DTE Energy Foundation Partners with 57 Nonprofits to Provide Food, Shelter and Other Critical Assistance to Those in Need

PR Newswire

DETROIT, Jan. 28

DETROIT, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ — As part of DTE Energy's response to the downturn in Michigan's economy, the DTE Energy Foundation today announced it has partnered with 57 nonprofit agencies and awarded more than $760,000 in grants to help families and individuals in crisis.

Those funds include $200,000 in contributions the Foundation made to match $100,000 raised by DTE Energy employees to benefit nonprofits providing food and shelter to those in need.

"The organizations we've supported with these grants have done a tremendous job addressing the acute human needs that have resulted from the economic downturn," said Fred Shell, DTE Energy vice president of corporate and government affairs and president of the DTE Energy Foundation. "Our partnerships with these professional nonprofit organizations have been essential in helping us assist families in need."

The grants announced today include:

• $275,000 to the Michigan Association of United Ways toward developing the Michigan Benefit Access Initiative. This project allows low-income people to apply online for a wide range of assistance programs. The grant will help enhance the online assistance programs the Michigan Department of Human Services is currently developing.

• $100,000 to support United Way for Southeastern Michigan's 2-1-1 On the Go! homeless outreach program. This innovative program places trained United Way outreach staff on the streets of Detroit to connect homeless individuals with the services and support necessary to fulfill basic needs, gain employment and secure permanent housing.

• $50,000 to Forgotten Harvest to support operations of a new hybrid diesel/electric truck. The organization will use the vehicle to rescue 875,000 pounds of fresh food from grocery stores and other donors and deliver it to 155 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters serving metro Detroit's most vulnerable residents.

The grants are a departure from the DTE Energy Foundation's long-standing mission to fund Michigan nonprofits supporting leadership, education, the environment, achievement, development and diversity. The Foundation board voted last year to reallocate funds to organizations addressing the critical human needs of families and individuals affected by Michigan's economic downturn.

Other human needs organizations that received awards from the DTE Energy Foundation are:

• Wayne County: Cass Community Social Services, COTS, Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, Fish & Loaves Community Food Pantry, Focus:HOPE, Fort Street Presbyterian Church, Gleaners, Latin Americans for Social & Economic Development, Manna Community Meal Day House, Detroit Goodfellows, Our Lady of Lourdes, Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order, St. Christine Soup Kitchen and Pantry, St. Mary's/John Bolde Food Bank, Salvation Army-Downriver, Salvation Army – Plymouth, St. Patrick Senior Center, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Starfish Family Services.

• Oakland County: HAVEN, Lighthouse of Oakland County, St. John's Episcopal Church, Salvation Army – Eastern Michigan Division, Salvation Army – Farmington Hills, Yad Ezra.

• Macomb County: Macomb Food Program, St. Teresa of Avita Food Program, Salvation Army – Mt. Clemens, Samaritan House, Turning Point.

• Monroe County: Family Counseling & Shelter Services of Monroe, Salvation Army – Monroe, Hot Line to God Ministries, Monroe County Opportunity Program.

• St. Clair County: Safe Horizons, St. Clair County Council on Aging, Salvation Army – Port Huron, St. Martin's Lutheran Church.

• Washtenaw County: Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County, Food Gatherers, Hope Medical Clinic, Safehouse Center, Salvation Army of Washtenaw County.

• Ingham County: Gateway Community Services, Greater Lansing Food Bank, Michigan Food Bank Council.

• Lenawee County: Salvation Army – Adrian.

• Livingston County: Gleaners.

• Western Michigan: Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Mel Trotter Ministries.

• Northern Michigan: Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Michigan, American Red Cross Food Pantry, Crawford County Department of Human Services.

The DTE Energy Foundation is the philanthropic arm of DTE Energy, continuing the legacy of community support and involvement of its principal operating subsidiaries, Detroit Edison and MichCon. The Foundation directs its contributions and involvement to support initiatives dedicated to developing the human and economic potential of the communities it serves. Grants are awarded under the foundation's "LEAD" guidelines: leadership, education, environment, achievement, development and diversity in the DTE Energy service territory, which includes southeast, western and northern Michigan. The DTE Energy Foundation is fully funded by the shareholders of DTE Energy.

