Held last December at the Somerset Collection in Troy, the twelfth edition of the Radiothon raised more than $2 million, bringing the recurring event’s total fundraising impact to more than $14.5 million since its inception in 2012.

Hosted by SAY Detroit founder Mitch Albom and featuring SAY Detroit’s program leaders, the presentation and networking opportunity welcomed representatives from twenty-seven charities, including first-time recipients The DRE Project and Wings of Love Missionary Baptist Church.

“The generosity and kindness of Michiganders is unmatched. Our annual distribution ceremony embraces that spirit to help other like-minded nonprofits in our area that perform life-changing, and sometimes lifesaving, work,” Albom said. “Collaborating with these worthy partners to offer a hand up to those in need is essential. SAY Detroit is proud to lead the charge, beginning with one of the happiest, and most rewarding, days of the year.”

Broadcast live for 15 hours on WJR (760 AM) and https://mitchalbomradiothon.com, along with broadcast partner WDIV (https://clickondetroit.com), this year’s SAY Detroit Radiothon will be held on December 12, once again at the Somerset Collection in Troy.

Recipients today include:

Avalon Village: $5,000.00
Bing Youth Institute: $10,000.00
Boys Hope Girls Hope: $10,000.00
Building Better Men: $5,000.00
Cass Community Social Services: $25,000.00
COTS/Bright Beginnings: $12,500.00
D2N: $7,500.00
Detroit Hives: $5,000.00
Detroit Recovery Project: $5,000.00
Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries Behavioral Health Clinic: $25,000.00
The Dre Project: $10,000.00
Full Count Foundation: $10,000.00
Humble Design: $15,000.00
Jive Turkeys Detroit: $5,000.00
LA SED Inc.: $15,000.00
Michigan Veterans Foundation: $15,000.00
Mother Batie’s Kitchen/United Sisters of Charity: $10,000.00
Neigborhood Legal Services Michigan: $15,000.00
Notes for Notes: $10,000.00
Parker Village: $7,500.00
Peace Players Detroit: $10,000.00
SASHA Center: $15,000.00
TeMaTe Institute for Black Dance and Culture: $3,000.00
Urban Innovators: $5,000.00
Westside Cultural & Athletic Club: $12,000.00
College for Creative Studies/Detroit Dream Scholars: $50,000.00
Wings of Love Baptist

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.

Sign up here for early access to EAT Detroit

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

Emceed by SAY Detroit founder Mitch Albom, the virtual presentation featured representatives from more than two dozen charities, including Mi-Cycle, the nonprofit’s newest initiative. Other first-time recipients include Arts & Scraps; Youth is the Truth; People’s Action; Detroit Outdoors; Hugs from Heaven and Citadel of Praise. 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.

“This event is one of the best days of the year,” Albom said. “Being able to help other nonprofits in our area each year who share SAY Detroit’s mission is not only heartwarming, but gratifying as well. The funds will enable them to help others in need.”

Broadcast live each December over 15-straight hours on WJR (760 AM) and mitchalbomradiothon.com, along with broadcast partner WDIV/clickondetroit.com, the Radiothon has raised over $10 million since 2012. This year’s Radiothon is Dec. 8 at Somerset Collection in Troy.

Radiothon Distribution Charity Recipients Announced Today:

(From funds raised at the 2021 SAY Detroit Radiothon)

• Better Together, $25,000
• Mi-Cycle, $25,000*
• SAY Detroit Family Health Clinic, $100,000
• SAY Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park, $700,000
• SAY Detroit Tomorrow Fund, $350,000
• Working Homes/Working Families, $150,000
• A Hole in the Roof Foundation/Citadel of Praise, $5,000*
• Arts & Scraps, $5,000*
• Avalon Village, $7,500
• Bing Youth Institute, $5,000
• Building Better Men, $15,000
• Cass Community Social Services, $25,000
• College for Creative Studies/Detroit Dream Scholars, $45,000
• COTS/Bright Beginnings, $15,000
• D2N, $7,500
• Detroit Culture Youth Company, $7,500
• DRMM Genesis House II, $25,000
• Detroit Hives, $7,000
• Detroit Outdoors, $5,000*
• Detroit Recovery Project, $5,000
• Hugs from Heaven, $7,500*
• Humble Design, $13,500
• LA SED, Inc., $15,000
• Michigan Veterans Foundation, $15,000
• Mother Batie’s Kitchen/United Sisters of Charity, $10,000
• Notes for Notes, $10,000
• Parker Village (via Soulardarity), $10,000
• The People’s Action, $5,000*
• SASHA Center, $15,000
• Westside Cultural & Athletic Club, $12,000
• Youth is the Truth, $7,500*

