Community Innovation and the Intersection of Neighborhood Revitalization

• Past NeighborHUB grant recipients, discussed planting the seed of a future of innovation through the Detroit Region’s youth through STEAM programs.
• Early intervention and equitable access to STEAM-related activities and diverse career representation are vital to capturing children’s interest and illustrating the long-term value of careers in these fields.
• Through passion and perseverance, there are many pathways and opportunities for individuals to uplift their communities, underscoring the importance of resources, partnerships, and grant programs, such as NeighborHUB, to make this upward mobility possible.

View the full session recording below.

During the 2025 Detroit Policy Conference, the Detroit Regional Chamber and General Motors announced the 13 nonprofits and small businesses across Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park, who will receive $15,000 grants, in addition to consulting and support services to support positive change in their neighborhoods. Today’s panel discussion included past recipients to illustrate the impact that the grants have upon the Detroit Region.

Sparking Innovation for the Generations Ahead 

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of No Fear Cafe, and 2024 NeighborHUB grant recipient, Alicia McKay, opened the discussion sharing her journey to opening her business. Rooted in a strong desire to influence the innovation economy, whether through herself or the youth, she developed a business plan to support STEM programming in the Detroit-Edison neighborhood in a cafe and education center.

First opening her business to “serve up coffee and [STEAM],” it was amid COVID-19, McKay noted, that this became an opportunity for her to scale her business, saying that “COVID forced us to think outside the box, and my business blossomed into a mobile, virtual, and-in person model that I never imagined before.”  

This operational pivot underscores the most important skill that McKay hopes children develop through STEAM – the ability to become problem finders, not just problem solvers – and challenge their environmental norms and forge a new path to better opportunities.  

“This means they see something normalized in their communities as ‘just the way its is’ and they challenge that and can approach [it] with a solution,” McKay said. “There’s been so many long-standing problems – environmental, sustainability, mobility, healthcare, and even access to technology – that some of the families that live in our community just feel like this is just the way it is.” 

Fostering Innovation Starts Early

Thanking his mother and her educational influence on him, Bartel Welch, 2023 NeighborHUB grantee and Founder and Executive Director of CODE313, said that he had early exposure to technology that led him to pursue a tech career, but noticed early on that the field lacked diversity. This drove him to act; he returned home to explore why this was an issue, starting with the classrooms where his desire for STEAM was sparked. 

“What was the problem with STEAM?” Welch asked. “Was it really being effectively taught in schools? How can I change the narrative and give equitable access to STEAM education?” 

These questions led to the creation of CODE313, providing a hands-on introduction to STEAM, teaching children across the Detroit Region from an early age that technology is “not difficult” and can be fun. 

STEAM: Through The Youth’s Eyes

To illustrate that there is both financial and personal wealth that can come from a career in the STEAM fields, both McKay and Welch noted that instilling the importance of playing an active role within technology will be mutually beneficial, not just to the youth, but to their elders and future generations. 

Reaching students earlier and showing the variety of opportunities that students have beyond what they are learning in the classroom or within their own neighborhoods is leading to brighter futures on a personal and community-wide level, leading to systemic change.