News Releases

2 New Playgrounds for Flint Children

News August 2, 2019

FLINT, Mich., -- Community leaders and several organizations have come together to build two new playgrounds for kids in Flint. This is the fourth year that NBC25/FOX66 has partnered up with community organizations and leaders to put up new, safe playgrounds for kids to play on. The first playground build will take place at Windiate Park on Thursday, July 25. New slides swing sets, and climbing surfaces that were installed earlier this week. A pizza party will also be taking place following the ribbon cutting at Windiate Park playground. Free pizza will be served at 12:30 p.m. The goal in mind when building the new playgrounds has been giving kids in Flint a fun, safe place to play. Playgrounds are transforming not just the landscape, but also the neighborhoods in which they're built. People who have a hand in helping transform the parks include: Volunteers Dr. Karen Weaver, Flint Mayor Dale Gilmore, Make an Impact Foundation Jamie Gaskin, United Way of Genesee County Sue Peters, Community Foundation of Greater Flint Megan Damcevski, PlayPower Nancy Edwards, Keep Genesee County Beautiful Shareka Howard, Park Adopter Organizations who helped make the project possible include: Community Foundation of Greater Flint Flint ...

We're Still Living This

News July 31, 2019

‘We’re old news, but we’re still living this’ — mistrust still flows in Flint Shiann Howard, 21, and her brother, Michael Howard, 7, spread mulch during a Make an Impact project at the Windiate Playground in Flint, Mich. The Howard family has adopted the park. (Brittany Greeson / For The Times) By TYRONE BEASON, SEEMA MEHTA JULY 30, 2019 Flint, Mich. — An outsider walking through neighborhoods on this city’s north side might not see much to feel optimistic about. On block after block, houses stand abandoned and burned out. Weed-choked empty parcels dot the streetscape. Schools and churches are boarded up. But neighborhood leaders like Leon El-Alamin and Timothy Abdul-Matin don’t see hopelessness in the places where they grew up. They see an opportunity. They are teaching job skills to ex-prisoners and enlisting them in cleaning up blighted properties. “We want to empower ourselves — we don’t want a handout,” said El-Alamin, who with Abdul-Matin founded the M.A.D.E. Institute in 2015 to help former inmates start over in a city that needs its own turnaround. Their efforts come at a time when the nation’s political spotlight will shine on Michigan because ...