* Denotes 1st-time recipient

The distribution ceremony, originally scheduled for March 18 at the Fisher Building but postponed to this morning due to the coronavirus pandemic, premiered on Facebook with nearly two dozen area charity recipients and hundreds of others expected to tune in.

“As the economy tightens, we worry that nonprofits will see their funding evaporate, which makes our annual distribution from the SAY Detroit Radiothon more vital than ever,’’ said Albom, who founded SAY Detroit in 2006. “We are proud this year to support so many worthwhile agencies and individual groups. We know they will continue to make a huge difference in the lives of our city’s neediest citizens, who, especially now, must be protected and kept in our hearts.”

Today’s distribution announcement featured a tribute to Tyrone Chatman, the Michigan Veterans Foundation’s longtime CEO who died in February. More than 20 nonprofits and programs which partner with SAY Detroit received donations, including first-time recipients Detroit Hives and the St. Patrick Senior Center, which was awarded funding to repair a hole in the roof of its building that services the homeless and needy. Funds were also distributed to the programs of SAY Detroit which serves thousands of Detroiters each year, including the SAY Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park and the SAY Detroit Family Health Clinic.

Late last month, SAY Detroit announced it had donated $55,000 in funding from last year’s Radiothon to assist three community-based organizations with deploying resources to those most-affected by the COVID-19 outbreak: the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, the Detroit Area Agency on Aging and the Hospital Mask Task Force!

Broadcast live each December over 15 straight hours on WJR (760 AM) and mitchalbomradiothon.com, along with broadcast partner WDIV/clickondetroit.com, the Radiothon has raised over $7 million since 2012 to help Detroit’s neediest citizens. This year’s Radiothon is Dec. 10 at the Somerset Collection in Troy. To learn more about SAY Detroit, please go to saydetroit.org.

2020 Radiothon Distribution Charity Recipients Announced Today:

(From funds raised at the 2019 Mitch Albom SAY Detroit Radiothon)

• Avalon Village, $5,000
• Bing Youth Institute, $11,500
• Buckets of Rain, $6,000
• Building Better Men, $10,000
• Cass Community Social Services, $27,500
• College for Creative Studies/Detroit Dream Scholars, $35,000
• COTS/Bright Beginnings, $11,000
• D2N/EVO Detroit, $7,500
• *Detroit Hives, $5,000
• Humble Design, $10,000
• LA SED, Inc., $10,000
• Michigan Veterans Foundation, $12,500
• Mother Batie’s Kitchen/United Sisters of Charity, $8,000
• Notes for Notes, $10,000
• *St. Patrick Senior Center/A Hole in the Roof Foundation, $6,825
• SASHA Center, $12,500
• SAY Detroit Family Health Clinic, $100,000
• SAY Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park, $600,000
• SAY Detroit Tomorrow Fund, $250,000
• Westside Cultural & Athletic Club, $10,000
• Working Homes/Working Families, $150,000

* Denotes 1^st-time recipient

1,300.

Many of the county’s homeless find their way to the food pantry, Sunday soup kitchen and Wednesday community suppers at Grace Episcopal Church of Mt. Clemens. Its care for the homeless made it eligible for a $5,000 grant from the A Hole in the Roof Foundation, whose mission is to help faith and relief groups of every denomination who care for the homeless, underserved populations, and victims of disaster by providing funds to repair the spaces where they offer their services.

A sister organization of SAY Detroit, A Hole in the Roof selects one local organization each year to support with funds raised during the annual Radiothon.

