by ·Comments Off on The Community Education Concept Returns to Flint

Creating stronger partnerships and collaboration between community organizations and educational institutions is critical to increase knowledge sharing as well as utilizing limited resources in a way which benefits more institutions than one. Emphasizing community partnerships has become increasingly important in the Flint Community Schools as they went through an extensive planning process to eliminate their growing deficit as student enrollment rates have dropped. This issue is not unique to Flint, but is becoming more typical across the nation as funding for K-12 and higher education has been cut. In Flint, a partnership between the Flint Community Schools, the City of Flint, and a group of funders, has created a re-investment into Community Education.

Community Education is a growing concept in K-12 education. The concept focuses on attaching more community partners to public and sometimes charter schools. Community partners can offer a range of resources such as tutoring, health services, cross-generational education courses, and extra-curricular programs. Schools which embrace this concept often have extended hours and are open on the weekends. Throughout the last four months, Jennifer Burger, AmeriCorps VISTA member through University Outreach, has worked to establish strong relationships with ABCsstaff and faculty at Brownell-Holmes STEM Academy. The STEM Academy is the pilot site for the new Community Education Model through Flint Community Schools. The working group of the Flint Community Schools, the City of Flint, and funders chose Brownell-Holmes Stem Academy because of its large student body and the schools emphasis on STEM education. The Crim Fitness Foundation has hired a Community Education Coordinator to lead the effort of increasing resources and partners into all Flint Schools in the coming years. In the coming months, Jennifer Burger will give an update on her efforts to increase University of Michigan-Flint programs to the Flint Community Schools.

Community Education as a nationwide model originated in Flint, as an initiative which Charles Stewart Mott and Frank Manley in 1935. Mott and Manley envisioned community schools as assets to the community which should be open to all members of the public for enrichment classes and activities. Flint was the model for community education until the 1970’s when the decline in population and students would eventually eliminate funding for the initiative. Although Flint discontinued Community Education, many Cities, Non-Profits, and School Districts across the nation continue to build on Flint’s model. Widely known models are the Harlem Learning Zone, Citizen Schools, and the Netter Center at Penn State.

 

by ·Comments Off on UM-Flint Students team up with the Center for Hope

by Mary Black

UM-Flint FYE students team up with the Center for Hope to help raise awareness about Flint’s homeless population

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During the fall 2014 semester, students in two UM-Flint First Year Experience (FYE) classes, “I am UM-Flint” and “So U Want to Change the World” partnered with Jon Manse, director of community services for Catholic Charities of Shiawassee & Genesee Counties to help raise awareness about Flint’s homeless population and develop social media fundraising campaign projects.

Students in the “I am UM-Flint” class worked with local community members on a PhotoVoice project to help raise awareness about the homeless population in Flint. Students worked closely with community members that utilized the services provided by the Catholic Charities’ Center for Hope in downtown Flint throughout the semester.

Community members were provided disposable cameras and asked to take photos of their daily lives in Flint over a one week period.   At the end of the week, each community photographer chose one photograph that best told his or her story about living in Flint. Students then worked with the photographers to record and share their stories about living and working in Flint and what the Center for Hope meant to them.

Using the photos and stories collected through the “I am UM-Flint” PhotoVoice project, students in the “So U Want to Change the World” class worked in groups to develop a social media campaign with the goal of raising one million dollars for the Center for Hope. Each student group created an unique social media campaign strategy around the “Million Donors, Million Dollars” campaign theme that asked people to give one dollar each and encourage their friends, family and community members to do the same.

The projects culminated with a community event held at the Center for Hope. Students in the “I am UM-Flint” class introduced their community photographers and shared their photographs and stories with the audience. Afterward, students in the “So U Want to Change the World” class presented their “Million Donor, Million Dollar” fundraising projects.

These projects illustrate how service-learning and civic engagement help UM-Flint students engage with the Flint community in new and exciting ways, while contributing to the great work of community leaders and organizations like Jon Manse and Catholic Charities of Shiawassee & Genesee Counties.

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by ·Comments Off on Alternative Spring Break Students Volunteer with Carriage Town Ministries

By Alicia Gillman

When you think of a homeless shelter, what comes to mind? Do you envision a rundown facility full of people wearing rags for clothing? Do you think of unmotivated people with poor hygiene habits? Do you imagine a dreary room full of cheap bunk beds? If you did, you’re not alone. A year ago, I had some of these same thoughts as I was told that Carriage Town Ministries, a homeless shelter in downtown Flint, would be housing the immersion group for Alternative Spring Break (ASB).

