As the sun rose over the Detroit River on the morning of May 23, employees, event attendees and members of the Detroit community helped jump-start Cobo Center’s 2018 community engagement series, Cobo Cares, with “Sunrise Riverfront Yoga,” held on the outdoor terrace of Cobo’s Grand Riverview Ballroom.

Launched in 2017 as part of Cobo’s commitment to social responsibility and sustainability, Cobo Cares offers free exercise, networking and community engagement opportunities for the local downtown community, facility employees and onsite event attendees.

Ongoing during the spring, summer and fall seasons, activities including Zumba, yoga and Tai Chi are coupled with opportunities to give back to local nonprofits such as Forgotten Harvest and COTS that support those in need in the Detroit area. Agencies are given opportunities to be present at the events and engage people who are interested in their mission.

“Providing a place for employees and visitors to celebrate and embrace the Detroit community is inherent in the mission of a convention center to be an economic engine for cities,” explained Claude Molinari, general manager of Cobo Center/SMG. 

He continued, “As more and more large events are looking for ways to be sustainable and give back to their host communities, Cobo Cares provides a structure and resources for events to easily access and ensure the success of these goals.”

During the season’s first Slow Burn/Basics yoga session, provided by local yoga studio, Citizen Yoga, Cobo also accepted donations for Bees in the D, a local honeybee education and protection nonprofit that maintains four hives on the facility’s living green roof. 

At the time of this event, the Society for Freshwater Science was having its annual meeting in Cobo and partnered with the facility for the Cobo Cares season kick off.

Other free events for this year’s Cobo Cares season so far have included “Find Your Center Yoga,” held July 9 by Citizen Yoga, with donations made to Life Remodeled, a Detroit agency that helps rebuild local neighborhoods.

Upcoming events include “Zumba with Ivy,” scheduled for July 19, with donations to benefit Detroit Little Libraries, an agency that places book-sharing boxes where they can be a catalyst for improving reading motivation and deepening community connectedness. More free events will be scheduled into the fall season, according to Cobo officials.

All Cobo Cares activities are conducted on the venue’s outdoor terrace, Cobo Square, in view of the 4,000 square-foot marquee digital sign that is sometimes incorporated into the festivities in creative and interactive ways. In case of inclement weather, the events are held indoors at the Cobo Center atrium.

According to Molinari, credit for the success of the year-old community engagement program goes to the convention center’s dedicated Green Committee, which works to promote sustainability practices and green initiatives in the facility.

“The Cobo Center Green Committee is comprised of people who work in Cobo from every department and vendor company, and volunteer to work on these events as a team to promote partnerships between Cobo and the metro Detroit area community,” Molinari said.

He added, “(The success of Cobo Cares is due to) the dedication and ‘sweat equity’ of the Green Committee, who are committed to sustainability and the Detroit community.”

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