The International Experience is the main event for Detroit Harmonie, and a great way to celebrate the diversity of Metro-Detroit.

“Detroit Harmonie will hand out $50,000 in grants to 11 pre-selected social entrepreneurs in two ways: 1) The Get Funded Challenge, a competitive pitch process where five finalists will compete to win $45,000. The competition will kick-off the evening at 7:00 p.m. during the VIP reception. 2) The People’s Choice Award, where all 11 organizations will be eligible for $5,000 based on online and event attendee voting.”

Stay tuned, because on February 1, Detroit Harmonie is going to announce the five finalists that are eligible to compete in the Get Funded Challenge.  The finalists will have to give a three minute pitch to a panel of judges that will determine who the winners will be.

En Garde! Detroit is extremely excited for a chance to win funding, and to be a part of the International Experience by Detroit Harmonie.

It will certainly be interesting to see what happens next!

Thank you all for your continued support.

Read the Press Release for more Information.

Fencing…the New Spirit of Detroit
Youth organization brings financial & social impact to Detroit youth

Detroit, Mich. – - Who knew swordplay could be an effective way impact community and urban youth? Founder and CEO Bobby C. Smith, developed a program using Fencing as what he calls a “change agent” in schools across Southeast Michigan. En Garde! Detroit’s long term mission is to use fencing as a social vehicle to increase not only high school graduation rates, but the quality of life for Detroit youth.

On January 19, 2011 En Garde! Detroit was presented with the Spirit of Detroit award for their continued dedication to that mission by Charles Pugh, president of City Council.

En Garde! Detroit is also responsible for the securing 2011 North American Cup  ( NAC ) , a large scale national Fencing tournament which draws thousands of visitors each year. The United States Fencing Association and its membership are traveling to the city from all over the United States & Canada. Since Michigan has not received a NAC since the early 1970’s, the community is fully on-board with making this an event to remember.

The anticipated number of competitors for the 2011 NAC is over 2,000 with an additional 8,000 expected attendees and will provide an economic impact to the downtown area of over $2M. This NAC will host Project: En Garde! Detroit, a newly designed social outreach tool developed by En Garde! Detroit. Project: En Garde! Detroit will be a large scale Youth Expo focused on exposing thousands of youth to services and information that include: financial literacy information, health screenings, nutrition advising, youth organizations, free fencing lessons, and much more  En Garde! Detroit is seeking . other youth organizations interested in showcasing their programs.

“I am excited about seeing the next generation of youth participate in extra-curricular activities that promote healthy lifestyles,” said Reginald J. Eadie, M.D., president, Detroit  Receiving Hospital. “The sport of fencing will provide students with scholarship opportunities; Detroit with positive exposure and it gives us hope for the future.”

I know we have been very quiet over the past few months. However, we needed time to prepare for a BIG 2011!

Short Film: “The Swords the Grew From Concrete.”

Borrowing from the popular poem by Tupac Shakur, “The Rose that Grew From Concrete.” En Garde! Detroit with the help of families and community partners raised enough funds to develop our first short film. This short film will be called ” The Swords that Grew From Concrete.” Expect it to release late January 2011.

The story begins by following a small group of students through the city of Detroit on their way to Fencing practice. We will highlight some of the challenges facing inner city kids and how they overcome their enviroment with an unusual sport. We will be using this short film to raise funds for our upcoming non-profit arm: Sword Dreams

Starting a Non-Profit: “Ever Have Sword Dreams?”

The adversities facing Detroit adolescents are at an all time high. High school dropout rates are among the highest they have been in not only Detroit Public Schools but around the country. Across the country thousands of young adults enter college each year, a disproportionate percentage of these young adults dropout of college because of inadequate academic preparation and scaling financial pressures.

Over the past 3 years we have witness the positive effect Fencing can have on children from the Detroit community. However, in our current form we do not have the capacity to serve as many children & young adults as we would like. Over the next few months we will be creating our new organization: Sword Dreams. The mission of Sword Dreams will be to provide youth with programs that increase the health, academic success, financial literary & cultural exposure of our Detroit youth.

To do this we will be opening a Fencing club in the city of Detroit: En Garde! Prep

Opening a Fencing Club: “A Different Type of Fencing Club…”

En Garde! Prep will operate like a normal Fencing club encouraging the community (at any age) to come and learn the sport of Fencing. And for those competitive members, a chance to compete for state & national ranking. However our club is a little different than most. Through membership dues and public donations we will fund youth from the community to learn Fencing and compete across the country!

