Resources

Here’s a list of websites that have been mentioned in news stories, blog posts and guest essays.

- Intern in Michigan — Their mission “is to keep Michigan’s college grads in Michigan and to connect Michigan’s businesses to young Michigan talent. Intern in Michigan is a statewide, coordinated effort engaging key partners including the Detroit Regional Chamber, West Michigan Strategic Alliance, Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, Mid-Michigan Innovation Team, and a grant from Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development. The goal of this statewide system is to place 25,000 Michigan college students in Michigan-based internships by year five of the project. The program will rely on partnerships with key intermediaries such as business associations, hundreds of chambers, and the career and internship offices of Michigan’s colleges and universities.”

- The Center for Michigan is “a ‘think-and-do tank’ founded by Phil Power in early 2006. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, The Center’s objective is to assist our state through its current period of wrenching economic trouble and to lay the foundation of informed hope for a better future Michigan. It will help develop and execute comprehensive, long-range and, in some cases, radical policy solutions to transform Michigan’s business, economic, political and cultural climate. In so doing, it will work to help reform the structure and workings of Michigan’s political system.”

- The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) “touches, assists and helps grow thousands of Michigan businesses each year. Whether it’s a new venture, an expansion, a relocation, or even a concern with another agency of state government, the MEDC can help. We supply customized economic development services to help companies and communities — both large and small — find success in a very competitive global economy.” Other MEDC sites: Michigan Advantage, Pure Michigan

- The Ginsberg Center — Their mission “is to engage students, faculty, and community members in learning together through community service and civic participation in a diverse democratic society.” Here are some of their programs:

• Semester in Detroit: students spend a semester living, taking classes and interning in Detroit. This is a joint Residential College-Ginsberg project, started in winter term 2009. At the end of the semester 9 of 14 participating students decided to stay in greater Detroit for the summer or, in the case of two seniors who graduated, for the following year.
• Student-Led Service Programs: extracurricular service programs that are entirely student run, including Alternative Spring Break (a few trips to Detroit each year, U-M’s program is the largest in the country with hundreds of participants and about 40 sites each year) and Alternative Weekends (one weekend a month, but the same idea as alternative spring break). We approach these projects with the philosophy that students aren’t coming in to “save” anyone but are working in partnership with community members, and that they should educate themselves about the issues they’re addressing.
• Academic service-learning courses: these combine learning in a traditional classroom environment with hands-on experience through community service. Ginsberg and the Sociology department run one course called Project Community that has around 400 students per year. Students who take the class often end up involved in the community in other ways.

- Michigan AmeriCorps Partnership (MAP) is a partnership between the University of Michigan and the Michigan Neighborhood Partnership that placed 89 students and recent grads in paid full- or part-time positions with Southeast Michigan nonprofits in 2009 — three quarters of them in Detroit.

- Michigan Works! Association – Their mission “is to provide leadership and services, and promote quality and excellence for the advancement of Michigan’s Workforce Development System and its customers and professionals.” There are 25 Michigan Works! agencies throughout the state.

- Michigan Jaycees is “a leadership training and civic organization for people between the ages of 21 and 40. [...] Members improve their leadership and management skills by running projects in the community, while networking with like minded individuals along the way.”

- The Right Place – “Its mission is to promote wealth creation and economic growth in the areas of quality employment, productivity and innovation in West Michigan by developing jobs through leading business retention, expansion and attraction efforts.”

- MiPerfectJob “is the place to find fabulous jobs at top companies throughout our great state. We post only the best of the best in opportunities for young professionals. Consequently,  you won’t have to worry about weeding through countless numbers of ‘those jobs’ that are a waste of your time. Best of all we have all of our content approved by the State of Michigan.”

- East Lansing Technology Innovation Center – Their mission “is to generate and advance the culture of entrepreneurship in the community and to expand the technology based economy in the market.”

- West Michigan Strategic Alliance – Their vision is “to make West Michigan a best place to live, learn, work and play.” Their mission is “to serve as a catalyst for regional collaboration.”

- Let’s Save Michigan – “The Let’s Save Michigan campaign won’t shy away from addressing the state’s many challenges. But our main goal is to inspire Michiganders to take ownership of our future and get involved. The campaign will provide people with a wide range of opportunities to make a difference, big and small. “