Commitment includes $100,000 for kids to deploy at SAY Play Center
DETROIT, Mich. – December 7, 2023 – Platinum Equity founder and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores announced a $350,000 commitment to SAY Detroit, which includes $100,000 allocated for kids at the SAY Play Center to deploy at the facility.
Gores made the pledge during his yearly call to WJR-AM radio host and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom’s 12th annual SAY Detroit radiothon, an annual fundraiser for the nonprofit Albom founded in 2006 to address homelessness, healthcare access, and other charitable support to underserved communities.
“I'm proud to be part of this platform that is helping kids grow in so many different ways,” said Gores.
Albom announced that the commitment from Gores helped the radiothon raise more than $2 million this year, which is a record for the fundraiser. Since its first broadcast in 2012, the annual radiothons have raised more than $14.5 million. With this year’s pledge, Gores will have donated more than $1.8 million in connection with the radiothon since 2017.
Gores, who in the past several years has partnered with the SAY Play Center to create programs that teach children about philanthropy, entrepreneurship and media, challenged the kids this year to bring all the skills they’ve learned together.
He outlined a program in which kids will research different ideas for putting $100,000 to use at the SAY Play Center facility. They will develop an execution plan and then pitch their ideas for approval.
“The things we've done together the last few years involved giving and philanthropy, and business and entrepreneurship, and then creative storytelling,” said Gores. “Now I’d love for the kids to use all these skills that they've learned, and in a way that is both fun and educational, which is part of the mission at SAY Play that’s always impressed me.”
Gores said he likes creating programs that give kids real-world experience.
“Achieving a dream isn't possible unless you have the ability to execute, and so we’ve done a lot of programs where the kids have to design it and execute,” Gores said. “I like empowering them.”
Gores added that he would like to incorporate whatever ideas the kids come up with into the $20 million community center he’s working with city officials to build in Rouge Park.
Albom said: “Our kids would more than happily make recommendations. I promise you, we will come up with a very creative program. I think one of the ways that kids who we're helping can learn is to learn to help other people themselves.”
For more information or to donate to SAY Detroit charities, please visit www.saydetroit.org.