Tom Gores Pledges $350,000 to Youth at SAY Detroit

Commitment includes $100,000 for mental health programming

DETROIT, Dec. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Platinum Equity founder and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores announced tonight a $350,000 commitment to SAY Detroit.

Detroit Pistons Front Office Associate Dwane Casey shared the news on behalf of Gores during WJR-AM radio host and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom's 13^th annual SAY Detroit radiothon, an annual fundraiser for the nonprofit Albom founded in 2006 to address homelessness, healthcare access, and other charitable support to underserved communities. 

Casey, who joined the Pistons organization as head coach in 2018, announced that Gores is allocating $100,000 of the $350,000 donation to provide mental health resources to kids at the SAY Detroit Play Center.

"He's really strong into mental health," Casey said. "That's one thing with the Pistons that we started to do was make sure our players and our employees have access to mental health experts. We have quite a few on staff right now. That's just the kind of guy he is, to make sure that our kids are provided for, too. The mental health piece is so important to our community."

Albom applauded the focus on mental health.

"That shows an incredible understanding of some of the problems in inner-city communities," Albom said. "That is just extraordinary, not just in terms of its size, but in its foresight."

Albom announced that the commitment helped the radiothon raise more than $2.2 million this year.

Since its first broadcast in 2012, the annual radiothons have raised more than $16 million. With this year's pledge, Gores will have donated more than $2.1 million in connection with the radiothon since 2017.

Gores in the past several years has partnered with the SAY Play Center to create programs that teach children about philanthropy, entrepreneurship and media, and other life skills.

"We know how generous Tom is and not just from large gifts at the end of a radiothon," Albom said. "He has come out to the SAY Play center and he has met with our kids. He takes a vested interest.

"Tom has been kind enough to make some sizeable donations to our organization every year. We are grateful for his support."

In 2023, Gores donated $250,000 to SAY Detroit with an added $100,000 allocated for kids to advise on the still-to-be-constructed Rouge Park Community Center on Detroit's west side. He challenged the kids to create a plan to support the project. The children settled on a mural project that will eventually adorn the new Rouge Park facility. That program is still in the works and will be fully executed next year to align with the center's development plan.

For more information or to donate to SAY Detroit charities, please visit www.saydetroit.org.  

Media Contacts: 

Dan Whelan, Platinum Equity 
310-282-9202 
[email protected] 

Marc "Rosey" Rosenthal, SAY Detroit 
215-680-7102
[email protected]

Kevin Grigg, Detroit Pistons  
313-771-7577 
[email protected] 

SOURCE Platinum Equity