What an amazing message from one of LifeBUILDERS' volunteers, Sue Ulmer. These are true LifeBUILDERS restoring Detroit and a vital part of Detroit's revitalization.

On a record-breaking hot September morning, 23 members of First English Lutheran Church headed over to the Regent Park neighborhood of Detroit. With weeders and shovels in hand we went to work doing fall clean-up in the LifeBUILDERS community garden.

Dividing into teams, some of the team picked the remaining produce in the community garden, some cleared out and bagged the old vegetation, alot of us weeded, some sprayed to prevent additional weeds, and some mulched.

In the midst of the work we talked, laughed, and got to know each other in new ways. One of the joys that morning was filling 6 bags to overflowing with the last of the tomatoes, beans, peppers, and herbs from the garden. We distributed the veggies to the neighbors and were rewarded with smiles and thank-yous.

After a long morning's labor we were able to stand back and see the transformation! The raised beds were ready for spring planting, the weeds were gone, and the property looked neat and tidy with mulch spread evenly around the walkways.

Before heading back for lunch we toured a bit more of the community. We saw what God is accomplishing to bring hope to this community through donations and funding, volunteer hours, and neighbors helping neighbors. A new athletic field, lots of renovated housing, and the future site of a community center and a Head Start campus all were evidence of a neighborhood moving forward.

We cooled off at the LifeBUILDERS gathering space called The Branch and had a simple lunch together. Conversations revolved around the morning's service project. Some of the comments were... "a great experience, I forgot about my own problems for awhile, how encouraging to see all the good things happening in Detroit, let's come back and do something else."

Before departing for the afternoon our pastor taught us a camp version of AMAZING GRACE. We know it is because we've experienced God's amazing grace in OUR lives that we wanted to serve our neighbors in Detroit on that hot Saturday. We're already thinking about a spring project back in the LifeBUILDERS community to continue to share His love and amazing grace!

Guest blog from LifeBUILDERS' Friend Dan Whitfield

Early in my sales career I once went out on a sales call with a top representative at my company. We were visiting a large national service company, and potential client. When it came time to make a recommendation the rep went LARGE. His proposal included all of our services. I mean EVERYTHING. The decision maker was polite but relatively quickly said, "thanks but no thanks." He wanted NOTHING.

The rep quickly pivoted and made a simple statement. He said, "You know, there is a lot of landscape that we could talk about between EVERYTHING (my proposal) and NOTHING (your decision)." He briefly suggested one part of the proposal (SOMETHING) that made the most sense in light of the customer's current needs. In no time, the customer said, "I'll give that a try. Let's do it." 

After that sales call, the rep said "I use the "everything, nothing, something" approach all the time. My greatest clients met me in the middle after my first recommendation. SOMETHING allowed me the time it takes to build total trust. Something is better than nothing. I can develop the account from there."

In the years since, I've occasionally used the "Everything, Nothing, Something" approach during a sales conversation. But actually, I've found its greater purpose has actually been that it has become a helpful framework in my life. It's been a guide for me in responding to many of the life and business requests that come my way. Here's how I've used this framework:

1. EVERYTHING. (Not literally)

Needs and requests will always exceed resources. We can't say yes to everyone or everything. Nor should we.  Research, due diligence, process, collaboration and communication with other stakeholders will serve us well before saying yes to many of the requests we receive. I'm not suggesting "paralysis of analysis."  But, trying to do everything is exhausting and can't be executed for the long haul. 

Potential EVERYTHING pitfalls – Burnout and/or buyers remorse. And, it’s simply not possible.

2. NOTHING. (Saying yes to very little)

Being selective, single minded, and laser focused on what's important to you and your business is a great life and business strategy. With this approach your calendar stays clear and you can always reconsider after additional review. 

Potential pitfalls – You will miss out on many meaningful things and potentially hurt or hinder the people and causes in your life that you actually could help.

3. SOMETHING. (Doing something meaningful for many things)

Candidly, this is my favorite part of this decision-making framework. I enjoy saying yes. I like to buy things. I enjoy responding positively to requests. Most importantly, I want to help others and really make a difference. By carefully choosing and responding to the right requests we give ourselves the bandwidth to do something meaningful for many of the requests we receive. 

Potential pitfalls – Not as much fun as trying to do everything. Sometimes we become limited in what we can do because we’ve said yes to more than a handful of people or opportunities.

I'd like to give you a chance to test out this framework!

I volunteer for a nonprofit organization called LifeBUILDERS Detroit. We serve the under-served in Regent Park. This community was once called Detroit's most dangerous zip code. Think of boarded up houses and gangs controlling the streets. But, not anymore! Not because of hundreds of people who said, “YES” and “SOMETHING.” Amazing things are happening and the community is being restored and revolutionized!

Now more than ever we need the help of those who are committed to change in major metro areas. Here's what we need in reference to the framework I've discussed above:

1. EVERYTHING - We need approximately 2 million dollars to build a community center and finish renovating the almost 2000 abandoned homes in this neighborhood. I believe someone would see this cause as worthy of the give EVERYTHING framework.

2. NOTHING - We certainly understand that many people are already committed to other great causes and have to say no at this time. 

3. SOMETHING - We need people who are willing to donate $250 for a camp scholarship this summer for a worthy child in this neighborhood. In years past this has been one of the most significant components of empowering youth in the community. Doing SOMETHING could change the life of an under served youth!

Below is a link to investigate further this opportunity. Test this framework out. It just might be helpful to you. I know it could help others! Thanks for your consideration of this request and for testing the framework!

http://www.lifebuildersdetroit.com/welcomehome

LifeBUILDERS had the privilege of welcoming Detroit News reporter Stephanie Steinberg to our campus this month to see the work we are doing here in Regent Park. She was so impressed with the wonderful community that the story made the front page news on May 6, 2017.

Please read her story and share the LifeBUILDERS story with friends and family. We are all LifeBUILDERS and have a part in restoring this beautiful community.

Click Here to read the Detroit News story.

Photo from The Detroit News article-May 6, 2017.

“.....the Johnsons moved to the neighborhood and changed the community one house — and person — at a time.”

— The Detroit News