DETROIT — Recent evenings at a landmark location in north Detroit featured many of the same elements that one would associate with a Super Bowl party: lively conversations and discussions about strategies, as well as brief moments of silence when necessary. Real food like baked chicken with barbecue sauce and hot side dishes such as potatoes or string beans, all served in large portions.
This was not a Super Bowl party. The stakes are higher and more personal for many than a Super Bowl party. They are not determined by a calendar or scoreboard clock.
Activities that took place in the Marygrove Conservancy campus’ Liberal Arts building will continue for several weeks more this year. This scene was in line with the Midnight Golf Program’s 2001 game plan, which provides life-changing programming for youths in metro Detroit. The Midnight Golf family is a lifetime bond, unlike the football rosters that are constantly changing.
Renee Fluker, a Detroit native and founder of the non-profit Midnight Golf Program, stated, “You stay with me, we stay with him.” The program offers a 30-week mentoring program that focuses on positive personal transformation and mentoring for 250 high school seniors. They also teach them how to play golf.
Participants in the program will have the opportunity to take part in the Road Trip for Success College Tour. It is scheduled for March 26 to April 1, in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. The tour includes eight college visits and exposure to culturally significant sites. After the college tour, six buses of students will return to Detroit with more after-school programming that combines mentoring, life skills and golf at Marygrove.
On May 10, Fellowship Chapel church will host a pining ceremony. The event will see high school seniors receive scholarships, special awards, and encouragement from community leaders. While being pinned, students will be able to pledge their support to Midnight Golf.
Fluker stated that he feels that he’s out here doing God’s work. He reported that 2022 Midnight Golf’s senior class was awarded more than $250,000 in scholarships and went on to attend colleges and universities around the country. “Our young people want to do something. They want to be pushed.”
Fluker, the pride of Wingert Elementary school, Webber Junior High School and Cooley High (Class of 1972), speaks in dulcet tones. Fluker claims that despite her soft voice, she is still heard by Midnight Golf participants. She explained that they even love to hear the name “Ms. Fluker”. Renee’s fuss reflects her concern for the program and each student.
Fluker has had moments in her life where her passion and intensity were evident without her ever having to speak a word. Fluker was with her son Jason Malone in 2000 for the Bill Dickey Junior Golf Championship in Florida. This is an annual showcase for golfers of color. Fluker, who was the former director for business and community relations at the Professional Golfers Association of America, caught Earnie Ellison Jr’s attention during the tournament.
“Earnie Ellison approached me and said that he was impressed by how I walked each hole with my son. He supported him. I explained to him that I do this all the time. Fluker recalled that he suggested I start a youth program in Detroit as the PGA was visiting Detroit to play the Ryder Cup.
Fluker was close to the end of her 35-year-long career at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Ellison was also nearing the end of her career. As Fluker puts it, starting youth development programs was not on her “shortlist” of things she wanted to do. Fluker had never learned how to play golf when she met Ellison. Fluker was able to connect with the game through Ellison’s son, who had played on the University of Detroit Jesuit High School team and earned a scholarship at Loyola University Chicago. Fluker had seen firsthand how golf can enrich a young person’s life beyond a scholarship.
Fluker stated that she discovered golf was a good networking tool that allowed kids to have fun and also helps them think about the future. Fluker, who was a social worker by trade, responded to Ellison’s call for action in 2000. Fluker joined a group of community-minded, committed people to form a nonprofit that was linked to golf and other activities to “help the children of Detroit.”
Fluker’s “help” through Midnight Golf has touched over 4,000 lives. Dr. Shakyra, a member from the first Midnight Golf graduating classes, reached out to Fluker via Washington, D.C., asking if “Ms. Renee, who was a guest at Rivers’ graduations from Howard University, Wayne State University, and her wedding, offered to help Rivers plan her 40th birthday.
Demetrius Scott is the director of corporate citizenship at Ally Financial in Detroit. He leads Ally’s financial education efforts within the community. Scott’s “Wallet Wise” presentation on budgeting and his Tuesday evening dinner were the only obstacles to Midnight Golf students who visit Marygrove on Tuesdays, Thursdays. (Another Midnight Golf student visits Marygrove on Mondays, Wednesdays). Scott spoke with his always-present smile and relaxed, confident demeanor when “working the room,” as his father, Derrick Scott, called it. This reflects his inner feelings about the Midnight Golf Program.
Scott, Midnight Golf Class of 2007, said that he wouldn’t have been where he is today without the Midnight Golf Program. Scott graduated from Renaissance High School after which he earned a bachelor’s as well as a master’s in accounting from Michigan State. “Midnight Golf instilled in my a desire to give back and I am now able to turn my passion into a profession.”
