Best Buddies in Michigan is a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, inclusive living, and family support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Best Buddies is the largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical, and economic isolation of the 200 million people worldwide with IDD since 1989. The IDD community includes, but is not limited to, people with Down syndrome, autism, Fragile X, Williams syndrome, and other undiagnosed disabilities. Our programs empower people with IDD to form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure jobs, improve communication and advocacy skills, and live independently, while also offering support for their families.
Here in Michigan, Best Buddies offers one-to-one friendship, integrated employment, and leadership development programs. We currently have 13 friendship chapters in various high schools and colleges throughout the state, with about 1000 total participants, and are continuing to expand. The University of Michigan’s Best Buddies chapter is the largest in the state, with about 300 members, including both UM students and Washtenaw County community members with IDD. We currently have 18 participants in our jobs program (and counting), employed by a variety of local businesses in Oakland County. We also have a growing ambassadors program, where buddies learn public speaking and self-advocacy skills. Best Buddies in Michigan strives to open more chapters to transform communities to be more empowering and welcoming spaces for individuals with IDD through the power of friendship. Go Blue, and go Best Buddies!
Cancer Support Community of Greater Ann Arbor is a local nonprofit affiliate of the International Cancer Support Community, opening its doors in 2007. The Cancer Support Community is the largest and most comprehensive cancer support program in the country, providing care to thousands of people per year - all free of charge.
The Cancer Support Community of Greater Ann Arbor is a unique, grassroots organization that was founded locally by a group of committed community volunteers who have each been personally touched by cancer, and who understand that traditional medical treatment is only one piece of successful cancer care. The Cancer Support Community exists to serve as a complement to traditional medical care, recognizing that the entire person and their support systems are impacted when cancer presents itself. The components of Cancer Support Community programs have been shown in medical research to improve physical health, mental health, and quality of life. All programs are professionally-led and can be accessed online or in-person in Ann Arbor, Brighton, Canton, Chelsea and Livonia.
Services include individual counseling, group support, nutrition and exercise, educational workshops, social activities and financial assistance. The Cancer Support Community is here to support all people from the moment of diagnosis through survivorship or bereavement, serving the whole family, the whole time.
ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation is a charitable organization that was established in honor of Chad Carr, the grandson of former University of Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr. Chad was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an aggressive and rare form of brain cancer, at the age of three.
After Chad's diagnosis, his parents, Jason and Tammi Carr, decided to start a foundation to raise awareness and funds for research into DIPG and other pediatric brain tumors. Eventually joining with the Mosier Family in honor of their son, Michael, the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation aims to find effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure for these devastating diseases.
The foundation is now the largest source of private funding for DIPG research worldwide. Working together with almost 40 ChadTough Defeat DIPG Family Partners, the foundation awarded its 50th research grant in 2022 and has helped over 170 families navigate the disease! After decades of little progress, change is finally happening, and researchers are more optimistic than ever that a cure will be found in our lifetime.
In 1991, a group of committed community volunteers in Lansing, MI, came together to support children in the area who had experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or someone else close to them. Named for Helen Louise Snow Stover, nicknamed Ele, who had died at just 11 months old, initial programming at Ele's Place served many children in the Lansing area, including Ele's three oldest siblings.
Today, with 30 years of history, and more than 30,000 individuals served, four branch locations across the state of Michigan, Ele's Place provides onsite and school-based bereavement programming for children ages 3-18 who have experienced a death in their lives. These programs are provided at no cost to their families, and provide children and teens an opportunity to safely grieve.
Girls Group empowers young women to achieve emotional and economic self-sufficiency by ensuring they graduate from high school and begin their college or career journeys.
Girls Group participants are primarily economically disadvantaged, socially and emotionally vulnerable, Black and Brown young women, may be first-generation high school graduates, and have potential to be first-generation college students.
We ideally meet participants in 6th grade, and guide them through middle school, high school, college, and career.
Girls Group focuses on Academic Readiness, Social Emotional Readiness, Financial Empowerment, and Community Service Learning.
Comprehensive year round programming includes weekly in-school programs, college and career prep, college and career support, individual mentoring, summer programming, spring break programming, youth council, weekend programs, and family engagement.
For more than 40 years Hope Clinic has been serving those in need in our community. Hope Clinic supplies one of the most comprehensive menus of free services in the state of Michigan. It is one of the highest-rated charities in the nation on Charity Navigator and has been awarded a “Platinum Seal of Transparency” by GuideStar. In 2022, Hope was awarded a Gold Medal rating by the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics.
With your help, Hope Clinic is poised to become the first free clinic in the nation to provide fully-integrated, true health care: all for the uninsured, all for free. We believe that being health care providers means more than curing illnesses.
True health is physical, mental, and spiritual. We call this Whole-Person Care and we believe no one does it better than Hope Clinic.
The Humane Society Huron Valley is a non-profit animal welfare organization located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Its mission is to promote the humane treatment of animals and provide compassionate care for homeless animals.
The organization was founded in 1896 and has since grown to become one of the largest and most respected animal welfare organizations in Michigan. It operates a state-of-the-art animal shelter and adoption center, which provides temporary housing and medical care for thousands of animals each year.
In addition to sheltering animals, the Humane Society Huron Valley provides a range of programs and services to support the welfare of animals in the community. These include humane education programs for children, pet behavior and training classes, low-cost spay and neuter services, and a pet food assistance program for families in need.
Since 1971, Peace Neighborhood Center has helped over 18,000 people overcome obstacles due to poverty, racial inequities, and trauma. A comprehensive range of innovative programming and 360° support helps children, families, and adults discover options, enhance skills, and make choices that promote education, health and well-being, self-sufficiency, and positive community involvement.
After-school and Summer Programs for K-12 youth include academic support, skills training, social/emotional learning, educational activities, and college & career prep. Family Enrichment offers family-centered activities and parenting workshops. Wellness activities, support groups, and individual & family counseling help families improve their mental, physical, and emotional health. Peace also provides advocacy, emergency assistance, food, transportation, and referrals to vital community resources.
All are designed to help people change the trajectory of their lives, and break cycles of poverty.
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