Best-laid (floor) plans…

As a recipient of Radiothon funding raised in December of 2017 and distributed in a special ceremony the following March, Grace Episcopal Church originally planned to repair the floor of its dining hall. Nature, and a literal hole in the roof, presented a more immediate need. An unexpected leak in the kitchen’s roof would periodically cause up to 2 inches of flooding, which in turn would shut down the kitchen’s use for meals the homeless community had come to depend upon.

Frequently unable to cook, they would resort to ordering pizza. The grant from A Hole in the Roof covered more than half of the repair project’s $9,000 cost.

“The best thing is that it has not leaked since it was fixed in March … Now we can continue feeding people every week without the fear of having to close the kitchen due to flooding.”

— Pastor Steven Steinberger-Domienik

The community supper at Grace Episcopal provides a full warm meal, blood pressure screening and companionship to approximately 125 people every Wednesday night, 52 weeks a year.

Causes aligned

A Hole in the Roof’s name is inspired by its formation in assisting the I Am My Brother’s Keeper church in Detroit, where, despite a gaping hole in the roof that exposed the sanctuary to the elements, the late pastor Henry Covington provided food, shelter, and spiritual nourishment for the homeless and underserved in his community.

SAY Detroit’s own roots grew out of a modest effort to extend the services offered to the homeless during the 2006 Super Bowl weekend (if you’ve never seen it, check out our running timeline.) Your support continues the work of SAY Detroit and A Hole in the Roof in funding and partnering with programs that help our homeless populations – which include individuals, families, veterans – with immediate and long-term transitional needs.

A Hole in the Roof awarded a grant this spring for needed structural improvements at St Luke AME Church in Highland Park, which has been providing spiritual food to the community for over 100 years as the first black church in the city. Stay tuned for more updates from this latest project.

The distribution ceremony at the Fisher Building, an annual event since the Radiothon’s inception, included several first-time recipients, including Avalon Village, FoodLab Detroit, Yad Ezra, A Beautiful Me, and Building Better Men.

Mitch Albom, who founded SAY Detroit in 2006, presented the checks with Dr. Chad Audi, president of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, as well as representatives from several major donor organizations. Members of SAY Detroit’s Board of Directors also participated in celebrating the efforts of various local charitable organizations.

“Today we share the generosity of the wonderful people and companies in Metro Detroit,” Albom said. “Thanks to them, we broke our previous Radiothon record. This enables us to operate our numerous SAY Detroit initiatives. And, as per our tradition, we share a chunk of this generosity with other organizations, large and small, who, like us, are dedicated to helping Detroit’s neediest.”

Since its first broadcast in 2012, the annual Radiothon has raised over $5.7 million to help the poor, the homeless, families without houses, children and mothers without medical care, students hoping to reach the college of their dreams, and veterans who have hit hard times.

The 2019 SAY Detroit Radiothon will be held Dec. 12th at The Somerset Collection mall in Troy.

2018 RADIOTHON CHARITY DISTRIBUTION:

• Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries Women and Children’s Shelter, $50,000
• College for Creative Studies/Detroit Dream Scholars, $30,000
• Cass Community Social Services, $25,000
• SASHA Center, $12,500
• Bing Youth Institute, $10,000
• DRMM Genesis House II, $10,000
• Humble Design, $10,000
• Westside Cultural & Athletic Club, $10,000
• COTS / Bright Beginnings Day Care Program, $10,000
• Michigan Veterans Foundation, $10,000
• LA SED INC, $10,000
• Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries Teen Day Care, $10,000
• Notes for Notes, $7,500
• Mother Batie’s Kitchen/United Sisters of Charity, $7,500
• D2N/EVO Detroit, $5,000
• Buckets of Rain, $5,000
• *St. Luke AME / A Hole in the Roof Foundation, $5,000
• *Avalon Village, $5,000
• *Food Lab, $5,000
• *A Beautiful Me, $5,000
• *Yad Ezra, $5,000
• *Building Better Men, $5,000

SAY DETROIT INITIATIVES:

• SAY Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park, $600,000
• SAY Detroit Family Health Clinic, $100,000
• Working Homes / Working Families, $130,000
• SAY Detroit Tomorrow Fund (endowment) $200,000

* Denotes 1st time recipient

D.R.Y. (Donated Reading for Youth) Libraries is a joint effort between National Book Store and A Hole in the Roof Foundation to rebuild or refurbish and restock school libraries in the areas hardest hit by super typhoon Haiyan (locally named Yolanda). Five two-dome libraries completed or under construction are located in Pawing Elementary School (Palo, Leyte), National Agricultural School (Leyte), Palanog Elementary School (Leyte), Valencia Elementary School (Ormoc, Leyte) and San Jose Elementary School (Ormoc, Leyte).

