You can join together with leaders who share your passion and dedication for a healthy, stable Detroit.
The night will be historic. It is the kick off of a one month sprint to unlock 10,000 new volunteer hours in Detroit.
You will meet new people, get new tools and find new ways to make a difference.
But how can you have such a great opportunity without having to endure some data before you start? Well, that is where yours truly comes in. I have been asked to be one of the kickoff speakers and fill you with some numbers, some things to think about, and, hopefully, a little more motivation to be a change agent in Detroit.
While I am not going to give away everything that I plan to cover, I would like to throw out some stats related to Volunteering in the Detroit metropolitan area. Since everyone loves rankings, I thought I would give you some idea where Detroit ranks among the Top 51 metros (population based) in the country. This ranking is based on age of the volunteers.
Older Adults (Before 1946) 37th
Baby Boomers (1946-1964) 33rd
Gen X (1964-1982) 26th
Millenials (1982-2000) 38th
Young Adult (1984-1996) 33rd
Overall 32nd
It is obvious that we, as a region, have a long way to go before we can hit the Top 10 on any category. It is clear that the factors that tend to lower volunteering: Foreclosure rate; poverty rate; unemployment rate; and homeownership, all traveled in the wrong direction over the last 5 years. In addition, the Detroit region ranks quite low in the percentage of college graduates – another indicator tied to volunteerism.
While we may not be able to reverse all the factors overnight, we are beginning to see positive signs. The important point is that these factors do not doom us to a ranking in the bottom half of the list. The ability to rise in the rankings is in our hands! Let us use this event as the beginning of our climb to the TOP!