Wayne State University's Office of Government and Community Affairs announces the 2010 Community Leadership Awards. This year's recipients include painter and sculptor Tyree Guyton and the social service outreach agency Crossroads of Michigan.

The awards honor individuals and organizations whose contributions affect the community in a positive way.

"Honoring community leaders who are making a difference embodies the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. and all that he stood for," says Harvey Hollins III, WSU vice president of Government and Community Affairs. "Tyree Guyton and Crossroads of Michigan have answered Dr. King's call to be good stewards of our community and to help those in need."
Guyton, a Detroit resident, has been described as an urban environmental artist. He has waged a personal war on urban blight, transforming his neighborhood into a living art gallery. He founded and created the Heidelberg Project, an open-air art environment in the heart of Detroit's East Side in which he used everyday discarded objects to create a two-block area full of color, symbolism and intrigue. Now in its 23rd year, the Heidelberg Project is recognized around the world as a demonstration of the power of creativity to transform lives.

Guyton was selected to receive the 2010 Community Individual Leadership Award because he believes in Detroit as a place where creativity does matter. He has created an environment where school children can come and learn about the power of art, neighborhood residents come out and chat, artists gather and discuss new ideas, and media from faraway places come and report on exciting things happening in Detroit.

For more information about Tyree Guyton, visit http://www.heidelberg.org/.

Crossroads of Michigan, with two locations in Detroit, was selected for the 2010 Community Organization Leadership Award because it opens its doors to the community almost every day, providing services and contacts not available elsewhere. It welcomes young mothers, teens, the jobless, the elderly, the homeless, the infirm and those just released from Michigan prisons. Crossroads keeps hope alive by giving its clients the tools they need to get on with life.

For more information about Crossroads of Michigan, visit http://www.crossroadsofmichigan.org/.

Winners of the 2010 Community Leadership Awards, who were nominated by the community at large, will be recognized at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Luncheon at the Max M. Fisher Music Center on Tuesday, January 19, 2010.

For more information about the Community Leadership Awards, visit http://govaffairs.wayne.edu/community/mlk/mlk2010.php, or contact Government and Community Affairs at (313) 577-0701.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students.