Our roundup of the latest news from metro Detroit and Michigan businesses as well as announcements from government agencies, including updates about the COVID-19 pandemic. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.
Painting with a Twist Detroit Art Studio Reopens with New Ownership
Painting with a Twist, the downtown Detroit art studio that caters to group events, has new ownership and will be conducting a grand reopening event at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 7.
Located at 1420 Washington Blvd., the facility was purchased April 30 by the mother-daughter team Patrice and Ashley Thornton from the previous owner, Donna Lewis.
“Ashley and I are so excited to be a part of the continued growth of downtown Detroit,” says Patrice Thornton. “We feel it is important to have activities in the downtown area that would appeal to all.”
Painting with a Twist was founded in 2007 as Corks & Canvas in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Today, there are approximately 300 studios around the country.
“We were hesitant to embark on a new business in light of the pandemic, but our hearts told us that people are ready to engage with each other,” says Thorton. “Our mission is to provide a safe and care-free escape while making a difference. Painting with a Twist Detroit is about reconnecting with friends, family, and co-workers over a glass of wine with their favorite snacks for a night of laughter.”
Ashley, the daughter, says, “Painting is cathartic and relaxing. The sessions are fun, exciting, and what we need. Our clients walk away feeling like they have created a Picasso with the help of our artists.”
To attend the grand reopening, guests must RSVP at 313-645-6572 by Oct. 1. Wine and appetizers will be available. For more information, visit here.
Comcast Expands Internet Essentials Program, Pledges $15M to Connect More Americans
Communications giant Comcast announced Tuesday it is expanding its Internet Essentials program and pledged to donate $15 million worth of Internet service and equipment, including more than 25,000 laptops, to low-income students, seniors, veterans, and adults.
The company is expanding its Internet Essentials, the nation’s largest, most successful, and most comprehensive broadband adoption program for low-income households, to Federal Pell Grant recipients.
The announcement is part of Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity and help build a future of unlimited possibilities; and comes while Comcast marks the 10th anniversary of its Internet Essentials program, which has connected a total of more than 10 million people to the Internet at home, most for the very first time.
“Digital equity is key to success in education and economic mobility, now and into the future” says Broderick Johnson, executive vice president of public policy and digital equity at Comcast. “As our economic, medical, and educational systems become increasingly digital, it’s more important than ever that every American gets online.
“For those young people pursuing higher education, the expansion of IE eligibility to Pell Grant recipients is a real boost. Through the announcements we are making today, we will help support the development of a workforce that has the digital skills necessary to adapt to rapid shifts in a fast-evolving economy.”
For more information, visit here.
Detroit ACE Announces Inaugural ACE Honors Celebrating Artists
The City of Detroit Office of Arts, Culture, and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) today announced the establishment of the ACE Honors, which will salute lifetime achievement and celebrate artists and arts patrons who have given 25 years or more of exceptional service to Detroit arts and culture.
Announced at the Garden Theatre on Woodward Avenue, the ACE Honors will be patterned after the Kennedy Center Honors. Each honoree will receive a Medal of Excellence and will be bestowed every December.
The announcement was made during the kickoff to the Detroit Black Film Festival and Freep Film Festival, which run from today through Sept. 26.
Olive Garden Parent Company Donates Truck to Forgotten Harvest
Florida-based Darden Restaurants, parent company of the Olive Garden chain, has donated a refrigerated truck to Forgotten Harvest in Oak Park to assist in its mission.
The gift is part of a national effort by Darden to provide 10 26-foot trucks to mobile food pantries and distribution programs around the country in communities with the highest need. Support for the program, which also includes a $26,000 cash donation, is being provided by Penske Truck Leasing and Lineage Logistics of Novi.
“Feeding people is what we do, but the hard reality is that there are still too many families in communities we serve who struggle to put a meal on the table,” says Gene Lee, chairman and CEO of Darden Restaurants. “We’re uniquely positioned to help, and by leveraging our scale and relationships with partners like Penske Truck Leasing and Lineage Logistics, we’re proud to do our part to help get food into the hands of people who need it.”
Men’s Health Event Returns to Ford Field Oct. 9
The MIU Men’s Health Foundation is hosting the 11th annual Men’s Health Event, presented by Endo Pharmaceuticals, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9 at Ford Field in Detroit.
Metro Detroit-area men 18 years and older with or without insurance are encouraged to take advantage of this free event focused on preventative health care. Services will include vital screenings, a comprehensive bloodwork panel, flu vaccinations, COVID-19 screenings and vaccinations, HIV testing, oral cancer and dental checks, vision and glaucoma screenings, vein dopplers, diabetic foot checks, hepatitis A vaccines and mental health evaluations.
“Far too many men delayed or skipped routine health check-ups during the pandemic, which can be critical to saving lives,” says Dr. Michael Lutz, president and founder of the MIU Men’s Health Foundation and a urologist with the Michigan Institute of Urology. “This is a great opportunity regain or take control of your health and kick off a healthier lifestyle for those who may have been ignoring it. We have the most in-depth blood screening panel available at a free health event.”
