thank you DMCII member Scott Albaugh!

On the immediate horizon, we are looking for 12-15 members help set up the outdoor tent, lay outdoor carpeting, and perform a few other handyman-type chores on Wednesday, May 16 [UPDATE: Monday, May 14] at our Detroit Water Ice Factory seasonal location at the Franklin Cider Mill (corner of 14 Mile and Franklin Road). The project will start at 10 am. Lunch will be provided. Please send an email indicating your interest to musclecrew@mitchalbom.com. (Please register with DMC II if you haven’t done so already).

Registered DMC II members will also be receiving an update from Grace Episcopal, the beneficiary of funding from A Hole in the Roof Foundation, for its project.

If you couldn’t make the meeting or haven’t yet officially registered, please do so here now so you can always have the latest information about how to participate.

Please welcome the following volunteers to our crew of dedicated skilled trades people and do-gooders: Ken Peterson, Tabitha Mendez, Lonnie Ware, Rich Dixon, Jacklyn Carrico, Kimberly Johnson and Mary Deridder.

Created by S.A.Y. Detroit founder Mitch Albom in March 2017, the DMCII is a group of volunteers who give their time to support structural and physical maintenance projects for S.A.Y. Detroit’s umbrella of nonprofits.

Last year’s projects included repairing and replacing windows and doors at the Cathedral of St. Anthony’s food and clothing pantry in Detroit; installing trim at the Detroit Water Ice Factory in downtown Detroit (and helping construct its summer pop-up location in Franklin); performing maintenance work on several transportation vehicles used at the S.A.Y. Play Center; landscaping a fence line at the S.A.Y. Play Center, and donating pest control services for Working Homes/Working Families.

This year’s projects will be begin this spring, so please watch your inbox for messages.

It’s not just his commitment to volunteerism; each and every member of the DMCII team donates their services.

It’s what Peterson does. His company — Eco-Sound Pest Management  — is the only one among the group that’s devoted to pest-control management.

So when S.A.Y. Detroit reached out last month to see if he could assist our Working Homes/Working families charity, Peterson not only donated his time, but all the materials needed to complete the job. Eco-Sound is based in Birmingham.

Why the generous donation?

Peterson said it was simply because he was happy to get a call for help and be of assistance.

On behalf of Detroit Muscle Crew II founder Mitch Albom — and all of S.A.Y. Detroit — we thank you, Greg, for your services!

For more than 40 years, Erica Wright has directed her charity — and its mission of guiding young people — out of her home near West Side Academy in Detroit.

Her service to others has sometimes meant forgoing her own yard work and other projects such as clearing out and organizing the basement of her nonprofit.

A long time supporter of Wright’s Westside Cultural & Athletic Club, S.A.Y. Detroit decided to make her charity its October A Time to Help project.

And so on Saturday (Oct. 21), 20 ATTH volunteers divided into two groups and worked for three hours performing a fall clean-up of her property.

“I cannot believe all these people helping me,” Wright said, her voice cracking. “This is awesome. I haven’t seen my basement cleared in years. I can see things. They discovered things that I didn’t know existed anymore. It make me feel so good.”

Although S.A.Y. Detroit founder Mitch Albom couldn’t attend because he was in Haiti working with his Have Faith Haiti Mission, Ken Brown — Albom’s radio show cohost — welcomed the group and volunteered his time lifting the heavier items for trash removal.

A Time to Help received a critical assist for the project from Runco Waste, which donated a 30-foot dumpster. Amanda Erwin of Runco — who’s a member of the Detroit Muscle Crew II volunteer team — spearheaded the donation for the company.

“We like to help our community and do whatever we can,” Erwin said.

ATTH, which has seen more than 200 new registrants since January 2016, welcomed several first-timers on Saturday, including Karen Satawa and her daughter Samantha.

“We came out here today because our family loves to do community service, and I heard Mitch Albom on the radio,” Karen Satawa said. “It’s great fun, a lot of meeting new people. Hopefully, we’ll bring more people out next time.”

A Time to Help’s next event is its annual The Salvation Army Christmas Party for shelter women and children on Dec. 2. Information and registration details will be posted on atimetohelp.org next week.

The request: Install a third row of trim designed to hold a slew of celebrity photographs at the frozen dessert store at Campus Martius, where all profits benefit Detroit’s neediest citizens under Mitch Albom’s S.A.Y. Detroit umbrella of charities.

“I’ve been in the business long enough that I know how to do a lot of different things,” Watson said. “I’m glad that you contacted me, but I’m especially glad that it worked out well.”

The project, which was completed last week, was Watson’s first since joining the Detroit Muscle Crew II last spring after Albom formed the all-volunteer team of skilled tradespeople to help with S.A.Y. Detroit’s physical projects and endeavors. (You can sign up to become a member here.)

Watson said that he had so much fun, and that Albom was so grateful, that he decided to donate the materials for the project himself, a value of $143.

“It was great teamwork all the way around,” Watson said. “Bedrock (which provides the DWIF space for the store) even sent a guy over to help me, because it was a two-person job.”