Community Service Brings Many Benefits — A Message from the President
A big thank-you is in order for all the volunteers who came out to support the annual Motor City Makeover by participating in MorningSide events on May 22. As you can see in the photo, the payback can sometimes be instant! Our MCO board members Nic Hall and AJ White discovered a $50 and a $20 bill while cleaning up at the Grassroots Garden at Wayburn and East Warren.
Nic Hall and AJ White lend a hand in the Motor City Makeover at the Grassroots Garden. Image courtesy of Eric Dueweke
Other cleanup activities that day included efforts by the Courville Block Club led by Jackie Grant, improvements at the Emerald Isles garden on Haverhill led by Gary and Sharon Gray, and work at the Brilliant Detroit house on Balfour thanks to Twiana and Rakisha Odom and Charon Nogues. Our GP neighbor Carol Wilson continued to help maintain the MorningSide Gateway at the corner of Alter and Mack. Many other volunteers too numerous to mention pitched in to help at one or more of these sites. And District 4 City Council candidates Latisha Johnson, Toson Knight and M.L. Elrick visited and/or sent their supporters to help at some of our locations.
Spreading our MorningSide volunteers over several sites this year seemed to bring more success and impact than picking just one Makeover location for our organization. The MCO covers a larger area than most Detroit neighborhood groups. Over 190 blocks are within our boundaries of Alter Road to Outer Drive from Harper and Mack. Many block clubs and community-based nonprofit groups operate within MorningSide and we should attempt to support and foster as many as we can. This will allow residents and even outside volunteers to donate their time to whatever good works they feel passionate about.
Please share any good work that is happening—or needs to happen—on your block. Send an email to morningsidecommunity2@gmail.com. I hope to see you in person at upcoming neighborhood events and meetings this summer.
With respect for all,
Eric Dueweke
