About 4,000
guests at the 71st Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner in 2026. The largest sit-down dinner in the world.
COMMUNITY INTRO · THE COMMUNITY BUILDER
I ran the floor for a room of thousands the night President Joe Biden spoke. I can sit with one teenager, or a room full of them, and teach them to bet on themselves. For over a decade, I've been the one in the rooms when it has to go right, and the first to move when it goes wrong.
The work.
My title at the NAACP Detroit Branch is Special Projects Manager. What that really means is I fill the gaps. I build the programs, run the events, raise the money, set up the technology, and make sure the people in the room have an experience and not just an agenda. I've put on the largest sit-down dinner in the world and I've recruited teenagers into their first summer job, one by one. Same hands, both ends. My mission hasn't changed since the candy bucket in the driveway: sow seeds into my community, and protect what we build.
Impact at a glance.
The numbers that prove the years.
200 to 600
kids sent back to school each year.
15 to 20
Detroit youth employed every summer through BRIDGES, recruited from 85 to 120 applicants I source myself.
65
small business owners served across 2 Digital E.T.A. cohorts.
2
national awards in May 2022: RPX Chapter of the Year and Model Chapter of the Year.
7+
years building, running, and finishing in Detroit.
The work, by program.
The flagship pieces. The full catalog lives on the lane page.
Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner
The largest sit-down dinner in the world. At its height it drew 10,000 people. In 2026 it drew about 4,000 guests, plus the 6,000-plus staff, volunteers, production, and security it takes to run a night that size. In 2024, President Joe Biden gave the keynote at the 69th. I'm the logistics behind all of it: Eventbrite ticketing, seating and table arrangements, the full build-out from move-in to move-out with my team, and the floor itself from the parking lot to the seat. I built new revenue streams through sponsorship and social media packages, and this year I wrote the Dinner Marshal handbook so the operation runs as a system that outlasts me. One night, and it cannot go wrong.
Back to School Stay in School Rally
A free family event that sends Detroit kids back to school with backpacks and supplies their parents don't have to worry about. Every August, 200 to 600 kids come through. I handle it end to end: fundraising, partnerships, vendors, and program management, pulling the whole thing together for about ten thousand dollars against costs that climb every year.
B.R.I.D.G.E.S
Youth summer employment that does more than cut a check. Every year I personally recruit 85 to 120 interested young people and place 15 to 20 in the program, in partnership with Grow Detroit's Young Talent. Some have stayed three and four years. I took BRIDGES over in 2019. Since 2021 the design, creative direction and execution have been mine.
Digital E.T.A.
A small business program I created after the branch won a Verizon grant, built out of my own experience in business. Two cohorts. 65 business owners served. We covered business foundations and lender compliance, operations and Asana, marketing and Canva, fintech with Stripe, HR, cybersecurity, Google Workspace and Business Profiles, and a session I taught on personalizing AI for your business, in 2024, before most people were paying attention to it.
Recession Proof Extreme
Grew the Michigan chapter from 19 members to 125-plus, a network around financial literacy and wealth-building. I led it to Chapter of the Year and Model Chapter of the Year. We won them both at the same time, in May 2022, at the organization's Memorial Day weekend conference.
See all my organizations, programs, awards, and the gallery on the full Community Builder page.
The Road of Service.
One glance. A decade-plus of building.
Jermaine Peguese
2011
Epsilon Gamma Iota Inc., Delta Chapter
2019
NAACP Detroit Branch
2019
Wayne State Warrior Way Back
2020
New Leaders Council Detroit
2020
International Youth Leadership (WSU)
2020
Census 2020
2020
14th Congressional District
2020
Legacy District Award
2020
NAACP Michigan State Conference
2020
Precinct Delegate
2021
Recession Proof Extreme, Michigan
2021
Wayne State Adult Learners Council
2023
AAMWA Black Men's Wellness Day
2024
University of Michigan & DCHC
- 2011 Epsilon Gamma Iota Inc., Delta Chapter · Fundraising Chair
- 2019 NAACP Detroit Branch · Special Projects Manager
- 2019 Wayne State Warrior Way Back · Ambassador
- 2020 New Leaders Council Detroit · Class of 2020 · Recruitment Chair 2021 to 2022
- 2020 International Youth Leadership (WSU) · Founding President
- 2020 Census 2020 · Field & Digital Lead
- 2020 14th Congressional District · Endorsement Committee
- 2020 Legacy District Award · Michigan Democratic Party
- 2020 NAACP Michigan State Conference · Membership Committee Chair
- 2020 Precinct Delegate · Elected August 2020
- 2021 Recession Proof Extreme, Michigan · Founding Chapter President
- 2021 Wayne State Adult Learners Council · Board Member
- 2023 AAMWA Black Men's Wellness Day · Committee Member
- 2024 University of Michigan & DCHC · Community Advisory Board for Young Men's Health
How I build.
Everything I run is built on intentional experiences. Most people deliver content. I design how it feels to be in the room, from the parking lot to the seat. And I lead people the way Ray Solomon Sr. taught me: if I'm on step five, I bring you up to step five. I don't make you start over at zero to protect my ego. That's how you build people. And people are what build a community.
Let's build.
If you're a funder, a partner, or anybody with something big that has to go right, this is the work I do. I'll build you the room and put your people in position to win. Let's build.
Still Linda's son.