Untitled5The 2014 Alternative Spring Break Board, now known as the Alternative Breaks Committee, wanted to pilot a STAY-cation program that would provide a “traditional ASB experience” for ten UM-Flint students. For those that are not familiar with the “traditional” ASB model, most schools organize service trips that allow them to travel to a different city or country. Given the tremendous need in the Flint community, the Alternative Breaks Committee keeps our ASB trips local. While keeping it local allows students to become familiar with the Flint community by exposing them to the needs right in our own backyard, it does change the student experience during ASB. With limited funds and lodging options, the Alternative Breaks Committee was struggling to find suitable housing for the STAY-cation participants until Carriage Town Ministries generously allowed the group to stay in one of their transition homes for the week. As one of the team leaders, let me be the first to tell you I was skeptical of this arrangement. Was it going to be safe? What about the cleanliness of the transition home?

Untitled2When the week of ASB arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. The transition home, one of several owned and operated through Carriage Town Ministries, was a beautifully remodeled Victorian home just a few block from campus. Our four day stay there was wonderful and humbling. Our group had the pleasure of staying with two other residents who were transitioning from homelessness to living on their own. They were friendly, hard-working (& clean) people who just needed a little extra support getting back on their feet.

During our ASB, the STAY-cation service project was also at Carriage Town Ministries. In fact, our project was conveniently located next door to our transition home. With the help of a $5,000 grant from Southwest Airlines, ASB was able to purchase enough drywall for the entire transition home and we spent the entire week hanging it. Carriage Town Ministries is a non-profit organization that serves the Flint community year round, providing meals, shelter, clothing, medical care and more to the homeless and hungry. As a result work on the transition homes is dependent solely on donations of time, money, and supplies. Though we were not able to drywall the entire house during our short time at Carriage Town Ministries, we have since gone back to continue our project.

Untitled3It is amazing to see where we started and the condition of the house now. We started with studs and cracked plaster ceilings. Now, the house is slowly coming together as our group, the staff at Carriage Town Ministries, and other outside organizations continue to work on it. For ASB 2015, we will continue our work on the transition house and plan to spend the week painting.

Alternative Spring Break is advertised as “The week that lasts a lifetime” but I didn’t know how true this statement was until I stayed and served at Carriage Town Ministries this past March. I am thankful for all that I have. The friends, the family, the education, the experiences, and the opportunities that I have are truly wonderful. During ASB I realized how important it is to be open-minded, to be hardworking, to be humble, and most importantly, to be kind. When I look back on this experience, I am reminded that while my service may seem like only a small contribution, collectively, we can make an impact and change lives for the better.

For more information about Alternative Break Programs, please visit: www.umflint.edu/outreach/alternative-breaks

by ·Comments Off on Student Playwrights Prepare New Script for Fall Season on Main Stage

by Nic Custer

A group of seven students, led by Lecturer Andrew Morton, are completing a new play to be performed this Fall as part of the UM-Flint Theatre and Dance Department’s main stage season.

The new work fictionalizes the re-opening of the Flint Local 432, an all-ages music venue in downtown Flint.

The students has been meeting regularly in the Innovation Incubator co-working  space, NBC 207, during the Spring term to rework the script which was drafted during a Collective Playwrights Workshop class taught by Morton in Winter 2013.

A first draft of “The Local” was completed for the Winter course and established the basic framework, plot and characters of the play. The show will follow a group of young people forming a band and explores their lives ten years later as the venue reopens.

Nick Hale, a recent graduate working on the project, said collaborative work is interesting because there are parts of the script that everyone agrees need more work but all of the writers have different ideas about what elements need to be changed.

He said that when the group came together after the semester ended, they agreed the second act needed to be completely rewritten.

Morton, who will be directing the completed play, said he hopes to send an updated draft of the script to his costume and scenic designers at the end of June. He said the script will at least be able to answer who the characters are and where it takes place. While the main work will be completed, there will be minor script editing through the first week of rehearsals for the production.

A local band will be selected as the house band for the run of the production.

The Local play will run in repertory with Little Shop of Horrors during the Fall semester. Performances are scheduled for November 8, 10, 16, 22, 23 and 24.

by ·Comments Off on Ten Things to Do in the [IN]

by Nic Custer

The University of Michigan-Flint campus is larger than just UCEN, French Hall and the Murchie Science Buildings. The campus stretches north of the Flint River including the William S. White building and the Northbank Center, which contains the dance studio, University Outreach and the Innovation Incubator, also known as [IN], located on the building’s second floor.

