100+ Women Who Care Donates $14,000 to St. Vincent Sarah Fisher Center

DETROIT, Nov. 1, 2017 – St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center (SVSF Center) has been selected by 100+ Women Who Care Motown to receive a donation of more than $14,000. The funds will help support the Family Learning Program (FLP), a pilot initiative that SVSF Center will launch in January 2018.
100+ Women Who Care Motown is a group of more than 100 women from Metro Detroit who meet quarterly to raise funds for Detroit-area charities. SVSF Center came to the group’s attention by Sally Kolar, one of the organization's members who thought that the nonprofit might be a good fit. "SVSF has been involved with Detroit since its inception as an organization, so it was a prime candidate," she said.

Kolar became interested in SVSF after talking with two women who had once tutored adults in SVSF’s GED program. In addition to working with at-risk children, the Center’s Adult program is focused on helping Detroit adults (age 18 or older) become more self-sufficient and contributing members to the community and economy through education.

After researching SVSF, Kolar knew she wanted to present it to the organization. "SVSF struck a particular chord with me," she said. Following her presentation and subsequent selection of SVSF by 100+ Women members, Kolar and the former tutors who had inspired her, Sally Grierson and Mary Jo Henry, paid a visit to the SVSF Center in Detroit. Not only was the visit informative for Kolar, but the former tutors were able to see what has changed since they were tutors in 2012.

The Family Learning Program is an expansion of the existing SVSF GED™ program at its Midtown Campus, which is located at Coalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS).

"One of the populations of Detroit that is in critical need of assistance is that of the transient family, whose educational needs are often interrupted by being in survival mode. Our existing GED™ program at COTS has been very successful. As COTS helps families to get back on their feet, we provide the education to help them become economically self-sustaining. But the one critical element that has not been addressed is really understanding how or if these families have education as part of their family’s routine. We are grateful to the 100+ Women Who Care Motown, for funding our FLP – which will enable us to work with parents and children together to create educational ‘habits’ that become part of their family’s culture," explained Diane Renaud, SVSF Executive Director and CEO.
"The significance of the Family Learning Program is huge," Kolar added.

St. Vincent Sarah Fisher
St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center began in 1844 as St. Vincent’s Academy in Detroit, a kindergarten for orphaned children. The organization evolved through the years and moved to Farmington Hills, establishing an adoption/foster care residence for children. In 2006, when policies and the economy changed, the Center closed its residential doors, but wanted to continue to fulfill its mission of serving at-risk children and adults. Identifying the significant need, the Center returned to Detroit and its roots of education and now provides free, personalized educational support for children and adults. These programs are designed to help build self-sufficiency skills for academic and employment success, personal achievement and dignity. Visit http://www.svsfcenter.org/ to learn more.

100+ Women Who Care Motown

100 Women Who Care was started in November of 2006 by Karen Dunigan of Jackson, MI, as a brilliantly simple way to raise money efficiently and quickly for local charities/nonprofits/worthy causes. Her group of 100 women, at their first one-hour meeting, each wrote a check for $100 directly to the charity, raising $10,000 to buy 300 new baby cribs for an organization in their city. Since then, they have grown to over 200 members and chapters are forming all over the country. 100 Plus Women Who Care Motown was launched in December 2011. To learn more visit: http://www.100pluswomenmotown.com/

16800 Trinity St,
Detroit, MI 48219

This release was published on openPR.