At a fundraiser basketball game at East English Village Preparatory Academy this spring, the team Damon Williams had organized lost on a last-second shot. He stood at the edge of the court smiling. He couldn't have been happier.
Williams, who spent 21 years in the United States Air Force, returned to his native Detroit two years ago with his wife Jasmine. During his time in the service and while living in Florida afterward, he says, his east side neighborhood never left his mind. His plan on coming back was specific: start a youth hub that connects teenagers with the programs and resources the city already offers but that are hard to find without someone pointing the way. He called it Outside the Box, OTB for short.
The model he uses is an assembly plant. Partner organizations are the components. The teenagers who come through leave as well-prepared young adults. "A place where fun draws them in, and growth sends them out," Williams told Model D Media.
The name has two meanings. The obvious one is about creative thinking. The second is what Williams says he's really after: getting young people to see the neighborhood not as it is but as what it could be.
OTB's base is near East English Village Preparatory Academy, formerly Finney High School, Williams's alma mater on the east side. The basketball game was planned as a softball game until Michigan weather forced the switch. It served as OTB's first public introduction to the community, and the bleachers were loaded. Teams were made up of police officers, firefighters, local entrepreneurs, and neighborhood teenagers.
Coaching the opposing team was Ebony Cochran, owner of Detroit Wealth Club, a financial advisory firm, and a childhood friend of Williams. Her team hit the last-second shot. The fundraiser raised enough to send 30 children to Cedar Point. Players from both teams will attend; the remaining spots go to students selected by school leaders on academic achievement, community engagement, and other criteria.
Detroit Wealth Club will be OTB's first official partner. The firm normally works with adults on credit, debt management, and wealth building. Through OTB, those services will be available to teenagers free of charge. "Having the location be at the location where my old high school once stood made the day much more memorable," Cochran said. She plans to continue supporting OTB's mission in District 4.
T-shirts for the event were supplied by The Taylor Made Brand, located on East Warren up the street from OTB. Joe Taylor, the company's CEO, said the partnership was about something larger. "Community is the real foundation of growth," he said. "Partnering with organizations and brands like OTB that genuinely care about people creates lasting change, not just moments."
"Don't be afraid to fail and go back to the drawing board," Williams said. The key is remembering your purpose. He has been back on the east side two years. OTB has its first partner.
