Grass Roots Movement in Flint, MI is Disrupting Current Perception of City
The Flint Fwd movement exemplifies the resilience of Flint by inspiring community togetherness, promoting local businesses and sharing positivity surrounding the city.
FLINT, Mich., April 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- After the water crisis put an international spotlight on the city, Flint needed a unifying message that could embody the city's spirit and its people. Flint Fwd delivered that message, as it embraced Flint's irrepressible character and determined mentality while offering a sentiment of hope. As a result, Flint Fwd has seen remarkable support from residents and political leaders and even met with the President of the United States.
"I live, work and play in Flint. Flint consists of a whole lot more than the fantastic growth of the downtown area," said Carma Lewis, a Flint resident and active community member. "We have a wealth of resident volunteers that are working hard to uplift our neighborhoods. We're not afraid of getting our hands dirty. We roll up our sleeves and we do the work ourselves. We're in the process of rebuilding our entire hometown from the ground up."
This attitude reflects many of Flint's residents and was used as motivation to create Flint Fwd. "Flint is a city of resilience. Its people, its businesses. They're strong," said Jocelyn Hagerman, founder of the Flint Fwd movement. "We created Flint Fwd because we didn't want people lose sight of what Flint is, and to offer options for donations and assistance to residents during the crisis."
Jocelyn Hagerman, owner of SkyPoint Ventures and The Hagerman Foundation launched Flint Fwd in January 2016 as a grass roots effort. It quickly gained the attention of local businesses and residents.
"The Flint that I live and do business in is very different than the one the media portrays." said Joshua Spencer, owner of Flint-based businesses The Spencer Agency, Café Rhema and Flint Trolley Ice Cream & Café. "Our downtown and cultural center are thriving. New businesses are opening all the time. Low cost real estate and an educated workforce of young professionals make Flint a great place to build a company."
While Flint Fwd has seen remarkable success early in their campaign, they continue to stay motivated.
"We're ecstatic to see how well our message has been received, but we're not finished." Hagerman said. "Flint's resolve is unwavering and so too must we be. As Flint keeps building and creating, we'll keep telling the world about it."
For more information about Flint Fwd, updates on Flint businesses and inspiring stories from residents visit FlintFwd.org. To share stories, photos or videos of Flint's resilience, send them to [email protected].
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp_aagOM8eA
SOURCE Flint Fwd
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