Read on about our awesome Board Members!

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Out of nowhere, Summer in the City provided me with a vehicle (literally and figuratively) to connect with Detroit back when I was 17 years young. Every year since, as I would work and hang out more in the city, I grew more and more attached. I fell in love with the people, the places, the culture, the opportunity to make a difference in the community and the potential to make your own mark.

I have been to the East and West coasts, Minneapolis and Chicago…but none of them felt like home. There is a uniquely contagious attitude in Detroit and in Summer in the City – I am not exactly sure how to describe it, but man is it fun. Now a recent grad from the University of Michigan, I’m gonna take my talents to Detroit and continue to learn and grow alongside Summer in the City.

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My first contact with Summer in the City was through Ben Falik when we were both grad students at U of M. At the 2006 charity auction for the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy, I bought my first SITC shirt. When we graduated, I choose to stay in Michigan and began work in Detroit in 2007.

While always passionate about the City’s redevelopment, and in particular the advancement of transit as a means of creating a more accessible city, my job lacked the human element of what it meant to really take a stand for the Detroit and its future. So when I was invited to join the Board of SITC in 2011, I took it as an opportunity to put some sweat equity into Detroit, and to make a real contribution to those who call Detroit “home.”

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On a cold Sunday afternoon in the dead of winter in 2005, I sent an email to anonymous address trying to figure out what exactly this “Summer in the City” was and how I can maybe help.

A call 15 minutes later promised a great volunteer opportunity and something just short of the best summer ever experienced by anyone ever.

Well when that summer arrived, Summer in the City lived up to the hype and like those before me and those after me, I was hooked.

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Back in ’05, I took on an environmental education internship that delivered my first legitimate introduction to Detroit. Working closely with children who seemed to know little more than I did about the city gave me a fresh look at what life was like in a world replete with unrealized potential.

In fall of 2010, I chanced upon the opportunity to help man the helm of the S.S. SITC, and since I have been surrounded by some of the most inspired and inspiring rabble rousers I have met to date.

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I ran into an able-bodied-man one day while shooting some billards in the basement of a mutual friends house – he asked me to join this fabled organization called “Summer in the City”. Immediately I thought… “I like summer. I like the city…” and was intrigued.

Our friend and I agreed to include him in the next game. He ended up losing that game and as payment for his loss he gave me a colorful t-shirt with a half sun and the Detroit skyline on it. I was hooked: those t-shirts became the envy of my friends and a fashion statement heard round the world. By last count, I am currently in possession of 13 Summer in the City shirts and, along the way, I can only hope to have made as big an imprint on Summer in the City as it has on me.

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A girl walks into a career fair. She goes over to a table labeled ‘Summer in the City’. She chats, laughs, and gives them her phone number. A few months later, the girl is standing in a classroom of 10-year-olds, revealing the stories behind constellations, building dream houses out of leftover cardboard, and listening to tales of real-life superheroes.

Well, that girl was me. The memories, mine. That first summer was an adventure – a summer in the city. Where else could bed sheets so easily transform into the night sky or a common man into a caped crusader?

For me, Summer in the City is about the possible rather than the impossible; it’s why I come back every summer for however long and in whatever capacity I can.

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My story is one that is sure to sound increasingly familiar. I grew up in the Detroit suburbs, went away to school, and have recently returned from Chicago to find the city of my youth on the brink of revitalization.

Shortly after my return, I was lucky to have been introduced to our fearless leader Ben Falik who offered me a chance to be part of Detroit’s revitalization. Thanks to him and the many others working, living, and investing in the City of Detroit I feel reconnected to my city after only a short time, and I am continually energized by its potential. Summer in the City harnesses this energy and puts it to action.

Wherever you are this Summer, I urge you to consider the opportunities that await you as a Summer in the City volunteer. Consider the potential that awaits you in Detroit, and make your mark!

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After graduating from the University of Michigan in 2008, I moved to Germany and then subsequently to Massachusetts. However, I am proud to say that I’m back! I recently moved back to Detroit to be closer to the people and city I love and cannot wait to be a part of the awesome SITC team this summer.

Things I Love: people, gardening, talking, playing sports of all kinds (but especially volleyball, soccer, and Frisbee), living in Corktown, biking to Eastern Market, drinking coffee, giving hugs, social justice, snacking, and Groupons.

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New to Summer in the City! Glad to be here. I have a Master in Fine Art from U of M and a M.G. (Master Gardener) from MSU Extension, so hope to be able to give a helping hand on land and wall.

I am also supervising an internship program for University of Michigan School of Art & Design students, so if you happen to be one let me know and we’ll get you hooked up for college credit for SITC volunteer hours.

What I love about Detroit is the warmth and openness of the people. Most people will give you the time of day. It is a great change from where I used to live (Los Angeles) where just about everyone has a personal agenda of some sort.

