After 5 Detroit's Connect After 5 Summer Intern Program has proven so successful this year that it is expanding and rebranding it as Access 2 Detroit.
More than 450 interns, co-op students and new hires from about 20 downtown-based companies participated in the program this summer. Those companies range from big hitters, like
DTE Energy, to smaller firms, such as
Digerati. The program introduces new, young workers to Detroit through after work recreational activities. The idea is to encourage more of them to plant roots in the area.
"We had phenomenal numbers in the first year," says Kerry Doman, founder and CEO of
After 5 Detroit. "We expect to double our numbers next year."
First it will start another round of activities during the fall and winter months. That class of interns will be smaller because internships normally take place in the summer months. That should keep the program's momentum intact for a big summer campaign in 2011. The Downtown Detroit Partnership and
Hudson-Webber Foundation have helped fund and coordinate Access to Detroit.
Detroit-based After 5 Detroit relies on a lot of its own interns with a staff of two employees and five interns. The company highlights events, hot spots, and information targeted at young professionals who wish to fully experience the Detroit lifestyle.
Source: Kerry Doman, founder and CEO of After 5 Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at
SEMichiganStartup.com.
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