Detroit Organization Wins Community Transformation Prize

DETROIT - July 7, 2014 - PRLog -- The community transformation prize developed collaboratively by Consumers Energy and THAW was created to fund a social enterprise with a goal of community transformation. The 2014 Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge drew in over 280 social enterprises from across Michigan, and six finalists presented their social ventures at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit on June 20, 2014. Judges from around the country reviewed all the submissions and the prize was awarded to Welding Artisan Center (http://www.weldingartisancenter.com/index.html). The prize included a $5,000 cash award and admission to Michigan Corps' Impact Investment Fellowship.

The Welding Artisan Center slated to open in January, 2015 will provide career-ready training to returning veterans, job-shifting adults, former inmates, and at-risk teens. The Welding Artisan Center's mission is to train individuals in the art and science of welding in order to meet the growing demand for skilled trade professionals in Michigan. The center helps students obtain work, become an entrepreneur, or continue education at a community college or university.

Welding Artisan Center co-founder Gary Hendrickson says “One of the problems we intend to help solve is that of Detroit students who lose interest in school ultimately feeling hopeless and lost because they’re not going to college; some of them drop out of school, wind up on the streets, and then behind bars where $35k per year is spent incarcerating them. Drug and alcohol use, recidivism, illiteracy, and loss of dignity are resultant problems. The center re-engages these students by appealing to their maker talents in an environment that builds their self-esteem and reinforces the importance of literacy and learning. These are tomorrow’s workers, entrepreneurs, and innovators.”

Detroit is a perfect location for the Welding Artisan Center because there is a shortage of welders and an abundance of unemployed talent. With fundraising in full swing and the ideal location found, Detroit can look forward to this phenomenal program that will enhance the lives of the students and the community it serves. The Welding Artisan Center is raising $400,000 to equip 20 high tech welding stations. More information is available online Welding Artisan Center (http://www.weldingartisancenter.com/index.html).

AboutThe Welding Artisan Center (http://www.weldingartisancenter.com/index.html):

The Welding Artisan Center is a Michigan nonprofit that aims to provide career-ready training to returning veterans, job-shifting adults, former inmates, and at-risk teens in Detroit. The Welding Artisan Center's mission is to train individuals in the art and science of welding in order to meet the growing demand for skilled trade professionals in Southeast Michigan. The center re-engages students with training and mentorship, helping them find work, become an entrepreneur, or continue education at a community college or university. The Welding Artisan Center (WAC) puts students in a maker environment; one that appeals to their creative proclivities, builds self-esteem, and reinforces the importance of literacy, learning, and innovation.

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