YEAR-END CAMPAIGN
Now thru Lunar New Year 2/10/24
donations doubled by matching grant!
Support the ongoing work & maintenance of the Center & the
SHINE ONE CORNER PROJECT
launching June 2024
- We appeal for your support as we take a risk this upcoming year: In 2024 we are ending memberships in favor of a purely giving model, & appeal for your patronage, either new or continued. While we rely on & are able to budget around monthly & annual contributions, we seek to end the transactional model & mindset of memberships. In place of memberships, & tiered access to meditations, retreats & other offerings there will be suggested contribution amounts, & a hope that folks will give as they can, whether they are actively practicing here or not, knowing their support ensures the Center exists for future seekers. Access to daily meditations, meetings with monastics, etc., will no longer be limited to members, but open to the public.
- Detroit Zen Center was founded 33 years ago. As we move into these uncharted times, serious financial shoring up is needed. Over the next 2 years our goal is 500 people giving at least $10 per month. Looking to the future, we will not be able to rely solely on volunteer labor of monastics to manage & maintain the buildings, do the admin work, as well as teach & lead the daily schedule, classes, meals & retreats. As our Abbot moves into his 83rd year, Myungju (the only other monk here) is becoming more of a caretaker, and has elderly parents she must help. She has served fulltime for the Center for many years, and receives government subsidies for medical and groceries (medicaid/foodstamps). We will be setting up payments toward her social security, & begin budgeting for a stipend for a residential caretaker & Director as Myungju transitions into the teaching role.
- SHINE ONE CORNER PROJECT LAUNCH
This year, your donations up to $35,000 will be able to be matched 1-to-1 by a grant we received by the Detroit Regional Chamber. In June of 2024, we will launch this project, and begin offering tours & make site-wide improvements to the public greenspace, including the green roofs, bioretention gardens & cafe. We are partnering also with LEAP high school students & Rouge to the Rescue around tours, a new rain garden, phytoremediation mats, interpretive signage, and translated materials for our diverse neighborhood. Please watch the video link for more information.