A Rose for Detroit Blog

I recently had the pleasure of attending a special event celebrating “Heroes of the Neighborhood.” This event recognized some ordinary individuals and employers who had performed in some extraordinary ways to help others and to make their neighborhood a better place to live and work. ... Read More

Nov. 29, 2011, will probably come and go without much notoriety. The same was not the case 14 years ago. The inevitable became reality, and most of Detroit’s media outlets led with the breaking news story, “The death of former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young.” ... Read More

Last month, PNC Bank announced the continuation of its award-winning Grow Up Great initiative, a comprehensive community-based approach to kindergarten readiness. The financial services group with branches all over metro Detroit launched the program seven years ago with a financial commitment of $100 million over 10 years to improve the lives of children and families in the geographic areas they serve. ... Read More

Nearly two years ago, Angela Glover Blackwell, the president of PolicyLink, an organization that marries innovative local practices with stellar national policy, said "All roads lead to Detroit." The intent behind her statement was simply that everyone in the country is looking to Detroit to better understand what is happening in urban centers, where there's been significant disinvestment.
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This week, Detroit has hosted some of the nation’s most powerful philanthropic leaders. On Wednesday, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation held its trustee meeting here, which included panel discussions and a community tour. On Thursday, Living Cities, an innovative collaborative of 22 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions, also held its board meeting in Detroit. I was able to participate on two panels to introduce these leaders to the culture, strengths, challenges and grit of Detroit. ... Read More

Filmmakers of the documentary "Gaining Ground" wanted perspective while making the final edits for their production. In Detroit, they found just that. Detroit residents from community groups and foundations to education and business sectors attended a screening and participated in a focus group for the documentary Oct. 18, hosted by The Skillman Foundation in association with Midtown Detroit.
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Along with our friends at WDIV-TV and City Connect, the Foundation is participating in an important telethon today that will raise much-needed money for Detroit schoolchildren.

“Rescue 4 Schools” is an all-day fundraiser that will help 12 schools – two each in the six Good Neighborhoods where the Foundation has been working intensely over the past five years – share proceeds to buy basic school supplies for classrooms and students.

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Welcome to our new website and the Foundation’s first-ever blog, A Rose for Detroit.

The Skillman Foundation celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year (officially, we turned 50 in December 2010), and as homage to our founder, Rose Skillman, we have added bright red roses to all our logos and imagery.


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