The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM) is set to mark its 105th year of changing lives for the homeless, hurting and hungry in metro-Detroit with free admission to DRMM’s Transformation Ambassadors Inaugural event at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 17. The event will be held at DRMM’s “Tab” Building, located at 138 Stimson St. in Detroit.
DRMM’s president and CEO, Dr. Chad Audi, says the nonprofit and nonpartisan organization has proven to be America’s compassion headquarters.
“We’re America’s compassion headquarters if you consider the fact that we’re the largest rescue mission in the United States in terms of reach and scale, serving 1,800 persons daily and having several life-changing facilities in Detroit, Highland Park and Macomb County’s Roseville, as well as a 240-acre multi-purpose ranch in Howell,” said Audi.
According to Audi, though DRMM has received many awards and certifications from reputable local and international organizations, “the best recognition of our work comes from our current and former clients who testify of how their lives have been changed for good; how, if not for our resilient help in their rehabilitation, redirection and reintegration, they would still have been on the streets, unemployed, hungry, abusing drugs, mired in low sense of self-esteem or simply lacking in marketable skills to earn a decent living.”
Such emotive testimonies help to sustain the commitment and compassion of Audi and his team of over 200 professionals who provide services to Detroit’s homeless, hungry and hurting.
Audi credits his dedicated staff, 11, 000+ volunteers, and many faithful donors with the successes recorded by DRMM over the years. Live testimonials from DRMM clients at Friday’s event will explain exactly how DRMM and its staff are working to change lives and provide hope. The event will be chaired by in-coming Dean of U.S. Congress, Rep. John Conyers.
“I am profoundly pleased that on Friday, Oct. 17, which is the International Day for Eradication of Poverty, respected friends, partners and community leaders will join us in welcoming DRMM Transformation Ambassadors to our dynamic family of compassion. The Ambassadors are accomplished men and women who have demonstrated deep understanding of the human condition and shown infectious compassion for the needy around them,” said Audi.
The Ambassadors include top sports agent Kevin D. Poston, CEO of The Deal LLC Farmington Hills who has signed over $1 billion in contracts for clients, Bankole Thompson, senior editor of Michigan Chronicle newspaper and notable host on NPR station WDET 101.9FM, and Kurt A. David, bestselling author, TV personality and former professional athlete.
Others are Ngozi Ifeoma Malo, Harvard University alumna, 2013 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow and former UMASS Boston lecturer who now serves as senior special adviser on policy and partnerships to the Nigerian energy minister, and Latricia Wright, popular nutrition and fitness coach and owner of Olive-Seed LLC Detroit.
“I am proud of Detroit Rescue Mission’s remarkable accomplishments in this region and I am poised to use my brand equity to help it go even further in assisting more people in dire need. I believe other DRMM Transformation Ambassadors are equally ready to help,” said Thompson, whose name lends itself to DRMM’s Bankole Thompson Fund for Veterans and Teen Moms, which was created in August.
On hand to present the first-ever DRMM Transformation Ambassadors with their Certificate of Credence at the two-hour event on Friday will be notable persons like John Broad, president of Crime Stoppers of Michigan, Tanya Vanno, CEO of Southfield Chamber of Commerce and Jonathan Wynne, board chair of Central Detroit Christian CDC and student affairs director of Equity Education Management Solutions, Southfield.
Also serving as featured guests are former Detroiter Bob Higley, CEO of Parables TV and former vice president for global distribution at Trinity Broadcasting Corporation, Paula Brown, executive director of ReadingWorks, Margaret Williamson, executive director of Pro-Literacy Detroit, and Edward Foxworth, CEO of The Center for Enterprise and Innovation and host of American Entrepreneur.
The event will also feature the presentation of DRMM’s Lifetime Transformation Award by event chair, Congressman Conyers to Bishop PA Brooks, first assistant presiding bishop of the 6.5 million member Church of God in Christ Worldwide, and pastor of New St. Paul Tabernacle Detroit.
The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries was founded in 1909 and is a nonprofit, faith-based organization. DRMM provides emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and substance abuse treatment to men, women, children, and families and serves more than 1,800 individuals every day.
For more information about the Transformation Ambassadors Inaugural event on Friday, please call 313-993-4700.