In Detroit

Our Detroit programs are administered both independently and through a strategic partnership with several local non-profit organizations. The Templer Foundation is an independent order with no particular church affiliation, which provides us the opportunity to work with all creeds and denominations within the City of Detroit.

Upcoming Pilot Project:The Detroit Urban Farm Project

A social enterprise collaboratively designed by the Templer Foundation, local communities, appropriate non-profits, businesses and local government – to address the following concerns affecting both the citizens and government of the City of Detroit.

Community development through neighborhood revitalization and job creation.
Education and training.
Health, nutrition and human services.
Financial sustainability through revenue generation.

Supporting Terminally Ill Children

The specific populations we’re working with are financially challenged, terminally ill children and their families who are serviced by Children’s Hospital of Michigan. This population comprises of:

Single parents (with or without other children) who have a terminally ill child and who, due to the demands this puts on their time, energy and resources are unable to work and provide financially for their family.

Low-income families, typically including other children, who have a terminally ill child and who, due to the demands this puts on their time, energy and resources, though working, are still unable to provide financially for their family.

According to the Children’s Defense Fund in 2007, nearly 200,000 Detroit, Michigan school children have no health insurance. It is estimated that 47 percent of children enrolled in Detroit Public Schools live below the poverty line. Within these groups of children there exists an especially tragic subset: terminally ill children. These kids, with little or no insurance, often have no access to healthcare. Many live in substandard housing or have no housing at all, with their medical needs typically preventing them from living in a shelter. The end result: they have nowhere to die with dignity.

Some of the terminally ill children who are fortunate enough to have their course of treatment approved, still can’t receive it as they are often unable to get to and from the hospital due to limited access to transportation, often coupled with the reality that their care giver can’t afford to take the time off work to take them there.

By working with dedicated partners, the Templer Foundation can annually support more than two hundred and fifty terminally ill children and their families who are living below the poverty line by:

Transporting terminally ill children to and from Children’s Hospital so that they can receive their treatment. Costs include:

Fuel, vehicle insurance, vehicle maintenance.

Providing financial and material support to the terminally ill children and their families, including:

Food and clothing, furniture and bedding, providing practical, moral, spiritual and emotional support to the terminally ill children and their families, both during treatment when the child is alive – and after he or she dies.

Feeding and Clothing the Homeless In Detroit

Through employment, education and training opportunities; funding and produce generated by The Detroit Urban Farm Project; and by working with dedicated partners including Forgotten Harvest, the Templer Foundation will be able to continue and expand our support for the homeless in Detroit.

“When I see someone digging through a dumpster to find something to eat, the why becomes less important than ‘what can I do’…” Paul Templer