The following is a top ten list of opportunities and activities available Monday through Friday, nine a.m. to five p.m. for students:

Ten.

Use the foam cubes to create a desk, fort, throne, tower, podium and any other cool configuration you can think of for maximum productivity or relaxation.

Nine.

Lounge on the blue couch and watch cable television on the wall-mounted flat screen. The 54” smart television is also connected to the internet and can be used for Skype or just catching up on sports and world news.

Eight.

[IN] has a large reference library of business- related books and magazines available for browsing.

Sections labeled “Sales and Marketing,” “Legal,” “Budget and finance,” “Start ups,” “Leadership and management” and many more cover the full spectrum of business development and document templates.

A selection of current and back issues from various Michigan and business magazines also fill the shelves including: Fast Company, Wired, dBusiness, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Yes!, FCW, Crain’s Detroit Business and Inc.

Seven.

The co-working space, NBK 207, is open to both students and community members. It can hold meetings of between 4 and 24 people and is the perfect downtown location for start up businesses looking to meet with perspective clients in a professional setting. It is also a great place to work with other entrepreneurs and develop the next great idea!

Space may be reserved through the staff working in the incubator.

Six.

Bring your laptop! [IN] offers WiFi through the university’s MWireless and has plenty of Herman Miller ergonomic Caper chairs to help create a productive atmosphere for guests.

Five.

Have a drink! The space also provides a selection of Keurig coffees, hot chocolates and teas, soda pop and a water cooler. Guests are welcome to help themselves to a drink, although there is a suggested donation of .50 cents per item for additional drinks to allow the staff to purchase more items when the stock runs out.

Four.

Stay for a workshop, [IN] provides a free series of business- related workshops during the academic year to support students and the community.

Past workshops have included accounting skills, social innovation, women entrepreneurs and many more topics from speakers with years of experience. Registration is recommended as space is limited.

Three.

[IN] is able to provide a downtown mailing address to student businesses to give them a secure professional setting to receive letters and packages and send mail from.

Two.

One of the most important services the Innovation Incubator offers to start up organizations is business plan development assistance.

Utilizing the business model canvas (taken from the Business Model Generation book by A. Osterwalder and Y. Pigneur, which is available in the reference library) businesses work with [IN] staff to storyboard their target goals, audiences and products allowing them to better realize how to make their business ventures financially successful.

One.

Of course, the best thing for students to do in the incubator is to sign up for free office space and begin their journey towards realizing their business aspirations!

[IN] offers office space on the Northbank Center’s second floor and a huge number of resources and networks to draw from.

All prospective businesses should first fill out the Tell Us Your Bright Idea form, which is sent to the program coordinator, Sara McDonnell. Sara will contact applicants for a one-on-one meeting so the business’s space and technical support needs can be identified.

All students and recent graduates are invited to bring their ideas for a start up and let the Innovation Incubator help them develop the next great product or service.

by ·Comments Off on [IN] Student Business Trying to Make Big Mark on Music Industry

by Nic Custer

Aleah Moses, songwriter and producer, has been building her portfolio writing and producing more than 50 songs with independent musicians. She creates both full songs and instrumentals depending on the job.

Moses Music, her start-up company in NBC suite 206, has mostly worked with out of state musicians in a variety of different genres. Moses said clients primarily want pop songs but she is proficient in creating hip hop, rap, R&B, and alternative pop (similar to the sound of Taylor Swift). She said working with smaller artists is a good way to advertise her work.

A junior majoring in Business Administration, Moses would like to expand her company to work with major label artists and do larger commercial work. While she didn’t write or produce a song until after she was 18 years old, Moses has been playing piano by ear since she was 8 and played the clarinet in middle school.

She said that as a female producer, she is also an activist for other women. Women get looked over in music for a lot of things, she said. Part of her mission is to let other people, specifically girls, know that they can make it as producers and songwriters too.

Her Northbank Center office recently had soundproofing installed and she uses the space as her primary recording studio.

She said it was definitely a blessing to have her own office in the Student Innovation Incubator where she can meet clients, that isn’t her home or other less conveinent spaces.

The beauty of being a musician in the 21st century, she said, is that you don’t have to fly in to another city just to record with other musicians. It can be done from anywhere.

Moses charges a standard overall product cost for the music and a percentage of the ownership rights.

