Remember when J.P.Morgan Chase announced back in May that it would be committing $100 million to Detroit? Well they are now rolling out the programs that are part of that commitment. They announced a 5 year program that sends teams of employees to Detroit to help nonprofits bust blight, aid community development, and spur small-business growth.
The program is called the “Detroit Service Corps” and it will be deploying teams of employees to support projects at Eastern Market, Focus: Hope, Michigan Community Resources and the Vanguard Community Development Corp.
Nonprofit organizations provide important services for many people across Detroit. It’s great to see them getting help for their important projects from business experts.
According to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, “The J.P. Morgan Chase Detroit Service Corps is a wonderful program that will help strengthen these community-based organizations by providing expertise that otherwise they would not have access to.”
“Our employees’ business, marketing, financial skills and personal commitment will go a long way to supporting the continued hard work of Detroit’s nonprofit community,” saidJohn Donnelly, Chase head of human resources, in a release.
Here are some of the ways they’re going to be involved.
- Over at Eastern Market, the Detroit Service Corps will assist with developing a model for a new regional wholesale produce market, based on best practices for other such markets in the U.S.
- At Focus: Hope, the Detroit Service Corps will help to create a system for hiring, promoting and developing leaders.
- For Michigan Community Resources, the Detroit Service Corps will help community organizations market five of the city’s neighborhood commercial corridors.
- At Vanguard Community Development the Detroit Service Corps will help develop a business model for purchasing, rehabilitating and selling homes in Detroit’s north end area.
In the beginning the Detroit Service Corps will comprise 12 Chase employees from various business lines and locations including New York City; Sydney, Australia; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Mumbai, India, and Hong Kong.
Over the next five years, Chase will send additional teams of employees to Detroit, presumably to help with projects at other organizations.