Detroit Lions All-Pro and NFL Rookie of the Year defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has announce the date for his Old Spice Ndamukong Suh Football Camp presented by Fifth Third Bank and Chrysler.

The two-day event is set for June 9-10 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Dearborn High School.

Suh will be on-site the entire camp to direct activities and provide instruction. He will be joined by a selection of the top prep and college coaches from the Detroit area.

The camp is open to boys and girls ages 7 to 14 and focuses on the team concept and fundamentals of football. Groups will be small to ensure that each camper gets personalized instruction. Suh will also give daily talks highlighting the finer points of the game of football and beyond.

Each camper receives an autographed camp team photo with Suh, exclusive camp T-shirt, goodie bag with over $150 worth of merchandise, and the opportunity to win additional prizes. Cost of the camp is $199.

Additional camp partners include U.S. Army, MetroPCS, My TV20 Detroit and Hot 107.5.

Additional information and registration is available by visiting www.SuhCamp.com or by calling (888) 389-CAMP (2267).

Henry Ford Health System is hosting free head and neck cancer screenings Thursday, April 26 at four of its Metro Detroit locations as part of Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week.

The free screenings will be held at the following times at these Henry Ford Ear, Nose and Throat clinic locations:

• Detroit: Henry Ford Hospital, 2799 W. Grand Blvd. Screenings at this location will be held from 8 a.m. – 4p.m.

• Dearborn: Henry Ford Medical Center-Fairlane, 19401 Hubbard Drive. Screenings at this location will be held from 8 a.m. – 4p.m.

• Sterling Heights: Henry Ford Medical Center-Lakeside, 14500 Hall Road. Screenings at this location will be held from 1 – 4:30 p.m.

• West Bloomfield: Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, 6777 W. Maple Road. Screenings at this location will be held from 1 – 4:30 p.m.

Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week (April 22-28) is spearheaded by The Head and Neck Cancer Alliance (formerly the Yul Brynner Head and Neck Cancer Foundation) to create a coalition in the fight against head and neck cancer.

Early detection not only saves lives, but also reduces the debilitating side-effects associated with this preventable type of cancer. Head and neck cancer symptoms can be vague, but warning signs include hoarseness, persistent throat and ear pain for more than four weeks. 

The screening is free but space is limited, so an appointment is required. To make your appointment at one of the Henry Ford locations, call (313) 916-3275.

Metro Detroiters have until April 30 to vote in Walmart’s Facebook campaign. The winning community will receive $1 million in grants and the next 20 communities with the most support will receive $50,000. People may vote daily.

What:              As part of Walmart’s Fighting Hunger Together initiative, the company is holding a Facebook campaign highlighting 200 communities where unemployment rates are the highest, according to the Department of Labor. Metro Detroit has fallen out of the Top 20 on the list and all are urged to get involved to help bring the funding here to the Detroit area.

Walmart’s “Fighting Hunger Together” spring initiative will provide millions of Americans the opportunity to fight hunger by shopping at Walmart or through visiting the company’s Facebook page April 9 through April 30. To learn more, visit www.walmartstores.com/fightinghunger.   

Why:             It’s estimated that over the course of a year, nearly 49 million Americans won’t know where their next meal is coming from.  While the need to combat food insecurity is ever present, spring is a particularly difficult time as the season traditionally brings a decrease in food donations, leaving hunger organizations with limited resources and leaving their clientele vulnerable.

 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that extremely low-income residents in Michigan living with HIV/AIDS will continue to receive permanent housing as a result of $1.3 million in grants HUD is awarding. Annually, this HUD funding will provide permanent supportive housing so they can manage their health and access needed supportive services such as case management and employment training. The funding is offered through HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program (HOPWA) and will renew HUD’s support of Cass Community Social Services.  

  “These grants offer housing, vital healthcare and hope to hundreds of households that combine to literally save lives,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Having stable housing can make all the difference to the health of someone living with HIV/AIDS who might otherwise be struggling to live on our streets.”

  Cass Community Social Services Inc., in Detroit will receive a HOPWA permanent supportive housing renewal grant of $1,348,970 to continue providing 11 units of facility-based housing for chronically homeless individuals at their Cass House facility.  The program includes the provision of wrap-around supportive services to promote and maintain client housing stability.  The program also promotes self sufficiency by providing educational and substance abuse counseling opportunities. The project was formerly administered by the city of Detroit Department of ---Health. 

Earlier this year, HUD awarded these jurisdictions nearly $300 million in formula grants. This year, HUD had made available a total of $332 million in HOPWA funds to help communities provide housing for this special needs population. Overall, these resources assist over 60,000 households annually to provide stable housing and reduced risks of homelessness for those living with HIV and other challenges.

Detroit Public Schools should be congratulated for the district’s first-ever All-Schools Open Enrollment Open House event which drew thousands of parents and hundreds of staff volunteers to schools across the city and allowed individual schools to showcase their unique and varied offerings. The open enrollment period runs through April 16.

The event delivered on Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts’ promise that DPS would offer more educational choices, earlier than ever, to area parents this year.  

The district event drew positive response from parents who had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with principals, staff and parent leaders, take tours, experience instructional technology and lab demonstrations, see teacher presentations, student performances, and learn about business and community partnerships, in addition to sampling the district’s healthy nutrition offerings during the open house.

All told, the event was a major success story not only for DPS but for the city of Detroit. We encourage DPS to make the Open Enrollment All-Schools Open House an annual event so parents can continue to have every opportunity to see the various programs and schools available throughout the city and make the best selection for their children.

College and Health Careers is the topic of a 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, March 17,  expo held on Wayne County Community College District’s Northwest Campus, located at 8200 W. Outer Dr.

