DETROIT — During recent evenings at an iconic location in northwest Detroit, many of the elements one might associate with a festive Super Bowl party filled the room: lively conversations, discussions of strategies, brief periods of silence during critical moments. And real food, like baked chicken slathered in barbecue sauce, accompanied by hot side dishes like potatoes and string beans — all in heaping helpings.
But this was no Super Bowl party. And the stakes, for many, are much higher and more personal, not dictated by a date on a calendar or a scoreboard clock.
The activities that were taking place inside the Liberal Arts building on the Marygrove Conservancy campus will continue for several more weeks this year. The scene was consistent with the game plan that has been carried out since 2001 when the Midnight Golf Program began providing life-changing programming to metro Detroit youths. And unlike football rosters that change each year, being a member of the Midnight Golf family can be a lifelong bond once the connection is made.
“You stay with us, we stay with you,” explained Detroit native Renee’ Fluker, founder and president of the nonprofit Midnight Golf Program. For starters, each year, the program conducts a 30-week program focused on mentoring and positive personal transformation for 250 high school seniors, who also learn how to golf in the process.
Those taking part in the program have an opportunity to go on the Road Trip for Success College Tour, scheduled for March 26 through April 1 in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, featuring eight college visits, exposure to sites of cultural significance, and more golf. When the six busloads of students roll back into Detroit following the college tour, there will be more after-school programming combining the development of life skills, mentoring and golf at Marygrove.
And on May 10, there will be a Pinning Ceremony at Fellowship Chapel church, where the graduating high school seniors will be presented with scholarships and receive special awards and further encouragement from community members and leaders. The students also will have an opportunity to make a pledge to officially join the Midnight Golf family while being pinned, and those students that make that pledge will give their word that they will give back to the program and their community to the best of their ability, in the same manner Midnight Golf has provided for them.
“I feel that I’m out here doing God’s…
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