Scott asked students Tuesday morning to raise their hands if the kept a budget. As the room became hushed, Scott asked students if they kept a budget. Scott estimates that about half of the students raised their hand. Scott revealed later that Scott’s question was not meant to embarrass, coerce or force any students to answer. It was simply meant to help them think about how to create a smart financial future. These tactics were crucial to Midnight Golf’s success and the collective success of its participants.
Scott, who was a Midnight Golf mentor, and is now co-chair of Ambassador Board, which works to increase awareness about the program, said that many people, including me, didn’t realize the importance of the concepts and tools they had learned. You don’t know what it is, so when you are a high school student, you might be asking, “Why am I learning this?” But once you go to college, you will find that you can put these life skills to use and start to get ahead of your peers.
Scott mentioned that each component of the program was intentional. This even applies to the baked chicken dinner Scott is about to serve. Winston Coffee, who serves as college liaison and is crucial to the success of the program in helping participants get college scholarships, said Winston Coffee.
Coffee said that the Midnight Golf Program is what we call it, but in reality, it’s a family. He was a mentor to the program before becoming a staff member. “Ms. “Ms. Midnight Golf will greet you every time you visit. You might be given a handshake or a hug. People will know you by name.
“And it continues to dinner because you’re getting a full-course meal. Ms. Renee said that the programs provide snacks. You’ll be able to sit down with your family and have a conversation. We can have the outcomes we want because we are surrounded by that kind of environment. Students trust us as trusted advisors. They know that when we challenge them, it comes from the right place.
Paul Stallings is a senior at Cass Tech and says that he enjoys everything he’s received through Midnight Golf. The college tour will be more beneficial for him as he will have the opportunity to visit some of the colleges he applied to.
Stallings said, “Midnight Golf actually exceeded my expectations,” and plans to major in marketing at college. It’s a serious program. It is also very serious, but it is also very positive. This is something I appreciate, as I have never been to an after-school program. It’s a completely different environment. I love it.
Near the end of Tuesday’s three hour program, which ended at 8:30 p.m., Stallings spoke. In a gym that was converted into an indoor course for the program, an adult engaged in friendly putting with one of the students. Both the student and adult seemed to be slightly more anxious with each putt. It’s unlikely they felt the same pressure as Alverto Pizana when he was asked to be the chair of the Midnight Golf Program’s annual Bowl-A-Thon, which is the main fundraising event for the college tour.
Pizana, a Detroit native who graduated from Osborn High School on Detroit’s eastside in 1978, said that he felt the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. This was not only because of how significant the college tour is for the participants but also because of how vital Midnight Golf is for the city.
Pizana, who is a 28-year veteran of Ford Motor Co. and has had a daughter, son, niece, nephew and niece through the Midnight Golf Program, explained that “Back in 1978, when we came out of Detroit Public Schools it was either going into a factory or going into war.”
“That’s what makes this program so special. And I tell the youth in the program that programs like this would have made a huge difference for everyone if they existed during the ’70s or ’80s.
More about Midnight Golf Program: An afterschool ‘family’ youth development experience
President and founder: Rene’ Fluker
Statement by the founder: “Playing at night golf is impossible unless somebody shines a light.” This program makes use of the game of golf as a way to help young people see a brighter future.
Upcoming special events: Bowl-A-Thon 2023, Saturday, March 18, Thunderbowl Lanes (4200 Allen Road, Allen Park, 48101), noon, registration (Bowling begins at 1 p.m.). There are only 74 teams and each team consists of five bowlers. You can register as either a team or an individual bowler. There are also sponsorship opportunities and other ways you can support the event. The Bowl-A-Thon, which takes place March 26-April 1, is the main fundraiser for Midnight Golf’s 2023 Road Trip for Success College Tour.
More information: To learn more about the Midnight Golf Program including how to register to play in the Bowl-A-Thon or how to donate time or make a donation to the non-profit organization, visit midnightgolf.org
Scott Talley is a Detroit native, proud to be a product of Detroit Public Schools. He has also been a lifelong fan of Detroit culture in all its forms. He is thrilled and humbled to be on his second tour with The Free Press, which he read as a child. Contact him at: stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott’s stories at http://www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/.
By: Scott Talley
Title: How Detroit's Midnight Golf Program is changing lives through dinners, bowling, family — and golf
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/02/14/detroits-midnight-golf-program-is-changing-lives/
Published Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2023 12:00:31 +0000
Leave a Reply