The non-profit organization New Niles holds a groundbreaking ceremony
Posted at 1:03 p.m. on Thursday, September 15, 2022
NILES – Community members from Niles, South Bend and beyond attended enFocus’ ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday at 423 Sycamore St. Suite 103, Niles.
enFocus is a non-profit organization that empowers talent to transform communities in the Michiana area. It recruits recent graduates into a two-year fellowship program and develops them into “the next generation of community and business leaders.”
With support from the Edward and Irma Hunter Foundation and local community leaders, enFocus opened a regional hub in Niles to engage the Southwest Michigan community.
“We are thrilled that enFocus here in the Town of Niles is helping to drive economic growth throughout the community,” said Ryan Boeskool, Executive Director of the Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce.
enFocus Fellows work alongside experienced mentors in the corporate, nonprofit, education, and public sectors to discover, design, and implement innovative solutions to benefit the community. It partners with local organizations to bring value to sponsorship projects, and we give fellows the tools to launch entrepreneurial ventures or social enterprises.
enFocus is partnering with local organizations in Niles and Buchanan and throughout Berrien County to provide services to their communities this year. Over the past 10 years of operation, enFocus Fellows have completed more than 450 innovation projects for more than 150 organizations in St. Joseph, Elkhart, and Marshall counties. This launch, combined with the successes recorded by enFocus, inspires the enthusiasm of local leaders for this new opportunity.
“We have seen firsthand the success of enFocus and its ability to uplift the communities they serve in the South Bend-Elkhart area,” said Jim Keenan, President of the Edward and Irma Hunter Foundation, one of lead investors in enFocus’ expansion into Southwest Michigan. . “We are thrilled to bring a talented team of Fellows to Southwest Michigan as we seek new, innovative and collaborative approaches to problem solving.”
“Communities in southwest Michigan have so much to offer,” said enFocus Executive Director Andrew Wiand. “We have received a warm welcome from a wide range of community and business leaders and look forward to collaborating on projects in the near future. »
