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OUR HISTORY
How a midnight bake sale started it all
SUNNY was founded in December 2019 on the University of Michigan campus with one goal in mind: to shine a light on the lives of foster kids. What began as a single monthly event with one residential home has grown into a year-round program serving four facilities across Southeast Michigan — because consistency is the thing foster youth are so often denied, and we intend to keep showing up.
DECEMBER 2019
SUNNY is founded
Founded on the University of Michigan campus with one goal: to shine a light on the lives of foster kids. Our initial plan was to hold one monthly event with Christ Child House — a residential care facility in Detroit — and expand from there.
JANUARY 2020
First event -- after a midnight bake sale
After raising funds through a midnight bake sale, we held our very first event at a donated basketball court in the South End of Dearborn, Michigan. A month later, our second event took place at the Detroit Historical Museum.
MARCH 2020
COVID-19 forces a pivot
The pandemic ended in-person contact just as we were seeing real impact. We pivoted immediately: supplying the home with laptops for every child, PPE for staff and kids, trauma bears, and home-cooked meals when the home's cook fell ill from COVID-19. Larger problems were looming, and we showed up for those too.
POST-PANDEMIC - PRESENT
Back in person and growing
We returned to in-person events and expanded to four residential care facilities. We now hold monthly events with each home, tailored to what the children and teens ask for in their own handwritten lists — so we know every event is exactly what they want. The improvement we've seen we credit entirely to one thing: consistency.
WHO WE ARE
The team behind SUNNY
We're a dedicated group of University of Michigan students passionate about making a positive impact in the lives of foster children — providing educational and emotional support, one consistent visit at a time.
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