The free health screenings and tests will be provided in partnership with Premier Healthcare Sponsor St. Joseph Mercy Health System and are comprehensively valued at more than $2,000. In addition to standard vital measurements, blood screenings will test for:
- Full lipid profile
- Liver function
- Diabetes
- Kidney function
- Basic metabolic panel
- Prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
- Uric acid
- Testosterone
In addition to prostate cancer screenings, colorectal cancer FIT Kits will also be available. EKGs will also be on hand to monitor heart status.
“It’s been estimated that 80,000 cancer diagnoses have been missed because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lutz says. “Early detection is the single most important aspect of treatment and recovery.”
The event will also include free food, live music, yoga, the opportunity to kick a field goal with former Detroit Lion kicker Eddie Murray, a 1-mile run with Motor City Striders’ Dr. Ed Kozloff, manicures and massages for women who bring the men in their lives to the event, and inflatables for kids.
A job fair will include multiple educational and vocational opportunities for skills-based training to assist with reentry into the workforce after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year’s drive-through model was the only major men’s health event conducrted in the U.S. and brought in 600 cars.
Advanced registration is available by texting MHE2021 to 313-217-3328 or online. More information is available here.
Macomb Community College Launches New Dental Science Program
Macomb Community College has launched a new Dental Science program and dental clinic that offers education and training for high-demand careers and low-cost preventative dental services to the community.
“Macomb Community College is about creating transformative opportunity for our residents and community,” says James O. Sawyer IV, president of MCC. “Macomb’s new Dental Science program will equip residents with the education and training for a rewarding high-demand, high-growth field, while supporting our community with quality, low-cost dental health services.”
The first cohort of Macomb’s Dental Assisting program started classes on Aug. 23. The noncredit program prepares individuals over the course of 16 weeks for an entry-level position as a chairside assistant in a dental office.
Through the two-year Dental Hygienist program, graduates earn an associate of science degree and prepare for the exams for licensure. Beyond the duties that can be conducted by a dental assistant, a dental hygienist also can perform procedures such as scaling and root debridement, delivery of local anesthesia, nitrous oxide sedation, topical fluoride, applying antibiotic and antimicrobial medications, taking impressions, developing diagnostic models, taking dental X-rays, providing dental education and nutritional counseling, and various laboratory procedures.
Macomb’s dental hygienist program has entered the Commission of Dental Accreditation’s process. The college’s application is under review. The program’s first cohort is expected to begin Fall 2022, pending accreditation approval.
Macomb renovated a college facility, adjacent to Macomb Community College’s South Campus in Warren, to support the educational, training and community service needs of its new Dental Science program. The college invested $5.6 million in creating the 12,000-square-foot educational and community clinic facility, which is designed to optimize the latest in technology and real-world experience so that graduates are fully prepared for their roles in dental offices.
The facility also will function as a community dental clinic, providing quality, low-cost preventative care services to residents, helping address the displacement of more than 3,000 patients of a Macomb County preventative care clinic that is closing.
The facility features a student education center, including a student laboratory with 13 dental simulators, classrooms that can project 360-degree images from the lab and a teaching patient station in the clinic, and a computer lab with 36 stations. There are 20 patient stations (operatories) and multiple X-ray rooms, including a panoramic machine that captures the entire mouth in a single two-dimensional image of the teeth, upper and lower jaws, surrounding structures and tissues.
Dynami Foundation Plans Uncork for a Cure Event Nov. 12
Local breast cancer advocate and Dynami Foundation’s founder Flora Migyanka resumes the annual Uncork for a Cure event this fall by announcing the addition of a raffle featuring a 1997 F355 classic Ferrari.
This year’s event will take place at Cauley Ferrari of Detroit on Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield Township on Nov. 12. It will feature metro Detroit’s finest chefs, world-class wine, art, and the announcement of the Ferrari winner at 9 p.m.
“2020 was a devastating year for so many,” says Migyanka. “We’re proud that as a foundation, we were able to continue to raise funds for our breast cancer mission. As we began to map out the return of this year’s event, we knew we had to up the ante. What better way to make a splash while raising money for breast cancer than with a Ferrari raffle?”
Tickets for the Ferrari raffle are on sale now at $250 each and only 1,500 tickets will be sold. This 1997 classic Ferrari F355 Spider features the classic Rosso Corsa over beige leather with a 6-Speed Manual transmission, rear challenge grill and genuine Ferrari floor mats.
The event at Cauley Ferrari will be limited capacity and utilize open-air garage space. Seating and heaters will be spaced to allow for necessary social distancing. Antibacterial gel will be provided upon entry and all staff will be wearing a mask. Uncork for the Cure event will remain in accordance with local orders and follow all necessary protocols.
Proceeds of the raffle benefit the Dynami Foundation’s mission of funding cutting-edge research on invasive lobular breast cancer (ILC), an underfunded and under researched subtype of breast cancer that is the sixth most diagnosed cancer in women in the U.S.
For more information, visit here.
