Goodwill Industries has relocated its "Flip the Script" program from its headquarters near the
Motor City Casino Hotel to the Grand Boulevard/Woodward area, giving it double the capacity.
Flip the Script works with males aged 16 to 30, specifically in terms of work-readiness. Since its establishment in 2003, 80 percent of the program's graduates have engaged in meaningful careers, many in the world of construction. The new space, located at 7700 Second Ave., will allow 180 men to participate in the 16-week program each year.
The expansion will also allow for two program extensions:
an “In School Male Youth Flip” program for boys
and girls ages 12 to 17 in an after-school and evening curriculum and the establishment of Detroit's Annie E. Casey Center for Working Families.
The Annie E. Casey Center is a collaborative effort between
Goodwill Industries, the United Way and the Local
Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). "This is part of a national initiative that has now found its way to Detroit," says Keith
Bennett, Flip the Script's program manager. "It will work with low- and moderate-income families and start getting them involved in some real financial literacy."
Bennett calls the program's new space "very, very aesthetically nice," and has noticed the effect that its other professional tenants have had on his clients. "As soon as they hit the doors, it makes their behavior go up a couple of notches -- it's a different environment than high school or middle school -- we're here to take care of business."
Funding for the Flip the Script expansion
comes from the Kresge Foundation, the Skillman Foundation, Community
Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and LISC's “Neighborhoods
Now" program. The program currently occupies just under 9,000 square feet of the building's fifth floor, but an option to expand an additional 6,500 square feet is possible.
Source: Keith Bennett, Goodwill Industries
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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