Connecting communities since 1993

Thanks to funds raised at our 2021 Fall Networking Event and an additional contribution from Consumer's Energy, 8MBA is proud to announce awards to 5 projects that will enhance 8 Mile and support its neighborhoods and vibrancy. Our February call for project ideas resulted in 3 times the amount of requests we could fund, so competition was significant. Thanks to our generous supporters, we were able to award just over $25K in grants to projects all across the corridor and touching both sides of 8 Mile. The winning projects are:

Major Project: Oak Park-Southfield Joint Mural Project, that will pursue a mural installation on the bridge at 8 Mile and Greenfield. $22,500 awarded!

Neighborhood Projects:

• "Love and Respect Where You Live" Signage Campaign - Community United for Progress (Detroit) $900 awarded!
• "Farwell Community Garden Upgrades" - Binder Street Block Club (Detroit). $1,000 awarded!
• "Community Newsletter and Gardens" - Evergreen Lahser 7 Mile 8 Mile Community Council (Detroit). $510 Awarded!
• "Lots of Love" Garden Project - O'Hair Park Community Association. $1,000 awarded! 

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to all applicants! Projects are slated to be completed in the coming months and 8MBA will share updates on progress. We also invite all applicants and others to consider applying again this spring, where we will hope to open another round of funding after this year's Networking Event on April 14, 2022 at Huntington Place in Detroit. 

If you can manage multiple projects at once and are looking for work that lets you set your own schedule with no minimum hours requirement (other than a few routine meetings), this could be the partnership for you! See the details below. Responses due by April 16 at noon. 

8MBA RFP 2022-2023 - Operations and Project Management.pdf

Thanks to Consumers Energy and other generous sponsors, 8MBA has $25K to award for community projects across the corridor. We are seeking applicants by Feb 18 at noon for projects to improve conditions along 8 Mile Road. Check out the application and instructions below!

8MBA Community Projects.pdf

Neighbor–to–Neighbor is an unprecedented effort from the Quicken Loans Community Investment Fund that aims to reach all 60,000 homes in Detroit that are at risk of tax foreclosure.

They are looking for neighborhood organizations who can commit to knock on the doors of homes in their area that are at risk of tax foreclosure, collect information on the resident’s situation, and deliver foreclosure prevention resources.  Neighborhood organizations, CDCs, and block clubs are invited to apply through this website for grant funding that will compensate canvassers who participate in the effort, and provide funding for the organizing group as well.

Apply to join the effort at www.ForeclosureOutreach.org

Southfield Chamber Annual Golf Outing

Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on facebook to keep your finger on the pulse! 

Email cindy@eightmile.org for questions. 

Via Crain's Detroit

The Eight Mile Boulevard Association named Cindy Thomas as its new executive director.

She replaces Jordan Twardy, who left in August to become the community economic development director for the city of Ferndale.

Thomas, a metro Detroit native, earned a bachelor's degree from Eastern Michigan University and a master's degree in urban planning and policy at Wayne State University. She worked at Ford Motor Co. and South Shore Bank in Chicago before becoming Chicago's chief planning analyst, where she used public-private investment to complete large-scale projects in the central business district, smaller commercial and mixed-income housing projects in the city's neighborhoods, infrastructure improvements and new public facilities.

Read the full story here.

A group of fifteen association executives from the Netherlands will be our guests on Wednesday, August 12 at a special invite-only reception inside the beautiful Southfield Public Library. 

The Dutch executives will be in town for the American Society of Association Executives Annual Meeting and Expo, being held at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. They reached out to 8MBA in order to learn about our mission, our operations, and how we engage a regional community of members and partners in the pursuit of Eight Mile's revitalization. 

The group represents a wide swath of industries and missions, such as automotive, utility, retail/real estate, government, nonprofit and more. We are honored to cap off this diverse delegation's visit to Detroit and we thank the City of Southfield for generously providing a venue for the gathering. 

Click the links below for more information!

Delegation Profile

Full Press Release

8MBA is fresh off its 2015 event season, with the successful completion of the 16th Annual 8MBA Leadership Luncheon back on April 24, and our annual beautification blitz, Clean the D, back on May 9. Both events were a phenomenal success, and this month we are proud to bring you the highlights from each:

16TH ANNUAL 8MBA LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON 

In 2015, the Leadership Luncheon hosted more guests and raised more funds than in any of its previous 15 years, an incredible feat and a nod to the continued growth and success of our regional gathering. The 16th Annual Leadership Luncheon raised nearly $100K and hosted more than 750 guests from across the region. Charlie Langton and the "Big Four" continued their tradition of riveting discussion on regional issues, from Prop 1 and the roads to medical marijuana and Detroit Public Schools reform. CLICK HERE for event photos. 

CLEAN THE D 2015 

At Clean the D, we trade the glitz and glamour of Cobo Center for jeans, paint brushes, power tools and garden instruments as we spread along the corridor and into Eight Mile's neighborhoods to make a difference. In 2015 we hosted nearly 200 volunteers at four major project sites. 8MBA Board Members Howard Appel (Hagopian), Mayor Barry Brickner (Farmington Hills), Lykesha Moore (Fifth Third Bank), Tom Petzold (Belmont Center), and Nasir Siddiqui (CITGO) joined, along with Community United for Progress, Miss Michigan and more. CLICK HERE for event photos. 

8MBA THANKS OUR 2015 EVENT SPONSORS

We are thrilled with the success of this year's events and we couldn't do it without the generous support of our many partners. We sincerely thank each and every one who stepped up to support the revitalization of Eight Mile!