as you probably know the economy kinda sucks right now. and being a Detroiter, you have been on a tight budget during some point in your life.

with all the struggles that you may run across, there is one Detroiter who really knows how to bargain and still have a good time doing it: Jackie Harper, blogger of FREEISMYLIFE. according to her blog, “Detroit is a great city with great things going on that many people don’t know about - and they especially don’t know that the events are free. i hope that FREEISMYLIFE will allow people to stretch their paychecks and discover the many diverse treasures that Detroit has to offer.”

from free hair styling and coffee, to film viewings and kid-friendly events, FREEISMYLIFE has it all. way too awesome.

so what are you waiting for? go be FREE!

and if you’re on twitter, you seriously need to check out the daily freebies at @freeismylife. this is a great way to get the things you need at a great price…FREE!

get out and volunteer. celebrate americorps week in the D! (#ACweek)

in honor of americorps week - a week designed to celebrate and build awareness around the 70,000 americorps who volunteer annually - i will be volunteering my time (as an americorps VISTA) in the community of river rouge, project: unknown.

i am very excited to not only participate in the activities but to act as a reporter in the field, taking footage, doing interviews, snapping photos, and tweeting about it all day. come join me in saying thank you to all those americorps members who help make our communities a better place!

here’s where i’ll be: http://www.americorpsalumsevents.org/content/4th-annual-metro-detroit-americorps-week-celebration

image credit: good.is

so i’m a huge fan of GOOD.is and i’m always catching wind of great new innovative ideas of how to solve (or atleast alleviate) some of the world’s issues.

and i stumbled on a little ditty: ”Building Trains in Detroit” - by michael dukakis, former Massachusetts governor and served on amtrak’s board of directors.

this is a very well-written argument for how to build trains (by Detroit’s auto workers) to directly solve two issues:

a.) to develop the very much needed public transit system for parts of the US, and

b.) to utilize those thousands of Michigan’s unemployed to start working again. also to stimulate the US economy further and help the state of Michigan get back on its feet.

check out the full article here.

has anyone out there heard of something like this in the works? does lansing know about this idea? what do you think?

i recently went to an earth day event at a local Detroit school (DEPSA) and met some interesting folk showing K-8 sutdents how to make healthy smoothies on a homemade bike powered blender. totally carbon neutral. totally awesome.

that’s not the end of it though - while talking further with them, i found out that they represented a bicycle shop called “the hub of Detroit.”

and no it’s not just any ol’ bike shop. it’s a nonprofit organization which focuses on empowering young people to learn how to build and maintain bikes, and work towards receiving their own bike.

i love the design of the website and how it has so much information for you to absorb into your brain about biking (as i did not learn how to even ride a bike until late into my teens).

but the best part that touches my heart is that this “shop” is giving back to the community by not only providing our youngsters with “a fish to eat” but teaching them “how to fish.” a fish to eat being a bike at no cost, and how to fish = build/maintain a bike.

how amazingly rad. yea that’s the tiny bit of californian in me talking. yet this is something i never even heard of out west. go Detroit go.

30 second stamp out hunger video. 

did you know that 1 in 10 michiganders depend on a food bank to get their groceries? ONE in TEN people. it could be your neighbor.

on saturday may 8th, you can help out your local food bank WHILE cleaning out your pantry…to feed those in need in your community.

just take your nonperishable foods, put them in a bag, and leave them by your mailbox. it’s that simple. thanks to your united states postal service via their “stamp out hunger food drive.”

they’ll even send you a text to remind you to put your bag out: just make sure to text ”STAMP2” to 30305.

so come on, help out your neighbors. it’s like if you delivered dinner to them, by yourself.

for more information, check out: http://www.gcfb.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pg_nalcfooddrive

got plans this weekend? you probably don’t…

so why not volunteer your time for a few hours this saturday and help clean up the D?!

“The Eight Mile Boulevard Association, the Ferndale Area Chamber of Commerce and the Woodward Avenue Action Association are partnering for the third straight year to create an innovative, regional, one-day event entitled Clean the D. The goal of Clean the D is to improve the quality of life and landscape of metro-Detroit in the communities bordering Eight Mile and Woodward Avenue.”

they hope to attract over 300 volunteers, who will be doing 10-15 projects in the area. the event will only last 3 hours, with registration starting at 830am. they will even provide you with a tshirt and a volunteer recognition lunch. yum!

take this opportunity to do some good, while networking with other socially conscious Detroiters, having fun, and feeling great!

click on the link to sign up and be apart of Clean the D: http://cleanthed2010.eventbrite.com/

looking to actually make changes on a political level for the good of the D?

check out Detroit Declaration. a community organization make up of fellow Detroiters who wish to see the D do better. they even provide you with different ways to get involved, including be apart of what they call “taskforce meetings.”

overall, they kinda rock. and they have a sweet vid.

so if you’re passionate about changing the direction of Detroit’s future, join the movement (they have over 11,000 members on FB).

i definitely signed the declaration. i suggest you do too.

Detroit Declaration vid.

watch it. think about it. get involved.

(photo source: Sarah Percoulis)

i’ve been all “a twitter” today, checking out the stink that Dateline NBC brought on themselves by recently casting another negative shadow on the D. i am enjoying how Detroiters (and a few metro-suburbanites) are defending the city and making sure others get their facts straight.

check out this article on Real Detroit Weekly by Ashley Woods and Erin Rose (Founder of positivedetroit.net and co-founder of pickmidate.com) outlining “99 ways to fall in love with Detroit.” i found plenty of NEW things to like about the D. i’m sure you will too. 

also this discussion board on thetakeaway.org definitely ignites some heated convos about the D and how to make its reputation on the more favorable side. if you want to join in on the discussion (or you just want to be entertained), i highly recommend taking a peek.