News & Stories

The Children’s Foundation Announces Recipients of Michigan Central Station Children’s Endowment Initiative

To celebrate the historic reopening of Michigan Central Station, Bill and Lisa Ford have established the Michigan Central Station Children’s Endowment Initiative in partnership with the Children's Foundation. Today the 11 selected organizations have been announced that will benefit from this philanthropic effort.

The Children’s Center: Breaking barriers to kids’ health

In Detroit, transportation and language barriers prevent many children from accessing vital healthcare. This article explores how the Children’s Center of Wayne County is addressing these obstacles with its Equity Project, providing transportation and translation services to ensure children receive the care they need. Thanks to a $20,000 grant from the Children’s Foundation, the initiative is improving attendance and empowering families, helping shape a healthier, more equitable future for Michigan's children.

Rx Kids: Helping families thrive from the start

The first year of life is essential for a child’s growth and future. Rx Kids, with the support of the Children’s Foundation, is investing in Flint’s families with prenatal and infant cash prescriptions, easing financial burdens so parents can focus on their babies’ health and well-being.

Figure Skating in Detroit featured in IMPACT with Gal Gadot, National Geographic Docuseries

Two years ago, I received a call from a woman representing the world renown National Geographic team wanting to learn more about Figure Skating in Detroit (FSD). She had been following our story and was interested in meeting with me and interviewing our coaching staff of women for a possible docuseries. I was very intrigued.

Pediatric cancer research provides hope for children like Claire

“One day everything was fine and the next we had a child fighting cancer,” said Craig Salyers about his toddler Claire’s recent cancer diagnosis.

Voices for Children: providing hope and resilience to the voiceless

I started as the CEO of Voices for Children in 2015. In 6+ years serving these communities, I have seen some horrific things. Crimes against children are crimes against our humanity and against our future. I’ve also seen hope, resilience, and opportunity to break cycles of abuse and create a generation of informed, empowered, and caring humans who will take care of themselves, each other, and our world.

Winning Futures: Virtual mentorship program enables long-term success for high school students

Throughout the past two years, high-school junior, Adib, has received guidance, support, and friendship from his mentor, Benny. The pair participates in Winning Futures, a multi-year workforce preparation mentoring program for high school students

A Day in the Life of a Child Life Specialist – Part II

For fourteen years, Child Life Specialist Maureen has played I Spy, Skip-Bo and blown bubbles in the name of providing clarity, comfort and normalcy to hospitalized children of all ages and diagnosis. She has worked to build relationships with them and their families, helping all to understand procedures, conditions and talk through the “what-ifs.”

A Day in the Life of a Child Life Specialist – Part I

Empowering school mental health professionals to support virtual student wellness

Prior to COVID-19, the University of Michigan TRAILS program was striving to reverse statistics demonstrating that mental illness was impacting nearly 50% of adolescents, yet only 20% were accessing effective treatment.

Providing education to keep babies safe in Kalamazoo

Did you know that in the United States, Black babies are 2.4 times more likely to die before their first birthday than White babies? “That is unacceptable,” said Cheryl Dickson, MD, M.P.H., Associate Dean of Health Equity and Community Affairs and Chair of Cradle Kalamazoo’s Safe Sleep Strategy Committee.

Improving kindergarten readiness by promoting children’s developmental health

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an alarming 32 percent of American teens between the ages of 13 and 18 have an anxiety disorder at some point. To address and improve this statistic, The Children’s Foundation continues to prioritize funding programs and solutions that address mental health for children and adolescents.

RAMP UP: New arts program to leverage Detroit’s arts and culture to fuel future imaginations

For college students, remote learning, closed campuses, and lack of sporting events are a daily reminder of how much the pandemic has interrupted the college experience. Though unfortunate and disappointing, Wayne State University’s Alpha Kappa Psi (AKP) knows situations are much worse for many others and decided to do something to help those struggling.

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