Every Child Matters
OUR TESTAMONEY
Lupita Contreras sent:
We really appreciate the opportunity you gave our boys! We’re struggling financially with one income and a sick dad. The opportunity for my boys to play with i9 sports has been great. They can finally have some “normality” in their lives. Thank you all who have put in their part to allow kids to play!
Your generous donations directly support children from low-income families who lack the financial means to participate in organized activities.
When you volunteer your time, you help us reach more children then we hope to imagine. Families lives will be changed when you volunteer.
Our nonprofit is here to help with costs of play and gives children the opportunity to stay active, build confidence, and be part of a team without creating a financial burden for the family.
Empowering Children MI
Every Child Deserves A Chance To Play
A strategic roadmap for transforming a founder-led mission into a sustainable community institution serving families across Macomb, Genesee, Oakland, Lapeer, and St. Clair counties in southeastern Michigan. The mission started with one person's vision to provide children access to organized activities. Thousands of children are sitting on the sidelines — not because they lack talent, interest, or desire, but because their families cannot afford the registration fees, equipment costs, and activity expenses that stand between them and participation. In a culture where youth sports increasingly operate on a pay-to-play model, the gap between children who can participate and children who cannot is widening every year. Empowering Children MI exists to close that gap. Founded by a single individual who witnessed this need firsthand and refused to accept it. Empowering Children MI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that removes financial barriers to youth sports and enrichment activities for children ages 3 through 14. The organization provides direct financial assistance for whatever is needed to participate and is delivered through a dignity-centered model that allows families to access help without stigma. Since its founding, Empowering Children MI has served 28 families across southeastern Michigan, funded primarily through the founder's personal finances and supplemented by grassroots candy sale fundraising. The model works but our founder has always known that 28 families is not enough and that the current model cannot take this mission where it needs to go. Our Strategic Plan represents a turning point. It charts a three-year course to serve 100 families annually, supported by a functional board, diversified revenue, and a recognized community presence — ensuring the mission outlasts any single person's capacity to carry it.