The David & Mary Stafford Foundation's Bold Vision for Detroit

What would it look like for the Detroit Metro Area to become the least addicted and least orphaned region in the United States?

At the David and Mary Stafford Foundation, we believe that vision isn’t just possible—it’s necessary.

Addiction and family displacement have become generational crises in Metro Detroit. Whether it's a father caught in the cycle of substance abuse, a teenager aging out of the foster system without support, or a child bouncing between homes without the promise of adoption—too many stories in our community are ending in pain. We believe God is calling us to help rewrite those stories.

Our long-term vision is simple to say—but bold in scope: To lead the Detroit Metropolitan Area to become the least addicted and least orphaned region in the United States.

This is a vision built on faith, action, and the unwavering belief that every person deserves freedom—and every child deserves a family.

Why Detroit? Why Now?

Detroit is a city with both scars and strength. It’s rich in culture, grit, and resilience—but like many urban areas across America, it faces the deep challenges of addiction, poverty, and systemic family breakdown. In Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties alone, thousands of children are in foster care, and addiction continues to steal the future of too many men and women.

But as Christians, we’re called to believe in transformation, not just survival.

We’re called to be the hands and feet of Jesus—reaching out to the addicted, the abandoned, the overlooked, and the broken-hearted. That’s exactly what this Foundation is here to do.

How Do We Get There?

Here’s how we plan to help Metro Detroit become a place where more people are healed from addiction and more children find permanent homes:

1. Strategic Giving to High-Impact Partners

We financially support vetted local nonprofits and ministries that are actively working in addiction recovery, foster care, and adoption in Michigan. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we strengthen the best local efforts—so they can do even more.

2. Direct Aid for Families and Individuals

From adoption grants to recovery scholarships, we help real people take real steps toward healing and family restoration. Whether it’s a couple hoping to adopt or someone ready to enter rehab, we remove financial barriers that keep transformation out of reach.

3. Mentorship and Community-Building

We believe healing that lasts happens in relationship. That’s why we’re building mentorship programs and planning events that create community—especially for foster youth and individuals in recovery. When people feel seen, supported, and spiritually guided, change becomes inevitable.

4. Awareness and Advocacy in the Church

We engage local churches across Metro Detroit to raise awareness about the needs in their neighborhoods—and equip believers to take action. Every church has the potential to be part of the solution: to foster, adopt, sponsor, or mentor.

The Role of the Christian Donor

This is a vision we can’t accomplish alone—and we weren’t meant to. As Christians, we are stewards of what God has given us: time, talent, and treasure. When you give to the David and Mary Stafford Foundation, you’re not just making a donation—you’re planting a seed of restoration in Detroit.

Your generosity helps:

• Send someone into recovery

• Fund a family’s adoption journey

• Equip a mentor to walk with a new mother through postpartum or a person in recovery

• Fuel partnerships with ministries already doing life-saving work

You’re not just writing a check. You’re rewriting someone’s story.

Will You Join Us?

The Detroit Metro Area doesn’t have to be known for brokenness. We believe it can become a model for healing—for freedom from addiction, for families made whole, and for a region transformed by love and faith.

Together, we can help make Detroit a place where no child waits for a family, and no one battles addiction alone.

Let’s leave a legacy that lasts—not just for this generation, but for the next.

Become a donor today.

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