Vacant Detroit church being converted into hip hop programming center
Ikea helps furnish church for hip hop nonprofit
Rashad Dobbins, the executive director of the nonprofit offers free programming for youth that infuses elements of hip hop and joy into their lives. On Tuesday, it wasn't just the kids feeling joyful. Dobbins said the facility they were originally housed in was 1,300 square feet. "This building behind us is 13,000 square feet," he said.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Class Act Detroit's motto is almost as smooth as its mission: "We use hip hop to reach and teach."
Rashad Dobbins, the executive director of the nonprofit offers free programming for youth that infuses elements of hip hop and joy into their lives. On Tuesday, it wasn't just the kids feeling joyful.
Dobbins said the facility they were originally housed in was 1,300 square feet. "This building behind us is 13,000 square feet," he said.
And when it's finished, it'll be the new center for Class Act Detroit. But right now, the facility is a shell of the former church it used to be on Detroit's west side. The nonprofit's plan to modernize the building is being aided by Ikea.
Providing both design expertise and the furnishings for the building, the furniture maker is helping turn blessings into reality.
"We volunteered to come out and furnish everything," said Amanda Preston, a loyalty manager at Ikea in Canton.
Soon to be called "The House of HIp Hop" it will come with a built-in venue and a cafe connected to a community kitchen that Dobbins says will be accessible to all.
"The space here is about 13,000 square feet, so we have a lot of space to furnish and a lot of classrooms to furnish for the youth," Preston said. "So this will be one of our largest Ikea donation projects that we’ve done locally.
"This is our community, this is where we’re from, and we want to get out and help as much as we can," said Dobbins.