Food Warriors program reframes agriculture for a new generation

Food Warriors program reframes agriculture for a new generation

There are childhood moments that will always be cherished. Growing up in Houston, Texas, Hanifa Adjuman (AKA “Mama Hanifa”) looked forward to every summer. Her maternal grandparents lived in a small, rural town called Navasota. She remembers drinking from a creek, playing with her cousins, growing food, and eating what they grew. “My great-grandmother lived […]

Detroit’s Little Country Kitchen will teach healthy habits

Detroit’s Little Country Kitchen will teach healthy habits

Vivian Murphy and Ajani Carter spent more than a combined 30 years teaching children in Detroit Public Schools classrooms. Their professional careers also included other positions where they served the public. But when it was finally time to retire from the workforce, Murphy and Carter still wanted to make a difference in their city, and […]

SNAP-Ed programs help change school culture from the inside out

SNAP-Ed programs help change school culture from the inside out

Can you change a school’s culture from the inside? More than 50 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) partners believe it is possible and are committed to providing comprehensive school-wide programs designed to teach kids healthy habits and address childhood obesity. There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. The goal is to tailor resources with the individual needs […]

Fit Fusion teaches students that regular physical activity can be fun

Fit Fusion teaches students that regular physical activity can be fun

The classrooms at Timbuktu Academy of Science and Technology have emptied. Nine girls, different shades and sizes, march in single file down the hall, led by Zeina Carla Washington, AKA “Mama Zeina,” who power walks. Washington, who is the family service worker at the school, throws a comment over her shoulder if another teacher asks […]

So what happens after the Mackinac Policy Conference? In this example, schools, children and Detroit won

So what happens after the Mackinac Policy Conference? In this example, schools, children and Detroit won

One consistent thing that happens at the Mackinac Policy Conference is someone (or multiple someones) has to ask: What, if anything, happens when business leaders, governmental representatives, philantropists, educational experts and the media are stuck together in a hotel for four days? The typical answer is – or, at least, the expectation of those naysayers […]

Returning citizens can help rebuild Detroit if we let them

Returning citizens can help rebuild Detroit if we let them

Whether we realize it or not, we’ve all received or benefited from a second chance at some point in our lives. Unfortunately, not everyone is as quick or generous to extend a second chance when it comes to helping convicted felons return to society in a constructive and productive manner. These are the friends, relatives, […]

Danialle Karmanos’ yoga program teaches kids to work it out peacefully, make healthy choices

Danialle Karmanos’ yoga program teaches kids to work it out peacefully, make healthy choices

Danialle Karmanos had goose bumps. She was watching Detroit elementary school kids work it out on yoga mats practicing alongside each other. “There was energy happening and swirling in the room,” she says. “It was giving children who often live in extremely stressful situations inner peace.” That’s the goal of Karmanos’ Work It Out yoga […]

Michigan taps high school students to fill growing need for careers in transportation

Michigan taps high school students to fill growing need for careers  in transportation

With a still sluggish economy, the quicker high school students are prepared for their future, the better. Perhaps it was the thought that led The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration to team up and create a more diverse transportation workforce for the future with the Youth Development and Mentoring Program. It is […]