En Garde! Prep is a fencing club with a purpose: develop well-rounded young fencers who graduate high school. We believe fencing is the perfect sport to cultivate young adults and provide another opportunity for low-income children to receive college scholarships. Children from low-income families will have the cost of their fencing waived if they enroll in our Rich Kids program. To maintain their scholarship, Rich Kids must obtain a certain number of points in our three focus areas: Cultural Exposure, Education, and Financial Literacy.

-Points System:

- Cultural Points: Participating in visits to local museums, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Opera House, & workshops

- Education Points: Attending after-school tutoring & speaker sessions.

- Financial Literacy Points: Attending financial literacy classes geared towards youth.

Our mission is to cultivate S.H.A.R.P. Kids

S.H.A.R.P= Smart Healthy Analytical Richly Prepared

National Fencing Tournament & Youth Fair: “Fencing @ Cobo Hall”

Detroit has been awarded the 2011 North American Cup (NAC). The United States Fencing Association and its membership are traveling to the city from all over the United States & Canada. The entire Michigan fencing community is electrified by the event, since Michigan has not received a NAC since the early 1970’s. The community is fully on-board with making this an event to remember. En Garde! Detroit and the Detroit Sports Commission expect to deliver one of the most well attended and exceptionally hosted NAC’s in recent memory.

The anticipated number of competitors for the 2011 NAC is over 2,000 with an additional 8,000 expected attendees and will provide an economic impact to the downtown area of over $2MM. The free four day event will draw thousands of visitors and foot traffic to Cobo Hall and the surrounding vicinity.This NAC will host “Project: En Garde! Detroit”, a FREE Youth Fair designed to educate the community about the unique resources available. Our purpose is to expose youth to a new form of athletics-fencing that provides a lifelong commitment to a balanced and active lifestyle.

Project: En Garde! Detroit will engage close a large number of metro Detroit youth over a 4 day period with the sport of Fencing. Join us as we fight against obesity by offering free fencing classes at Cobo Hall. Afterwards, the children will have access to a national fencing tournament in the same location. In addition, we will be offering free health screening and financial literacy sessions for all participants. This event will be attended by thousands of competitors across the country and we need your support to highlight the indomitable and welcoming spirit of this region. We are still looking for youth organizations and corporate sponsors. Please contact us.

Front Page Michigan Citizen article: http://michigancitizen.com/fencing-program-preps-detroit-youth-p9354-1.htm

Notes:

The United States Fencing Association hosts national level tournaments each season to give fencers across the country and from around the world the opportunity to compete.  To qualify for these championships you must attend a regional qualifier in your state & place in the top 25% of results.

Keith waiting to start his attack.

Champion w/ Family

Join us for the start of our new program entitled: Sword Dreams

En Garde! Detroit believes that Fencing provides a great opportunity to engage children mentally and physically. Every Saturday morning we will be hosting Sword Dreams at the Historic Little Rock Baptist Church. During this time our goal is to encourage physical activity, cultural exposure & the importance of goal setting. We are seeking career day presenters, performers, and volunteer coaches.

Greetings!

Recently we participated in the NAACP Freedom Weekend: Youth Symposium. We worked with close to 400 Detroit Public School students with the help of United State Fencing Association, Leon Paul and other national sponsors. The United States Fencing Association loved our community outreach ideals and decided to feature our work on their website which garners international attention. The article also mentions the upcoming North American Cup slated for Cobo Hall March 2011.

Full Article Here: USFA Website

The Detroit Free Press wrote a great article on one of our community partners, COTS, a great organization that services homeless families throughout the city of Detroit.

Source: FreeP.com by Amber Hunter

[This year, children will learn to grow herbs, such as peppermint and chamomile, to be used in COTS's Charitea -- loose-leaf teas sold to raise funds. They'll also have the chance to learn fencing.

"Fencing is really cerebral," Wilhelm said. "It's utilizing your mind and hands to learn a skill."

The whole program is meant to give underprivileged children a chance to see "how the other half lives," Wilhelm added. "It's meant to show the kids some things that people who have more opportunities would be apt to see."]

Read the full article here: Coalition on Temporary Shelter