A Hole in the Roof Foundation founder Mitch Albom looks forward to visiting the new libraries on his next visit to the Tacloban area. Stay tuned for more updates!

The ceremony at the Fisher Building, which included six first-time recipients, has become S.A.Y. Detroit’s favorite day of the year, said Albom, who distributed the funds to the benefitting charities with Dr. Chad Audi and representatives from major sponsor organizations, and supporters. Audi is president of the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, which is S.A.Y. Detroit’s operating partner.

“It’s really the generosity of the people who gave to our Radiothon — some even $5 or $10 contributions, all the way up to large corporate gifts — that we are sharing with worthy charities around Detroit,” said Albom, who founded the S.A.Y. Detroit nonprofit in 2006. “It’s our honor and pleasure to do so each year.”

Funds were distributed to the following charities:

• S.A.Y Detroit Play Center, $565,000
• S.A.Y. Detroit Family Health Clinic, $300,000;
• Working Homes Working Families, $100,000;
• S.A.Y. Detroit Tomorrow Fund (endowment), $100,000;
• College for Creative Studies/Detroit Dream Scholars, $30,000;
• Cass Community Social Services, $25,000;
• Bing Youth Institute, $10,000;
• Humble Design, $10,000;
• Westside Cultural & Athletic Club, $10,000;
• COTS/Bright Beginnings, $10,000;
• SASHA Center, $10,000;
• Michigan Veterans Foundation, $10,000;
• LA SED INC., $10,000;
• *Notes for Notes, $7,500;
• Real Life My Music, $7,500;
• *D2N/EVO Detroit, $7,500;
• United Sisters of Charity/Mother Batie’s Kitchen, $6,000;
• Hole in the Roof Foundation/*Grace Episcopal, $5,000;
• Veterans Matter, $5,000;
• *Art Road, $5,000;
• *Friendship Circle/Farber Soul Center, $5,000;
• JVS, $5,000;
• *Buckets of Rain, $3,000.

(* Denotes 1st-time recipient).

Albom also announced the expansion of S.A.Y. Detroit’s Board of Directors. The 11 members are: Dennis Archer, Cynthia Ford, Carmen Harlan, Judge Damon Keith, Rob Orley, Al Papa, David Provost, Charles Rothstein, Arn Tellem, Albom and Audi. A new advisory board will be announced soon.

“We’re so pleased to form the expanded board of S.A.Y. Detroit, which reflects a wide range of backgrounds, expertise and history,” Albom said. “I’m proud to be working with them and have great confidence that they will help steer S.A.Y. Detroit into the future and even greater level of effectiveness to help the needy in our city.’’

The 2018 Radiothon is Dec. 6 at the Somerset Collection in Troy.

But this was a special occasion.

Wright wanted to show a visitor exactly how the proceeds from a $5,000 donation from Mitch Albom’s Hole in the Roof Foundation benefited the Pope Francis Center at St. Peter & Paul Jesuit Church in downtown Detroit.

With operations director Lydia Maola providing light from her cell phone, Wright proudly showed where a failed section in the century-old pipe was replaced – all thanks to funds that were raised to help more than a dozen area nonprofits and charities at last fall’s S.A.Y. Detroit Radiothon.

How critical were the repairs? No longer does the pit fill up with raw sewage. No longer does it overflow into the church basement, its smell permeating through the floor under the altar when Wright is holding mass. And no longer does sewage back-up into the bathrooms of the warming center next to the church, which provides services and tends to the most basic needs of up to 80 homeless people a day.

“What the repairs mean is that we don’t have to have quarterly visits (by plumbers) to clear the line, or shut down the center altogether when it backs up,” Maola said.

Wright said he is “forever grateful” for the much-needed donation.

