OCTOBER 17, 2025 COMMUNITY SERVICE GROUNDCOVER NEWS Groundcover all-stars celebrate Ginsberg Center grand opening It was September 26, 2025, and I was standing in the yard of 1024 Hill St. in Ann Arbor, which is the home of the newly remodeled building called the Edward Ginsberg Center. I was there for the Center's grand reopening, with Groundcover News all-stars Glen Page, Mama Rose Strickland and Big Mike Jones. It was a warm fall afternoon on U-M’s campus. The frat house next door was pumping deep, throbbing house music in the background (“Dance” by Chris Stussy). The yard was abuzz with conversation between college students, professors, university big shots and community members. Groundcover News was located in the “community partners” section side by side with Washtenaw Housing Alliance and Avalon Housing. United Way was there too, along with two community support organizations from Detroit. We were all talking excitedly about our causes and projects, and the atmosphere was hopeful and confident. It was my first time at the Ginsberg Center so I asked Jessica Kane, the Academic Partnerships Manager, to educate me about it. She explained, “It connects U-M students with JIM CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 139 organizations outside of the university. It is a community networking system that U-M supplies or sponsors, allowing students to get out into the real world and do real-life things.” Kane said. “The university is so big and so powerful that individuals get overlooked. So the Ginsberg Center also mediates between U-M and the general community.” “Who is Edward Ginsberg?” I asked. Jessica replied, “Phil and Inger Ginsberg are our donors, but they didn’t want to name the building after themselves. So they named it the Edward Ginsberg Center to honor Phil’s father, who was a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. "The Ginsbergs came to the university looking to endow a scholarship. While they were on campus, a faculty member suggested that they talk to some students about the Center for Community Service and Learning. The students had been participants in projects such as community peer facilitation, alternative support groups and leadership projects. The center got 600 students to spend spring break doing service work instead of going to the beach. "Phil and Inger decided that it was in line with the values their family had grown up with and continued to find value in. So when we say that they’re philanthropists, that was their act of philanthropy — this center. And that’s because they saw the value of community engagement and getting students out to have real-world experiences. When they want to change the world, we show them the steps to do that.” Amanda Healy is the Assistant Director for Community Partnerships. “What do you do?” I asked Amanda. 12/31/2025 “My role is to help oversee our relationships with our network of community partners,” she replied. “U-M is a really big place, and often community partners might have a great connection to one faculty member or one program, but if that program ends or the faculty member moves on, it’s hard to 11 Jim Clark, Rose Strickland, "Big Mike" Jones and Glen Page rep Groundcover at the newly renovated Ginsberg Center. get reconnected to the university. “We’re hyper-local in focus. We find folks at U-M who are eager to put their research and knowledge to use in the community. We want to be a central doorway to social sector organizations in Southeast Michigan, especially Washtenaw County. So if you’re looking for help recruiting students, help with evaluation or assessment, or a partner on research, we can help you find folks on campus who are interested in that. Also, we pair students with community partners they want to learn from,” Healy said. The Ginsberg family endowed the center as a way to commemorate Edward’s commitment to service. Two years ago, a $10 million gift was made to build the new building. They moved in a month ago. “We are really excited about it,” Healy said. “We’ll be hosting a documentary screening of 'A Letter from the West Side,' a documentary that was made about the history of housing in Ann Arbor. We also put out postcards asking the community what they would like to see happen here.” The Edward Ginsberg Center is an asset to the community because it puts the massive resources of U-M in the hands of people who are on the ground doing front-line work. Ann Arbor has been a mecca for social justice activists for generations. The Ginsbergs’ gift will ensure their work goes on to make an impact. As the grand opening event wound down, I reflected on the value of the Ginsberg Center to the local community. For Groundcover News, the Center is a doorway to expanding our engagement with the U-M campus. Amanda shared that the Center advertises Groundcover News in a newsletter that goes out to the students. The Groundcover all-star team as well as several other vendors have been vying for spots around campus. Given the mission of the Ginsberg Center, Groundcover News can be a huge connection between the student body and the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti community.
12 Publizr Home