Our Mission
It's a Detroit Youth and Community Thing
Aktive Minds Foundation (AMF)
is a Metro Detroit nonprofit organization
whose mission is to provide quality
programs and resources to to the youth and families in the Detroit area, while actively working to eliminate barriers for youth participation and encourage community engagement.
Our overall goal is to make every childhood memorable and provide support to parents to make that possible.
At Aktive Minds Foundation, we care about what we do and hope to develop strong children, families and communities throughout Detroit and surrounding areas.
“No family should be denied access to quality resources based on their socioeconomic status or any other conceivable factor for that matter. If a child finds interest in any activity, they should be given the opportunity to explore it. If a parent wants to give their children a quality experience, they should be given the support to make that happen. If we work together, with love and integrity, we can eliminate barriers for participation and bring back quality community engagements. A community that promotes inclusion has the strength to make everybody feel valued. That is a very powerful thing.”
- Founder, Sarah Deramo
Our Values
A Strong Foundation Stands on Positive Values
Community Commitment
Equal Opportunities
Quality Support
Valued Relationships
Powerful Engagements
Our Story
Making a Childhood Dream a Reality
Aktive Minds Foundation was founded by siblings, Sarah and Nicolo Deramo in 2021. The two small-town athletes once looked forward to participating in their local summer Little League, where they enjoyed long, exciting days of baseball. This is where they built many lifelong friendships and learned valuable life lessons. Even through times of financial hardships, the Deramo family was fortunate enough to have a supportive community to help them continue doing what they loved. They've always dreamt that one day they would be in a position to give back that same experience to those who needed it.
Being from a unique town, sandwiched between a poverty-stricken city and one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Michigan; the Deramos saw, first-hand, that the privilege of participation and the availability of quality youth programs was not afforded to all children. It became evident to them that resource inequalities existed, and they wanted to change that.
Their devoted journey to give back began in 2020, in the midst of the Covid pandemic. In an effort to restore family involvement and provide social activities for the children in the community, JUST PLAY Saturdays was born. What started off as a small community outreach project has now grown into a resourceful organization driven by compassion and integrity.
Our Vision
Every child who participates in an AMF programs is given an equal opportunity to fulfill their individual needs and make them feel like a valued member of society.
Every parent that chooses AMF receives support to provide their children with memorable experiences, while also being given the opportunity to receive quality resources for continual self-growth.
Every community partner leaves knowing that they helped make a difference in the community and has gained everlasting relationships.