ADRIAN — A partnership focused on improving the lives of east side Adrian residents is bearing fruit, participants in a Lunch and Learn event held at the Weber Center on June 12 were told.

The collaboration between ProMedica, the Adrian Dominican Sisters, the Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee, and the All About Adrian (A3) Coalition is leading to a number of new initiatives ranging from mentorship and literacy programs for young people to programs focused on health issues.

Sister Sharon Weber and Jennifer Hunter, the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ chief operating officer, began the event by explaining the sisters’ creation of a resilient communities initiative several years ago. The Adrian portion of that initiative developed into the collaboration between ProMedica, the Adrian Dominicans, the Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee, and the A3 Coalition. The Adrian Rea Literacy Center is also involved as an advisor.

Hunter also explained some of the income and other disparities between Adrian’s east side and Lenawee County overall and gave the audience an overview of the plan’s major goals.

Cody Waters, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee, began his portion of the presentation by outlining the club’s programming, which includes activities focused on academic enrichment carried out with the help of mentors.

Funding from the community partnership allowed the Boys and Girls Club to hire a community and family liaison, a role that ended up being filled by Hayden Seegert, who was previously an Adrian Public Schools teacher and coach.

Seegert’s duties include engaging with students, building rapport with teachers and parents, and creating programming at the club that involves mentors.

“The impact of what this young man has done for our team is really substantial,” Waters said. 

The community partnership also enabled the club to hire a mentorship director, but that person left several months ago. A search for a replacement was underway at the time of the June 12 event.

Waters said the club is presently working with businesses and community organizations to build out its mentoring program. 

“From the bottom of our heart, thank you,” he said to conclude his presentation. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to change the world.”

Also speaking at the Lunch and Learn were Frank Nagle, director of community impact for ProMedica, and Lynne Punnett, ProMedica’s manager of community resilience. The two discussed the Ebeid Neighborhood Promise program in Adrian.

The program is modeled on a similar initiative in Toledo that was launched with support from philanthropist Russell Ebeid.

“It takes a village, it takes collaboration, and certainly one organization can’t do it alone,” Nagle said.

The Adrian Ebeid Neighborhood Promise began in February 2022 in partnership with the Lenawee Community Foundation and the A3 Resident Coalition. In October 2022, ProMedica joined forces with the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Resilient Communities Initiative, which Nagle said allowed the program to build out a team in Adrian.

ProMedica then rented classroom space from the Adrian Public Schools at the former Comstock School, 801 E. Maumee St. in Adrian, as its local headquarters for the program, and has gone on to host a wide range of community programs.

Punnett gave an overview of these programs, which range from financial literacy and nutrition education classes to employment preparedness. The programs, many of which are offered in Spanish, are conducted with the help of experts from local organizations. A variety of events geared toward community-building and engagement are part of the effort as well.

Punnett said that 52 different community partners have been identified to assist. Of those 52, 17 are already actively involved.

“People are interested,” Nagle said. “We’re just getting started.”