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'Michigan Matters' Focus: Four Foundations Making A Difference

By CBS Detroit

With so many needs across Metro Detroit, there are numerous organizations helping the community. The leaders of four well-known foundations appear with Carol Cain, Senior Producer/Host of "Michigan Matters," to talk about their organization and respective missions.

Michigan Matters
Andrea Cole, executive director and CEO of the Ethel and James Flinn Foundaton (credit: Juwan Outlaw / CBS 62)

Andrea Cole, Executive Director and CEO of the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation in Detroit, has been working with other organizations as they help those facing mental health challenges. They are also working to raise awareness about the importance of mental wellness.

The Ethel and James Flinn Foundation is a private grantmaking organization working to improve the quality, scope and delivery of mental health services for people in Michigan.

The Foundation launched its award-winning "Opening Minds, Ending Stigma" awareness campaign three years ago as part of its mission. Visit their official site at endingstigma.org.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also is a partner in that campaign.

Cole also talked about the need to keep much-needed resources focused on helping young people and early detection. Statistics show 75-percent of all mental health conditions start to develop by the time someone reaches the age of 24.

Getting help early on can make a world of difference to a person, she added.

Michigan Matters
Ric DeVore, Regional President of Detroit & Southeast Michigan,The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (credit: Juwan Outlaw / CBS 62)

Ric Devore, Regional President of PNC, oversees the bank's philanthropic efforts in the region. That has included being involved with Say & Play with Words, a $1.5 million investment co-funded by the PNC Foundation, Skillman Foundation, and the Max M. and Marjorie Fisher Foundation. Its goal is to raise awareness about the importance of words and give parents and caregivers in Southwest Detroit and Brightmoor the resources they need to build their children's vocabularies and comprehension.

Say & Play with Words has been so successful, the PNC Foundation just approved an additional $250,000 to extend the program throughout Detroit, he added.

Michigan Matters
Pamela Moore, President & CEO of DPS Foundation. (credit: Juwan Outlaw / CBS 62)

Pamela Moore, President & CEO of the DPS Foundation, appears with Cain and talks about the importance of preparing students for college and career and some of the District's 2018 initiatives.

Her organization works alongside Detroit Public Schools Community District and Dr. Nikolai Vitti, Superintendent, to create and enhance educational opportunities.

Michigan Matters
Melanca Clark, President & CEO of the Hudson-Webber Foundation. (credit: Juwan Outlaw / CBS 62)

And Melanca Clark, president & CEO of the Hudson-Webber Foundation, who previously worked for the Obama administration, discusses the foundation's new approach to its nearly 80-year legacy of philanthropic investments in Detroit.

Hudson-Webber Foundation grants approximately $7 million annually in the areas of community and economic development, arts and culture, built environment, and safe and just communities, with a focus on policy and advocacy activities.

The Foundation's goal is to help achieve sustainable, broad-based prosperity in the city by creating opportunities for residents to access quality jobs, housing and safe, thriving neighborhoods.

You can find out more and hear the conversation by watching "Michigan Matters" 11:30 Sunday on CBS 62.

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