Non profit spreads its message of helping the less fortunate

The non-profit organization One New Humanity has helped organize a number of community projects, such as Sylhet Farm on Jos. Campau just north of Carpenter. File photo

By Alan Madlane
One New Humanity is a local non-profit that does a lot of community good around these parts.
And karma must be with them too, as they just keep growing.
Daniel Schneider, President of ONH, recently talked with us about the organization:

The Review: How did the concept of One New Humanity begin, and how did each piece fall into place?

Schneider: We incorporated, in 2018,to serve as an umbrella for four community projects started by local leaders who needed help in several areas.
The projects were: the Cricket Academy of Detroit, Sisterhood Fitness, Sylhet Farm, and Michigan Football Club in Dearborn.
The Cricket Academy of Detroit and Michigan FC became their own organizations, but Sisterhood Fitness and Sylhet Farm embraced ONH, and both have grown significantly since.
We added Joy Thrift in 2021, which was the same story, a local leader who wanted Hamtramck to have a place where they could buy nice, gently used items at an affordable price. You can read each of their stories on our website.

The Review: Do you see ONH as assisting immigrants of all nationalities to assimilate through your programs?

Schneider: Yes, we would like to hold ESL, GED, and Citizenship Prep classes in our community space on Joseph Campau, but we need more volunteers to pull it off.

The Review: What qualities was the organization looking for in an Executive Director, and how did the Executive Director’s individual background help them in being hired, and in working toward fulfilling the group’s mission?
Schneider: We are in a transition, so this question is difficult to answer right now.

The Review: What are some of the next steps or directions being considered, assuming there are any, and assuming that you are able to talk freely about them at this stage?

Schneider: We recently launched an online thrift store on our website, which we want to use to grow our organization’s revenue base so we can hire more people from the community. The web address is: https://www.onenewhumanitycdc.org/shop

The Review: What are the best ways that people who want to help can get involved? What do you need most to continue to grow?

Schneider: You can go to our website and see the different ways to get involved. The biggest need is for people to donate in-kind items, or shop, or volunteer at Joy Thrift.
We can keep our prices so low for people in Hamtramck because of all the in-kind donations and volunteers. Joy Thrift makes up roughly half of our operational budget, so it is a big deal to us.

The Review: Where do you hope to see ONH in 10 years’ time?

Schneider: We want to continue being a volunteer-led, grassroots organization that facilitates new creative ideas and projects, initiated by community leaders wanting to improve the lives of Hamtramck residents.
We believe that, in 10 years, we will have created an infrastructure that will support several new initiatives.
Posted Aug. 18, 2023