Adrian Dominican Sisters invest $1.5 million in east Adrian revitalization program

David Panian, The Daily Telegram
·4 min read
The ProMedica Ebeid Neighborhood Promise, which was announced Feb. 14, 2022, is a $20 million, 10-year, rural, place-based investment to address health disparities in east Adrian. A $1.5 million investment by the Adrian Dominican Sisters in the project was announced Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022.
The ProMedica Ebeid Neighborhood Promise, which was announced Feb. 14, 2022, is a $20 million, 10-year, rural, place-based investment to address health disparities in east Adrian. A $1.5 million investment by the Adrian Dominican Sisters in the project was announced Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022.

ADRIAN — A 7-month-old neighborhood revitalization effort in Adrian has received a large financial boost.

ProMedica and the Adrian Dominican Sisters announced Tuesday a collaborative effort on Adrian's east side, combining ProMedica’s initiative to address health disparities with the congregation’s investment of $1.5 million in its “Growing Up Resilient” initiative to support youth and their families, a news release said. The investment from the Adrian Dominican Sisters aims to connect participating youth and their families with available community resources and expand literacy and family education programs. ProMedica will serve as the fiscal manager of the new investment, building upon the preexisting ProMedica Adrian Ebeid Neighborhood Promise.

“We made this investment as part of a congregational commitment to help build resilient communities with local partners that have the capacity to maximize impact in places where our Sisters have had a long-term engagement,” Patricia Siemen, prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, said in the release. “Our Sisters have ministered in the Adrian community since 1879 and it is our hope that this investment, managed by ProMedica and made in collaboration with our other community partners — Boys & Girls Club of Lenawee and All About Adrian Resident Coalition — will enrich the lives of our neighbors on the east side.”

More:ProMedica, organizations reveal $20M, 10-year rural place-based investment for East Adrian

The Ebeid Neighborhood Promise was announced in February. It is a $20 million, 10-year, rural, place-based investment to address health disparities in east Adrian. It involves working with residents and stakeholders to close existing gaps in resource availability, accessibility and attainability and eliminate disparities by investing in new and proven strategies. The initiative intends to help improve the conditions in which residents live, work and play, the release said.

Through interviews with community members and demographic research, the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Adrian Resilient Communities Committee worked with local organizations and neighborhood leaders to develop a plan to address specific inequities faced by east Adrian youth and their families, the release said. Efforts that will be supported by the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ new investment include:

• Developing life skills for youth through the social and emotional learning programs at the Boys & Girls Club of Lenawee.

• Connecting youth and their families with community services through a part-time community and family liaison who will work with local mentors to identify additional services needed.

• Expanding literacy and family education programs in east Adrian. The All About Adrian Resident Coalition, local public schools and other organizations will collaborate on the development of programs aimed at continuing and expanding literacy activities.

• Creating an Adrian Ebeid Technology Center in east Adrian that will house the Adrian Dominican Sisters Youth Learning Center and computer lab. The center will provide learning opportunities for youth in English language skills, GED preparation and computer skills.

“I have no doubt that the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ partnerships and commitment to building resilient communities will enhance the lives of our youth, their families, and our Adrian community, both today and well into the future,” Jennifer Hunter, executive director of campus services at the Adrian Dominican motherhouse and co-chair of the Adrian Resilient Communities Committee, said in the release."

“This investment is an excellent example of anchor institutions aligning their missions to address health disparities and inequities within the community,” Frank Nagle, director of community impact in Michigan for ProMedica, said in the release. “We greatly appreciate the Adrian Dominican Sisters Resilient Community Investment to the ProMedica Adrian Ebeid Neighborhood Promise. This catalyzes a partnership and expands upon a program that addresses the social determinants of health to improve the health and well-being of the community.”

“This generous investment allows the Boys & Girls Club of Lenawee the ability to focus our efforts on providing young people with the support necessary to become productive, caring and responsible citizens,” Cody Waters, chief executive officer of Boys & Girls Club of Lenawee, said in the release.

“Creating a better quality of life for a community only happens when everyone is welcomed to the table. When we all are heard and everyone's hands are to the plow does collective effort create a resilient impact,” De'Angelo Boone, founder of the All About Adrian Resident Coalition, said in the release.

ProMedica’s investment in rural placemaking is based on the success of the ProMedica Ebeid Neighborhood Promise in Toledo in 2016, the release said. ProMedica established the initiative to catalyze innovations that help to improve community health and well-being with a focus on social determinants of health.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian Dominican Sisters invest $1.5M in east Adrian revitalization