The Expo will provide participants with information on available educational opportunities and careers in the growing health care industry. Recruiters from Michigan colleges, universities and other schools will be on hand for one-on-one discussion. Information about scholarships, financial aid and other assistance programs also will be available. 

Attending institutions include University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Oakland University, Eastern Michigan University, WCCCD and many more.

Pre-registration is required. Please visit www.miahec.edu to reserve your seat and receive a free gift.

The Detroit Medical Center will generously provide a complementary lunch to the first 300 participants. There will also be a free raffle drawing. Prizes include a Kindle and Pistons basketball game tickets. Participants must be present at the time of the drawing to win.

For more information visit, www.wcccd.edu.  

Robert Kolt, an Okemos-based public relations consultant and instructor at Michigan State University, has been appointed volunteer president of AARP Michigan.

Kolt’s appointment, effective immediately, is for a two-year term. He succeeds Eric Schneidewind, who served the maximum six years as AARP Michigan president.

Kolt, 53, has served on the AARP Michigan Executive Council since 2010. He says he intends to bring energy and enthusiasm to the volunteer leadership of the 1.4 million-member state arm of AARP.

“I’m among the new generation of AARP members who see AARP as relevant and cool,” said Kolt, a former political strategist, who has expertise in advertising and media relations. “I will spend a lot of time early in my term listening to members to learn what they’re thinking, and how they want us to serve them.”

Kolt noted that AARP will lead a national conversation on protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare in 2012. AARP Michigan will engage citizens 50 and older in many cities across the state.

“Bob Kolt brings impressive credentials in business, government, communications and community service to the volunteer leadership position at AARP,” said Jacqueline Morrison, AARP Michigan State Director. “We’re confident he will also bring energy, commitment and vision.”

Kolt is CEO and president of Kolt Communications Inc. He has served as a political adviser to former Gov. James Blanchard and former Secretary of State Richard Austin.

Prior to founding Kolt Communications in 1991, he was communications director for the Michigan Department of Transportation and public affairs officer for the Michigan Department of Treasury.

He also worked as a news anchor and correspondent for WZZM-TV 13 ABC in Grand Rapids and WWTV-WWUP-TV 9/10 CBS in Northern Michigan.

Kolt, who has a master’s degree in Communications from MSU, is an instructor of Public Relations Techniques and Writing and Media Ethics in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Retailing College of Communications Arts and Sciences. He has been an instructor at MSU for 19 years.

He has been involved in many community and philanthropic organizations, including Capital Region Community Foundation, Capital Area United Way, the Michigan Nurses Foundation and Lugnuts Charities.

Strategic Staffing Solutions, Inc., (S3) the Detroit-based global information, technology and business services company, filed a defamation lawsuit in Oakland County Circuit Court recently against New World Communications of Detroit, Inc. and WJBK., WJBK FOX 2 Television, FOX 2 reporter Charles LeDuff and producer Douglas McKenzie.

The suit was filed in connection with a story aired by FOX 2 the evening of Feb. 2, 2012 involving a call center that S3 has operated for Wayne County since 2004 that the suit says “contained factual inaccuracies that defamed both S3 and its president, Cynthia J. Pasky.”  It seeks damages in excess of $25,000.

The suit said “there was a calculated and deliberate decision on defendants’ parts to avoid the truth in order to sensationalize the story and further the dramatics of their ongoing series on Robert Ficano and the office of the Wayne County Executive.”  It says that the story “falsely implies that S3 illegally and/or illicitly obtained and renewed a contract” for the call center “in exchange for significant contributions to Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s campaign.”  

“We are filing this suit because FOX 2 has rejected all attempts to meet and go over the serial inaccuracies and misstatements that were in the story that aired,” Pasky said.  “Given their continued stonewalling of our efforts to contact them, our only recourse is the courts.”

 According to S3, inaccuracies in the FOX 2 story enumerated in the lawsuit include:

The story falsely implies that S3 illicitly obtained and renewed a contract with Wayne County to operate a call center in exchange for significant contributions to Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s campaign.  In fact, the contract was originally awarded through a competitive bidding process in 2004 and was approved by the Wayne County Commission in a public session.  

The story makes the “blatantly false” assertion that S3 failed to perform under the contract with Wayne County.

The story involved a “calculated and deliberate decision … to avoid the truth in order to sensationalize the story and further the dramatics of their ongoing series on Robert Ficano and the office of the Wayne County Executive.”  

FOX 2 ignored the fact that the contract extension in 2009 was approved by the Wayne County Commission in full accordance with the charter after a full explanation and that the extension lowered the county’s costs at a time when the economy was at an all-time low and cost-cutting measures were imperative.

The story ignored the fact that under the new contract Wayne County realized a 15 percent reduction in call center costs in the first year for a total savings of $84,432 and an additional 10 percent reduction in the second year for further savings of $47,000.

The story ignored the fact that when proposed additional profits did not materialize, S3 further reduced its rates to the county pursuant to the contract, providing additional savings.

The story ignored the fact that in 2011, S3 again competitively bid for the project with five other potential vendors, and the contract was awarded to S3 based on its superior bid.

The story falsely said that LeDuff had tried to call Pasky and showed him supposedly falling asleep while on hold.  Company phone records show that no such call was received.

The story falsely said that FOX 2 had requested a representative of S3 to appear on camera when no such request had been made.  

Henry Ford Health System physician Kimberlydawn Wisdom, M.D., has been appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as a member of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health.

Dr. Wisdom currently serves as senior vice president of Community Health & Equity and the Chief Wellness officer at Henry Ford Health System.