Metro Detroit nonprofit works to help Black-owned businesses on Black Friday

Members of Black Leaders Detroit hand out $50 gift cards

DETROIT – A Metro Detroit nonprofit organization is providing Black Friday sales while giving even more business to Black-owned businesses on the Avenue of Fashion.

How does a $50 gift card to kick of your holiday shopping sound?

Members of Black Leaders Detroit were handing them out Friday outside of men’s clothing boutique Krispy Addicts on Livernois Avenue.

“If you come up, we’ve got some hot chocolate, we’ve got some apple cider,” said Dwan Dandridge, the CEO of Black Leaders Detroit. “We’ve got some cupcakes. We’ve got a $50 gift card for you.”

That $50 is good at five stores on the Avenue of Fashion -- all Black-owned businesses: Charissa’s Closet, Closet Luxx, Teasers Boutique, Krispy Addicts and 313.

Originally, only 100 cards were supposed to be given out, but then DTE stepped in to buy 200 more.

“When they got wind of it, they jumped right on board, came over with more resources and allowed us to go from 100 gift cards to 300 gift cards,” Dandridge said.

It’s all to help boost sales at these business. That’s what Black Leaders Detroit is all about: providing support to Black entrepreneurs.

Black Leaders Detroit hopes to continue giveaways like this, even when it’s not Black Friday, but to do that, the organization needs donations. Even just donating $1 a week would make a huge difference.

Click here if you want to donate.


About the Author

You can watch Kim on the morning newscast weekdays from 4:30 to 7 a.m., and frequently doing reports on the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.

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