The Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan is using a recent donation from Meijer to enhance its Project Ready College Club. This program increases educational opportunities for local students and provides resources for those interested in pursuing degrees after high school.
The Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan is one of 19 National Urban League affiliates to share in our recent $1M donation.
Though they didn’t know it was coming, the affiliate immediately began planning how to deploy the more than $50,000 to best serve its community.
“It was a total surprise,” said N. Charles Anderson, President/CEO of the Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan. “When you’re spending so much time fundraising and trying to raise money for some programs, a donation like this out of the blue makes a huge impact. We are really pleased and very much appreciate Meijer for their generosity.”
The Detroit-based Urban League affiliate serves about 15,000 people a month through its programs. Its College Club came about to support black youth by encouraging them and their families to start thinking about and planning for college earlier.
“We wanted to promote positive youth development and do something to celebrate and prepare more young people for future success,” N. Charles said of the program.
The College Club has become even more vital over the last year as it transitioned to offering virtual services amid the pandemic.
“Helping to Improve education outcomes for traditionally underserved and excluded communities aligns with our goal of helping to bring about a future of hope, equality and respect for our Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities,” said Tim Williams, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at Meijer. “We’re pleased to see The Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan put our contribution to such great use.”