In one of the larger beautification efforts in Detroit, groups from 150 companies, churches, and community groups – 10,000 individuals in all – will gather Aug. 5-10 to help Life Remodeled clean up and remove blight from 263 alleyways in the 4 square miles surrounding the Durfee Innovation Society (DIS) and Central High School.
Life Remodeled, a Detroit nonprofit since 2011, bridges people to help transform their lives – investing approximately $5 million in cash, labor, and materials into Detroit neighborhoods every year.
This year’s annual Six Day Project is a response to the expressed needs of the community’s residents. The alleyways are not only unsightly but cause a significant safety risk.
“You never know what’s lurking among all the overgrown brush,” says Gina Peoples, a long-time resident and community advocate in the Durfee/Central High School area. “And illegal dumping has made them an eyesore, causing an environment for criminal activity, rodents, and even wild animals such as coyotes.”
Renovations to the DIS, the former Durfee Elementary-Middle School, also will occur during the project week. Although the building currently is the home of 21 different nonprofit and for-profit tenants, there are still construction projects underway.
The DIS also houses several entrepreneurs, including Toarminas Pizza, which hires high school students and teaches them how to franchise. In October, the DIS will become home of Detroit at Work, a workforce development program that will ensure more than 4,000 Detroit residents acquire sustainable employment every year.
Life Remodeled opened the DIS last year as a one-stop-shop of opportunity for children, students, and adults in Detroit.
“We’re filling this entire building with the best and brightest nonprofits in Detroit, like the Metro Detroit Youth Club, which provides tutoring, sports, and exciting educational activities for 230 youth and children every day,” says Chris Lambert, founder and CEO of Life Remodeled.
In addition to the blight removal and building renovations, Life Remodeled will host the following activities for community members at the DIS throughout the week:
- Detroit-based nonprofit Avengers Youth Mentoring will lead its annual summer camp for 250 kindergarten through eighth-grade students (Aug. 5-9)
- Basketball camp for middle and high school students led by one of Michigan’s AAU teams, The Family (Aug. 5-9)
- Family Fun Day with activities, entertainment featuring a special performance by the Detroit Youth Choir, carnival games and the largest bounce house in the world (Aug. 10)
The annual event is made possible by the generosity of more than 160 corporate donors including a $100,000 gift from White Pine Investment Co., and $50,000 gifts from BASF, L&L Products, Masco Corp., and Sun Communities.