SOURCE DTE Energy

Contact

Eileen Dixon, +1-313-235-9154, or Len Singer, +1-313-235-8809, both of DTE Energy

When she walks her daughter to school each morning, Oakland Mills resident Sophie Westendorf takes on the role of mother hen, helping to shepherd groups of children across Kilimanjaro Road.

It’s a role, she says, that is necessary.

“The cars just go back and forth, even when we step out into the street,” said Westendorf, who walks her 11-year-old daughter, Mikaila, to Oakland Mills Middle School each morning. “I don’t know if (drivers are) just very self-involved, or if they don’t know the law. They don’t seem to be aware of people around them.”

The problem along Kilimanjaro isn’t a new one, according to community leaders who have banded together to find ways to make the road safer for students and other pedestrians near the two schools situated there.

But recent alterations to the road haven’t seemed to deter drivers from ignoring crosswalks, leaving parents and other residents wondering what to do next.

Frank Eastham, principal of Oakland Mills High School, who lives across Kilimanjaro from the middle school and walks to his job early each morning, said the crossing issue has worsened in recent years.

Last spring two high school students were struck by a car as they tried to cross Kilimanjaro, in what Eastham described as a “slow-moving collision” that resulted in both girls’ being taken to the hospital by ambulance. One girl was mildly injured, while the other missed a couple days of school, he said.

“The biggest problem, I think, is that motorists don’t understand the law, that they must stop when they see a student standing on the edge of the crosswalk,” he said. “They’re just flying by.”

Both Eastham and Oakland Mills Middle Principal Cindy Dillon said they would like to encourage more students to walk to school — for both health and “green” reasons — but also want to ensure those walkers have safe crossings. International Walk to School Day is Oct. 7.

Staffers stationed at crosswalk

Dillon has begun stationing at least two staff members at the crosswalk each morning to monitor the situation, although they are not official crossing guards and do not have the authority to stop vehicles.

Dillon said some “major improvements” have been made to Kilimanjaro, including fresh paint intended to draw attention to the crosswalks. But she added: “I don’t think those particular improvements are going to be the panacea. It’s not going to solve the problems.”

Instead, Dillon said, the matter boils down to a lack of driver education and civility.

“Civility is a point of pride in the county,” she said. “But we don’t put our money where our mouth is.”

Abby Hendrix, chairwoman of the Oakland Mills Village Board, said community leaders have been working on the Kilimanjaro issue for several years.

About five years ago, the board’s traffic committee considered asking the county to install speed bumps, she said,  but did not win the necessary support from residents. (The county requires approval from at least 75 percent of adjacent residents.)

The school principals and Oakland Mills’ village manager, Sandy Cederbaum, met with the county’s traffic engineering department again a year ago, Hendrix said.

Since then, Kilimanjaro was resurfaced in the spring and new white edge lines and striped pedestrian walkways  were painted over the summer, intended to better define the travel lanes and make the crossing shorter, according to Diane Schwarzman, chief of the county’s Traffic Engineering Division.

Pedestrian signs on order

The next step will be to install two “in-street” pedestrian signs that read “State law: Stop for peds within crosswalk,” which are currently on order, Schwarzman said.

The signs, piloted at four locations in the county over the past year, are installed on the yellow center line and are designed to be durable enough to withstand traffic and right themselves when knocked over.

The in-street signs were installed in October 2008 on Guilford Road by Hammond High School, in Kings Contrivance, and also are used near a playground on Vantage Point Road, in Town Center, at April Brook Circle and Dried Earth Boulevard, in Long Reach, and on Great Star Drive, in River Hill.

“Where we have them, feedback has been wonderful,” Schwarzman said. “It really gets the motorists to think about their actions.”

Solving pedestrian issues on Kilimanjaro will require a combination of engineering, education and enforcement, she said, adding that she’s alarmed by the number of people she encounters at community meetings who are unaware of the state’s crosswalk law.

“Education is one of the hardest parts. As an engineer, we can only do so much through engineering and that’s what we have right now on Kilimanjaro Road,” she said. “We have the pavement markings; we have the school crossing signs; and we will have the new in-street signs. This is just another way for us to educate people.”

Although the in-street signs are durable enough to withstand occasional swipes by cars, they cannot sustain the force of snow plows and are therefore removed between mid-November and April. During the winter months, similar signs are mounted along the side of the road, Schwarzman said.

If the signs don’t prove effective, Dillon said she will consider asking for an official crossing guard, which are currently standard only at elementary schools.

This article has been updated.