Bob Hendrikx (with bowtie), co-founder of The Motown Movement, was the guest speaker at the Wednesday, April 12, evening meeting of Rotary of Grosse Pointe at the War Memorial. He was accompanied by Martha Kosters and Sjoerd Van Hoof. They were welcomed by Past President Fred Ollison III, who ran the meeting in President Ted Everingham's absence.
 
Hendrikx’s path led to Detroit after studying decaying cities while attending college in the Netherlands. He expected to find a dying city but instead found one that was fighting its way back. This led him to start his organization, The Motown Movement. Its goal is to expand the fight against climate change by making sustainable housing accessible for everyone. It plans on providing low-budget and do-it-yourself methods to transform worn-down structures into self-sufficient homes through a two-family house it has purchased on the west side of Detroit. This showcase home will consist of a training center on the first floor, a residence for a family that has been foreclosed upon on the upper floor, and the basement will house a local resource center that provides the neighbors with computers, wi-fi and books.
 
Hendrikx believes that Detroit is the ideal location for this pilot project to create a do-it-yourself city. To learn more and to donate, go to www.themotownmovement.com. (Photo by John Minnis)