Get Involved: The Guidance Center

What: The Guidance Center

Location: 13101 Allen Road in Southgate
Contact: Roxanne Brinkerhoff, Director of Family Support Services, (734) 785-7700, www.guidance-center.org
Or dial 211 for United Way for Southeastern Michigan's 211 service.

Outreach: An increasing number of families – almost 16,000 adults and children — seek help with health care, literacy, substance abuse prevention and mental health through the Guidance Center. This is an agency with 22 locations in southeast Michigan, including 15 Head Start sites and a budget of $33 million for multi-dimensional activities.

Mission: The nearly 50-year-old organization seeks to enhance the development and mental well-being of children, adults, families and communities through the delivery of creative, innovative and quality programs administrated with excellence and professionalism.

Leadership: The CEO is Michael Lott, who oversees a 20 member board of directors. Roxanne Brinkerhoff, a 15-year veteran of child care organizations with 6 years at the Guidance Center, oversees the Family Resource Center with funding from the United Way, the Great Parents/Great Start literacy based initiative of Gov. Granholm and other organizations.

Literacy is key to family conversations and academic performance, says Brinkerhoff. "If a child cannot communicate when he is mad or angry when a toy is taken away, he may hit, bite as another form of communication. We encourage parents to talk to their children even while doing laundry, in the grocery store or doing other household chores."
 
United Way involvement: The United Way recently gave a $50,000 grant to the Family Resource Center to help target 30 families with home visits, mentoring in ways parents can talk and read to children. Overall the Family Resource Center serves 2,000 children with home and classroom visits. It has seven locations that offer lending libraries of books, toys, games, videos and literacy bags as well as parent/child playgroups. "It is heartbreaking to go in a home where children have no toys or books," Brinkerhoff says.

How you can help: New diapers and formula are always needed. Donations of new toys, books, children's movies on VHS and DVD will help children prepare better for schools. The program seeks people with time to read to children in Head Start classrooms, freeing up teachers for one-on-one coaching.

Events: The group already slated its 50th anniversary gala for October 11, 2008, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Other plans include an educational symposium for the community, human service professionals and Guidance Center staff, along with highlighting a program each month that the agency has innovated or enhanced.

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One D: Transforming Regional Detroit consists of United Way for Southeastern Michigan, New Detroit, the Detroit Regional Chamber, Detroit Renaissance, the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan.

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Volunteer Center:

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2-1-1:

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