She said she would be a good person for artists to work with because she is very open to different music styles and not boxed in by one specific genre. She also does music for advertising commercials.

“I like being the medium, I can do what I want to do without the attention or the limelight. I like my privacy,” Moses mused.

Moses created her website herself. Visit www.lovemosesmusic.com for more information.

by ·Comments Off on Our Home Transitional Wins Start-Up Business Award

563531_391180014313509_1364912815_nby Nic Custer

Our Home Transitional, a housing and social services business for female veterans located in the University of Michigan-Flint’s Innovation Incubator, has won the 2013 eTEAM Spark Award.

The eTEAM Spark award recognizes the “determination, vision, identified market, growth potential, and setting and achieving business goals” by a newer business.

To qualify for a eTEAM Spark award a business must be less than two years old and have partnered with an eTEAM member organization among other criteria.

The award, which includes a plaque, was given to ten start-up businesses around Flint and Genesee County. These included Consolidated Barber Shop, 107 W. Kearsley St., Healthy Dollar, 138 W. First St., New Thought Movement of Davison, and Our Home Transitional, 432 N. Saginaw St., Suite 207.

Joyce Hitchye, OHT volunteer grant writer, accepted the award on behalf of Executive Director Carrie Miller.

She said, “I have just recently met Carrie through our BEST Project Leadership Program, but her energy and her honest vigor to see the single female homeless veteran housing come to fruition has greatly inspired me.”

Our Home Transitional was presented the award Feb. 28 at the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce 2013 Jumpstart Entrepreneur Conference.

The conference was held at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center in Grand Blanc. Dave Zilko, vice chairman of Garden Fresh Gourmet, was the keynote speaker. There were two breakout sessions where attendees could choose between subjects like tax planning, government contracts vs. grants, 21st century marketing and legal structures.

Sherry Hayden, of the Innovation Incubator, originally nominated the start-up business for the award.

by ·Comments Off on UM-Flint Student Business Working With Female Veterans

by Nic Custer

Carrie Miller, founder and executive director of Our Home Transitional, didn’t have answers for the “20 questions about your business” online form when she applied for a space in UM-Flint’s Innovation Incubator.

But Miller, a senior studying psychology, and her business have come a long way in the past year.

Her business offers female veterans housing assistance and connects them with social services like job training. She returned home to Flint in 2010 with a strong desire to work with struggling women and children.

After sending in her 20 questions to the Incubator, she met with Danny Bledsoe, a military veteran and business coach who was working with [IN]. He suggested she serve returning veterans as they transition to civilian life. She agreed and Bledsoe has since joined Our Home Transitional’s five-person board of directors. The board is made up of UM-Flint students and faculty.

Our Home Transitional is in the process of purchasing their first home for veterans. It is a 3-storey, ten-bedroom house, north of campus, which is owned by another nonprofit. Besides cosmetic repairs, the house is ready to be lived in. Miller needs to raise $20,000, which is more than 35% of the house’s cost in order to qualify for a Veterans Administration grant, which could cover the other 65% of the price. Our Home is working directly with the Detroit Veterans Administration on the project.

In addition to a GoFundMe page, Our Home has a couple of grant writers applying to both the C.S. Mott and Ruth Mott foundations in order to raise the $20,000 down payment. One of the grant writers is a female veteran.

The house will be a large space to fill so the business is also looking for donations of furniture in addition to money. In the mean time, Our Home could also use a donated storage unit for the furniture it already has.

The Genesee County Land Bank has told Our Home Transitional that they would be willing to donate future homes that aren’t being planned for rehabilitation.

Miller is appreciative of the support she gets from the Incubator. She said that the workshops, business coaching and office space in NBK 206 have been huge helps.

“The Incubator’s been a huge support system for me. We have board meetings in the co-working space every month,” she said.

Miller has had family members serve in the armed forces including her sister who in Desert Storm. She said Michigan is 53rd in providing benefits to veterans, dead last behind other states and U.S. territories. This is because most veterans who returned to the state used to just get a job at GM, now without any substantial jobs, many more people are applying for their benefits including current service men and women but also Vietnam and even Korean war vets. Miller said the current backlog of 375,000 applications takes two years to process.

The business is very rewarding for Miller who has two daughters, 6 and 16 years old. She said her teenager is very proud of her and has even written reports for school about what her mom is doing.

Visit www.ourhometransitional.org or http://www.facebook.com/OurHomeTransitional for more information.