The 11th grade capstone project was to plan and execute a community-wide charity event in Detroit with a goal to raise money for the FATE Scholarship Fund. Initially, students were placed into three project teams to pitch an event concept - this is where “FATE In Our Stars” was born.
FATE In Our Stars is an event to encourage, inspire, and empower Detroit’s youth to achieve their dreams. For the past year, our student-led fundraising, marketing, and production committees have been working hard to make this event a reality. Responsibilities included - developing sponsorship levels, drafting a sponsor letter, identifying and outreaching to celebrity participants, meeting with prospective donors, creating volunteer roles and responsibilities, and developing marketing material.
Special shout-out to Mekhi, Tyler, and Tiffani who interned with Give Merit this summer in order to see this event through!
In September 2019, for the first time ever Give Merit hosted a two-day event featuring its annual fundraising gala and a day-long festival planned by the FATE Class of 2020.
Friday highlights: Jalen Rose received Give Merit’s inaugural “World Changer” award, Noah Kaplan of Leon Speakers wowed the crowd with a live painting, and Mike Ellison brought down the house with the most incredible performance!
Saturday highlights: 60 FATE students volunteered throughout the day running all the activities, 3 youth entrepreneurs pitched their businesses with the Mack Brothers taking home a $2,500 investment, and special celebrity guest Filayyyy knocked down a shot from wayyyy behind the arc for 10 points in the last minute of the game to clinch the win for his team.
It was an amazing weekend with over $26,000 in scholarship funds raised!
Check out a video recap of the 2-day event here.
Photography By: Allison Farrand & Erin Kirkland
