DETROIT (WWJ) — While hundreds of football players will hear their names called in the NFL Draft this weekend in Downtown Detroit, it was local non-profits who were in the spotlight Monday afternoon.
More than 30 local community organizations on Monday received grants as part of the Detroit Sports Commission’s $1 million Living Legacy Initiative.
The Detroit United Lacrosse Association, BE Elevated Youth Foundation, Detroit City FC – Project Blackstar and the Downtown Boxing Gym were among the “draft picks” who received grants at Monday’s event, moderated by NBC sportscaster Mike Tirico at the Corner Ballpark in Corktown.
All recipients were presented with a specially branded Detroit Sports Commission 2024 jersey and hat, serving as a memento of their selection. All grant recipient organizations were afforded the opportunity to host a table in the event to showcase their mission and cause-related activities in the local community.
“It’s definitely a pleasure, especially because we’re not a football-focused non-profit, and we’re female-founded as well,” said Christianne Malone, president and co-founder of Detroit United Lacrosse. “So being a female-founded non-traditional sport — lacrosse — and not football related, is really something that is admired and we’re really thankful that they saw us through that all.”
Dave Beachanu, executive director of the Detroit Sports Commission, said with support from Visit Detroit and “generous donors” — like the NFL, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, Amazon and others — the DSC was able to offer grants to organizations all across Detroit and the metro region.
"Our Living Legacy Initiative was developed as a significant element of the successful bid for the NFL Draft, and today's announcements are the tangible delivery on the commitment made to the NFL and the Detroit community as we continue our efforts to infuse community support into locally-hosted sporting events beyond the NFL Draft."
The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, through its Project Play initiative led by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, is providing 15 supporting grants to the following local organizations:
Chandler Park Conservancy; City of Port Huron (Teen Volleyball); Clark Park Coalition; Detroit United Lacrosse Association; East Side Youth Sports Foundation; Figure Skating in Harlem, Inc. – Detroit; Free Bikes 4 Kidz; Friends of Detroit Rowing, Inc.; Great Lakes Regional Field Hockey, Inc.; Kids on the Go; LAHC – Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities; Oakland County Sheriff PAL Program; Wendy Hillard Foundation and the YMCA of Monroe.
The Amazon Community Fund announced $300,000 in supporting grants to the following local community organizations:
Athletes Without Limits; Horatio Williams Foundation; Rhonda Walker Foundation; Derrick Coleman Elite; Future Star Guards; Downtown Boxing Gym; Abraham Farm; Alkebu-Ian Village; Detroit City Football Club – Project Blackstar; Brown Elite Elevated Youth Foundation; The Arc Detroit; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Detroit.