“It was a wonderful gift to us and a surprise – since it was on the day that we had a major back-up was also the day that (S.A.Y. Detroit) called,” he said. “I’d like thank Mitch Albom because he has the courage to do what he does; he is moved by the generosity of his work. The key here for us is we’re able to continue to honor the dignity of the people we serve.”

In November 2013, a super typhoon flattened areas of the country, killing more than 6,000 people and displacing thousands more. When author Mitch Albom visited the island nation three months later, touring schools where he saw tents and plywood serving as makeshift walls, he pledged to build 10 libraries in one of the hardest hit regions ravaged by the storm and stock them with books.

A drive was launched that day: “Donated Reading for Youth of the Philippines’’ – also known as DRY Libraries.

On Friday morning, in a ceremony that included schoolchildren, top Filipino educators and representatives from the National Book Store Foundation – Albom’s Philippine partner in the project – the first of 10 libraries was officially christened at Pawing Elementary School in Palo, Leyte.

It is the first library ever at the school.

Among the Filipino dignitaries at the opening were: Charlie Ayco, Department of Education; Mario Deriquito, Undersecretary; Loreta Guilariza, Pawing Principal; Maureen Alexandre Ramos-Padilla, National Book Store Foundation President; and Ronelo Firmo, Schools Division Superintendent (Leyte).

L-R: Charlie Ayco, Department of Education Undersecretary Mario Deriquito, Principal Loreta Guilariza, President Xandra Ramos-Padilla, Department of Education Ronelo Firmo

“I’m so happy that the dream that we had of helping the people of Tacloban has finally come to fruition,” Albom said. “We came up to the idea of DRY Libraries in the aftermath of the horrible destruction of Yolanda when it was difficult dream about anything. The area was so destroyed that it was almost impossible to dream of a new building going up. And yet when I look at these pictures and I see the murals – and I see the love and care in which the buildings were designed in — it just proves that hope that never dies and people coming together can overcome any obstacle.”

The new library at Pawing is state of the art – the first monolithic dome library in the country – and built to withstand a strong storm. From a distance, the dual dome structure appears to rise from the earth like a pair of matching full moons.

The library took six months to build, but Bea Andrea Torres, National Book Store Foundation program manager, believes the rest will take far less time to complete.

The inside of the library is decorated with phrases from Albom’s books and colorful murals. One panel boasts: “Read More. Know More. Achieve More.”

Albom helped coordinate the DRY Libraries program through his A Hole in the Roof Foundation, which is involved in rebuilding for the homeless after disasters and has been operating an orphanage in Haiti since the 2010 devastating earthquake.

Albom launched the Filipino drive with an initial $10,000 donation and a pledge to help raise $160,000 needed for construction. He also donated hundreds of copies of his books, and has received support from dozens of other popular writers including Stephen King, John Green and JK Rowing.

The NBS Foundation has promised to match funds raised by Albom on a dollar-for-dollar basis until the goal is met. Fundraising efforts will continue until all 10 libraries are built, Albom said this week. The target date for completion is March 2016.

“This is step one of 10 steps that we’re going to take with these libraries and I can’t wait stocking the shelves with books from my friends in the literary community and Filipino authors as well,” Albom said. “And I will keep my promise of being in the Philippines for the opening of the 10^th library when we reach our goal, which I know we’re going to do.”

Since the groundbreaking at Pawing last November, Albom was kept updated on the construction progress through photos and videos sent by NBS Foundation.

“The murals have been so impressive,” he said. “I’ve gotten emailed pictures of those and I’m very honored and humbled and flattered that (the foundation) would choose to use words from some of my books to be on the walls.

“But what I’m most proud of is should Mother Nature decide to rear her head at a future date, the design of these monolithic domes is built to withstand that, and we don’t ever have to worry about losing the chance of kids being able to read just because of a storm.

“I wish I could be there in person, but I feel like I am in seeing all these photos and video. And I can’t wait to return to the Philippines and visit these libraries myself.”

View coverage of the momentous event from the Philippines Star (pdf here),  the Philippines Inquirer (pdf here), and the Manila Bulletin (pdf here).

Click a photo to view the gallery.