DETROIT – A charitable foundation established by UAW Vice President General Holiefield has expanded its support for a Detroit youth center by co-sponsoring a Feb. 25 fundraising event to help keep the doors open. 

The Woodbridge Community Youth Center’s inaugural Fundraiser Dinner at the Athena Hall Banquet Center, 25650 Gratiot Ave., Roseville, Mich., will help sustain its after-school and summer programs for at-risk youth ages 5 to 15. 

The non-profit Leave the Light On Foundation, which supports needy children and other humanitarian causes, is co-hosting the Fundraiser Dinner in its latest outreach to provide significant financial and other resources for the youth center, located in Detroit’s historic Woodbridge community. 

“I have been impressed by the vision and commitment required to open the Woodbridge Community Youth Center in an area of Detroit that had been severely underserved by recreational and other after-school activities for young people,” said Holiefield, who directs the UAW’s Chrysler Department. 

“I urge others in the community to join us by attending this important fundraising event that will help ensure that Detroit youth continue to have opportunities to fulfill their God-given potential that otherwise would be denied to them.” 

Michael Wilson, executive director of Abundant Care Training Services (ACTS), which operates the center and is co-sponsoring the fundraiser, said rising costs of programming, transportation, utilities and other building expenses threaten the center’s future. 

“We truly need the community’s heart-felt assistance to aid these deserving youth so that our program can remain operational,” said Wilson. “We are dedicated to helping them rise above their environment and make life-affirming choices that will head them in the right direction to become productive citizens.” 

The goal for the fundraising campaign, entitled “Operation: Act Now to Save Today’s Youth,” is $50,000. 

The keynote speaker for the Fundraiser Dinner is Dr. Sabrina Jackson, founder and president of a Detroit-based consulting firm that provides corporate training and motivational speaking for clients throughout the United States and abroad. 

Special guests include Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon. Mistress of ceremonies is Detroit radio personality Frankie Darcell from 92.3 FM. Michael Brown, co-director of the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center, also will be among the speakers.

The program features a 50-50 raffle, silent auction, student essay presentation and parent testimonial. Cocktails begin at 5 p.m. and dinner will be served at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the dinner are $150 per person or $1,200 for a table of eight. Checks should be payable to the Leave the Light On Foundation, C/O UAW-Chrysler National Training Center, 2211 East Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48207. All donations are fully tax deductible. 

The Woodbridge Community Youth Center, which opened in June 2007 and currently serves 275 children, is located in a former Detroit public school on West Canfield near the Lodge Freeway. 

The center offers a comprehensive, faith-based, after-school program aimed at students from seven Detroit public schools in the area. The program is designed to meet the academic, social, physical and emotional needs of at-risk children, with an emphasis on character-building and leadership development.

A seven-week “Skills for Life” summer day camp has a program that includes academic enrichment, computer workshops, sports instruction, field trips and vacation Bible school. Participants receive a free, nutritionally balanced breakfast and lunch every day. 

Further information about tickets for the Fundraiser Dinner or the youth center is available  by visiting Abundant Care Training Services.