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Hi everyone! On a cold winter afternoon in 2009, I read a Jewish News article featuring SITC. I wanted to get involved, so I called Ben and the rest was history. I enjoyed my first summer on Crew so much that I returned the following two summers as Chief Financial Officer.

SITC fostered my love for the Detroit community and my commitment to the betterment of this city. Rather than staying in Boston after graduating this spring, I moved back to Detroit to pursue a Masters in Accounting at Walsh College and began an internship at Title Source downtown.

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After being forced to become close friends with Chris Lecznar, Michelle became struck with the spell that is Summer in the City. It started with a colorful SITC t-shirt, but has now progressed into a trance of being a committed and insightful board member. She lives and works within the city, and would not have it any other way. She loves seeing the cool paintings when out in the city; it elicits a sense of pride and like we at SITC are really making a positive and lasting impact.

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I have known the co-founders, Ben Falik and Neil Greenberg, since our days of kickin it back in the hills. However, it wasn’t until I moved to Detroit for graduate school that we were once again reunited. Since then I have become an active member with SITC as a medical student and now as a resident physician.

SITC inspires me in so many ways. However, it is the passion behind it’s leaders, participants, donors and volunteers that really sparks the fire behind our mission. Detroit is a city that is always evolving and SITC serves as a vehicle to bridge communities with volunteers from the city and from throughout the suburbs. Together we will teach future generations how to support their city through community service and partnership.

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When I was a senior at UM, my summer plans fell through. I’d heard about Summer in the City through other service learning projects I’d done in Detroit. I contacted Ben to see if he wanted someone to run SITC’s youth programs. We met for lunch and he told me that if I ate my half of the pizza we ordered, he’d let me plan summer day camp programs for SITC.

Six years later, I’ve worked with hundreds of Detroit elementary school students at dozens of neat places, from schools to parks to museums. When I started in 2006, we had twenty elementary school participants and we met in the Glazer Elementary library.

In 2010, we had approximately 200 students who met in a wide variety of schools, neighborhood centers, and community parks. The people I’ve met through SITC are now a part of my family — from the parents whose children have come through the program and are now close friends to my husband, whom I met in the Faliks’ garage one fateful afternoon.

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This is my first year with Summer in the City but I don’t think there’s ever been a more important time to get involved in the efforts to bring Detroit back to its former prominence. I’ve lived in Michigan my whole life and I’ve seen many different phases of the city’s evolution, from my first game at Tiger’s Stadium to my first meal at Slow’s BBQ. Over the years, Detroit has become a much bigger part of my life and I’d like to do more than just stimulating the economy by purchasing mass quantities of brisket and mac ‘n’ cheese.

Summer in the City goes right to the heart of what’s required to revitalize any city – getting children/schools involved and setting the example by making a direct contribution (i.e. planting/painting) rather than just trying to throw money at the problem. This is a great way to get the next generation of Detroiters invested in the idea of living/working/playing in the city and I’m excited to be a part of it!

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I was fortunate enough to be part of the inaugural group of SITC of volunteers in 2002. That summer, our efforts focused on removing blight from neighborhoods in northwest Detroit. We would meet at a local high school parking lot, drive down to the site together, and work the morning away. At the time, SITC was a relatively small and irregular group of high school student volunteers.

Since that summer, I have had the privilege of studying in Spain, graduating from U of M and Wayne State University Law School, and now practicing law in the Detroit area. It goes without saying that SITC’s growth during the last decade has been exponential, inspiring, and increasingly focused. I feel very privileged to be part of SITC’s Board and am looking forward to its tenth and best summer yet.

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I began my volunteer experience with Summer In the City in 2003. As one of the first volunteers at the North Farmington Carpool site, I did not know what to expect. What I discovered was meaningful volunteer activities, a passionate group of friends – and excellent barbeques.

Since my first year with Summer in the City, the organization has seen an increase in participation from 20 volunteers per day to 200 per day. The North Farmington Carpool site alone hasgrown to average 40 volunteers daily. Eight years after I first experienced the excitement of Detroit as a volunteer, I am honored to serve on the Summer in the City Board of Directors. I hope we can foster the continued growth of Summer in the City and Detroit.

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The last thing I expected to do at my niece’s high school graduation party was to commit to a summer of volunteering in Detroit. But after speaking to a then-Board member, I could not turn down the opportunity. I spent the summer of 2008 at Glazer Elementary and The Latino Mission Society creating paper mache masks and running around Clark Park.

On the last day at LMS, as I was waiting outside for a child to be picked up, a mom came across the street and handed me, of all things, a homemade burrito. Her lack of English matched my lack of Spanish, but I could tell how grateful she was for Summer in the City for providing her kids with a wonderful summer experience. I could not volunteer the next summer due to the impending birth of my first son, but I am able to keep close tabs on SITC and help from afar.

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