FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Merit Goodness Opens Second Location Inside Great Lakes Crossing. The apparel company funds college scholarships for underserved youth in Detroit.
Auburn Hills, Michigan (May 30, 2017) — Merit Goodness, a Detroit-based clothing company that funds college scholarships for underserved youth in Michigan, is opening its second retail space Thursday, June 1, 2017, inside Great Lake Crossing (4000 Baldwin Road) in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
“For us, our space inside Great Lakes Crossing is another outstanding opportunity to partner with Taubman Company to showcase what we do, meet new people and build more awareness of and impact on what we do with the youth,” David Merritt, founder of Merit Goodness, said. “It’s also a chance for us to introduce a new concept to our stores: Design Your Fate. Every week we’re going to have a different design that people can select, choose the ink color and get printed while they wait. This interaction gives us more time to educate people about our mission, so they understand the impact they are making when they buy our garments.”
Merritt started Merit Goodness in 2012 with the idea that selling high-quality apparel through a social good model would give him the opportunity to help more kids in Detroit go to college. Through its FATE program, Merritt’s company doesn’t just raise money for youth to attend college, but walks with them, hand-in-hand, to ensure they have sufficient tools to reach this milestone.
FATE is a four-year, cohort-based program for high school students in northwest Detroit. Its mission is to provide resources and opportunities for underserved youth to embrace education and become world-class citizens, with a goal to motivate each student to graduate high school and attend college. In 2012, 22 ninth grade students from the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy applied and were selected to participate through their high school graduation. If they upheld program standards in GPA, conduct, community service, and attendance, they were promised a $5,000 college scholarship at the end of the program. Since then, over 50 students have received consistent exposure to the University of Michigan and other institutions of higher education, and engaged in monthly Saturday project-based workshops with partners such as Google, Zingerman’s, Plante Moran, and departments at U of M.
Merit Goodness is located inside Great Lakes Crossing, space 535, inside District 5. Merit Goodness also has a retail space inside Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, Michigan. Hours for both locations are: Monday through Saturday, 10 am-9 pm, and Sunday, 11 am-6 pm.
For more information about Merit Goodness, visit MeritGoodness.com, which not only has apparel for sale online but additional information about the FATE program.
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