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OUR STORY

Elms Family and Community Services (formerly known as The Elms Foundation), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has served the Wayne and Macomb County areas since 2018. The organization was formed by Kimberly Elms in honor of her late husband with one goal in mind - Helping those in need to overcome barriers that hinder their success in life.  Our mission remains the same today, as we continue to work diligently to impact lives in communities in which we serve.

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Mrs. Elms was born in Chicago, Illinois and relocated to Detroit, Michigan at age 11 with her family.  Her parents relocated to make a better life for themselves and their family.  Understanding the challenges her parents experienced prior to their relocation to Michigan and subsequently, her mom's struggles when faced with the life change event of later becoming a single parent of 4 after their marital separation, in addition to later losing Mrs. Elms's younger brother to gun violence at age 16 and other barriers faced that were similar to many struggles of families, seniors, and youth from low-income household, Mrs. Elms wanted a better life for herself.  She worked hard at it for many years before marriage.

 

After the unexpected experience of the tragic loss of her late husband, and later going through the healing process from grief experienced by her, their children, and family,  Mrs. Elms found it in her heart to forgive the person who took her late husband from their family and later, she wanted to do more to honor her husband's life by helping those in the community with barriers faced in life that could lead them to making choices/decisions that could not only negatively impact their lives, but the lives of their families, and others in the community.  She believed then and still believes today, that broken people are not born broken, rather it is life circumstances and experienced trauma that often contribute to one's brokenness. With the will to change, the right support and resources, she believes brokenness can be repaired.  

 

Mrs. Elms eventually began work towards forming the organization to assist in changing lives of those in need, by giving back to the community that she and her husband were once apart of - One that helped her in becoming the woman she is today.

 

OUR FOCUS

The organization's core focus is on continuous prevention, as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of youth, families and adults.  The organization's team assists in identifying sustainable solutions that help move communities forward.  We do so through 1:1 support services, workshops, events, mentoring, and community partnerships.


OUR VISION

Rebuild, strengthen and empower youth, families and adults in urban and surrounding communities; bringing the village back.  

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OUR MISSION

Elms Family and Community Services aims continuously to provide services, resources and support that will enable families, individuals and youth to overcome social, economic, educational and other barriers in which they face by gaining and sustaining successful outcomes in life. 

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OUR VALUES

Provide quality services to members of the community ethically, responsibly and with the highest levels of integrity and respect; Work collaboratively with clients, community partners and team members; and

Demonstrate commitment and excellence in all aspects of what we do.

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OUR SERVICES

Our services include, but are not limited to providing: 

  • Youth (K-12 and age 18-24), family, adult and senior support services;

  • One-one client support;

  • Financial literacy, life skills and employment readiness support services and workshops;

  • Skill building services and workshops for youth and adults;

  • College and vocational program preparation support; mentoring;

  • Conflict resolution/anger management support services and workshops;

  • Activities, workshops and related resources to assist in strengthening family relationships;

  • Workshops and events to assist in building self-esteem and self-worth of program participants; and

  • Resources, referrals and community support to children and adults who suffer from challenges of grief/loss of a loved one or barriers experienced from incarceration and/or other circumstances.

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TIMELINE FOR KEY MILESTONES

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  • ​​1/2018 - The birth of the Elms Foundation (later Elms Family and Community Services)

  • 11/2018 - Launched Adopt-A-Family & School-year Adoption Program

  • 2/2019 - Launched S.M.A.R.T Goals sessions with DPSCD Adult Education East Campus

  • 3/2019 - Launched Sisters Uniting to Win (S.U.W)  Girls Mentoring Program in the City of Detroit

  • 5/2020 - Launched Sealed with Love initiative to assist those in need who were home recovering from COVID- 19

  • 9/2020 - Launched Skilled Building Thursdays Sessions in partnership with Up Next, LLC, in Chippewa Valley                         Schools for students in grades 3-12

  • 10/2020 - EFCS's move into its new office space

  • 11/2021 - Launched Family Connect Program & Mommies-R-Us Infant Support Resource Distributions 

  • 11/2021 - EFCS's first Thanksgiving Giveaway

  • 8/2022 - First Backpack Giveaway

  • 9/2023 - Launched Career & College Readiness Program for high school students

  • 9/2024 - Launched E2C2 Program for middle/high school youth

  • 11/2024 - First STEM Project for students in grades 4-8

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