10/30/09
ANGELS' NIGHT CELEBRATION
UAW-Chrysler keeps hope alive at youth center

DETROIT – The Woodbridge Community Youth Center provided something more important than candy, games and prizes for the best Halloween costumes for kids who were at a party and off the streets on Angels’ Night.

As it has for more than two years, the center offered hope and a safe haven for disadvantaged Detroit youth thanks to its after-school program and an outpouring of support from community volunteers, civic leaders, the UAW and Chrysler Group LLC.

The center’s Third Annual Harvest Party for neighborhood children, held on Friday at a former Detroit public school on West Canfield, capped a special Angels’ Night celebration. The event also featured an Open House and formal dedication of building improvements to the center’s facilities.

“Angels’ Night is a perfect opportunity to reach out to kids, unify the Woodbridge community and say ‘thank you’ to those from the public and private sectors who have answered our prayers for help,” said Michael A. Wilson, executive director of non-profit Abundant Care Training Services (ACTS), which operates the center.

“We’re on a mission to make miracles happen in the lives of kids and families. We can alter the destiny of those who otherwise might be headed for failure by providing a positive influence in their lives.”

Mike Wilson with soccer players outside the Youth Center.

Since it opened in June 2007, the center has maintained an after-school program that fills a void created by a severe shortage of youth services in Detroit’s historic Woodbridge community near Wayne State University. In recent years, nine community or recreation centers have closed in the area.

Special guests at the Open House included Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napolean, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, UAW Vice President General Holiefield, Chrysler Group Vice President Al Iacobelli, and Gary Kimbel and Mike Brown, co-directors of the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center and Kim Trent, an aide to Michigan Gov. Jennfier Granholm.

Dignitaries and community members applaud a presentation in the Youth Center's brightly-painted auditorium.           Click on the photo to view a larger version.

Other officials from government, the UAW and Chrysler Group also were on hand.

Highlighting the Open House was a ribbon cutting and dedication of the gymnasium that has undergone a major facelift to become a hub of the center’s activities for children aged 5 to 16.

One of the center’s academic enrichment programs also was in the Angels’ Night spotlight. Students who excelled in a read-a-thon designed to combat childhood illiteracy and raise money for the center were recognized for their achievements. They received prizes, including a laptop computer and computer game systems, donated by area businesses.

The Leave the Light On Foundation logo is painted on the floor of the Youth Center's refurbished gym.

In addition, it was an occasion to honor Holiefield, who directs the UAW’s Chrysler Department. He is founder of the non-profit Leave the Light On Foundation, a charitable organization that has provided significant financial and other support for the center, including funding for all of the gymnasium renovations. The foundation also co-sponsored the Open House.

“The UAW has a strong tradition of supporting our communities, especially those where economic disadvantages often prevent our youth from becoming contributing members of society,” said Holiefield. “The Leave the Light On Foundation is proud to carry on that tradition.”

Holiefield was presented with the 2009 Impacting Generations Award from Abundant Care Training Services Board of Directors.

"The true heroes here today are Mike and Margaret Wilson," Holiefiled said after accepting the award. "We have the opportunity to assist them."

He said ACTS and the Woodbridge Community Youth Center are providing an important social safety net “to help young people rise above adversity, put hope in their hearts and realize their full God-given potential.”

The UAW-Chrysler National Training Center also is among the center’s supporters.

The National Training Center, located in Detroit, has worked closely with the youth center to assist with building improvements, as well as donating computers for educational enrichment activities and equipment to create a fitness and exercise room.

A team of step dancers from the Youth Center performed for the crowd in the refurbished gym.

“We have been impressed by the vision and commitment required to establish the Woodbridge Community Youth Center,” said Mike Brown, Chrysler co-director of the National Training Center.

“This program deserves our support because of its grass roots nature and innovative approaches to providing opportunities for growth that otherwise would be denied to many young people in the inner city.”

Located at 1200 West Canfield, the youth center is housed in the former Poe Trainable Center that was closed by the Detroit Public Schools system in 2006.

Mike Wilson (second from left) with UAW-Chrysler volunteers who were doing repairs to the Center.

Besides the refurbished gym, many other repairs and upgrades have been made at the center, ranging from fresh paint and new plumbing to electrical and roof repairs.

Most of the work was done by UAW members from Chrysler who volunteered their time to help the center better serve the community.

Wilson, a former production and quality supervisor for Chrysler, called the center’s partnership with the UAW, Chrysler Group and Leave the Light On Foundation “a lifeline and a Godsend.”

“Without their help,” he said, “we would not be able to realize our vision of keeping young people off the streets and headed in the right direction to become productive citizens.”

The center offers a comprehensive, faith-based after-school program aimed at students from seven Detroit public schools in the area.

Posing with Mayor Bing (third from right) are UAW leaders (from left) John Byers, Keith Mickens, John Stallings, Virdell King, Gary Kimbel, Tim Bressler and Todd Penn.           Click on the photo to view a larger version.

The program is designed to meet the academic, social, physical and emotional needs of at-risk children, with an emphasis on character-building and leadership development.

Increased awareness of health and nutrition also is emphasized, as well as providing financial literacy training for families.

Center hours are 3:15-6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Fridays are reserved for leadership training for 10 to 16-year-olds.

The center also sponsors a seven-week “Skills for Life” summer day camp that includes enhancing academic skills, computer workshops, sports instruction, video production training, field trips and vacation Bible school. Participants receive a free, nutritionally-balanced breakfast and lunch every day.

Abundant Care Training Services marked its six-year anniversary this month. It has worked with Detroit Public Schools to provide community-based youth programs and academic support services for 7,500 students from 50 low-performing elementary and middle schools.

ACTS was founded by Wilson, a native Detroiter, ex-minor league baseball player and ordained minister who worked as a youth pastor for five years.