Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan Expands Talent Pipeline From Neighborhoods to Michigan Central

Michigan Central Boys & Girls Club to House First-Ever Youth Autonomous Racing Team and Youth-Led Fashion & Tech Startups

DETROIT, MI — May 21, 2025 — Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan (BGCSM), a national leader in youth workforce development and economic mobility, is proud to announce its latest expansion to The Station at Michigan Central, launching a new hub that directly connects youth from under-resourced neighborhoods to high-growth industries in mobility, technology, and advanced manufacturing. To be built within The Station’s dedicated youth floor, the Michigan Central Boys & Girls Club further solidifies Detroit as a magnet for talent and opportunity.

This expansion builds on Michigan Central’s long-standing commitment to youth skill development, infusing its innovation ecosystem with the next generation of talent. By embedding BGCSM directly into the heart of Michigan Central’s community of startups, industry leaders, and researchers, the new youth hub ensures that young people are not just prepared for the future economy – they’re helping to shape it.

“Detroit’s youth don’t represent a talent gap — they represent a powerful talent force, and our expansion at Michigan Central is a strategic investment in that force,” said Shawn H. Wilson, President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan. “Our young people are bringing their creativity, resilience, and entrepreneurial capital and these are skills they’ve refined in our Clubs. Through this investment, we’re creating a direct pipeline from our Clubs into one of the nation’s leading innovation ecosystems. They now have the opportunities to lead in tech, mobility, and advanced manufacturing. This is how we build a future-ready economy.”

Key components of the new space include:

• 3C Sports Autonomous Training Center – Home to the nation’s first-ever Boys & Girls Club Autonomous Racing Team, which just completed its second year of international competition in Abu Dhabi, the team will train in a dedicated space focused on coding, robotics, AI, and mobility technology.


• Fashion & Tech Incubator – A launchpad for youth-led startups, this incubator will teach participants the skills to become successful founders and entrepreneurs. From fashion technology and e-commerce to product design and branding, young innovators will receive real-world training in building scalable ventures from concept to market.


• Innovation Lab – Designed to inspire creativity and exploration, this hybrid learning environment will provide hands-on experience in advanced manufacturing, digital media, software development, and content creation.

The Michigan Central Boys & Girls Club is expected to serve over 1,000 youth annually and is part of BGCSM’s broader strategy to build pathways from local neighborhoods across Southeastern Michigan into the region’s growing innovation economy. Through strategic co-location in innovation corridors, BGCSM ensures youth are not only included in the region's transformation — they are driving it.

“BGCSM’s transformative work is a national model for youth development, and Michigan Central is proud to be the place where that impact can grow,” said Nate Wallace, Head of Civic Partnerships at Michigan Central. “This collaboration brings together BGCSM’s deep community roots and Michigan Central’s inclusive ecosystem of tech, mobility, and entrepreneurship. By opening The Station’s youth floor to this next generation of creators and problem-solvers, we’re building a pipeline that connects education, opportunity, and innovation in powerful ways.”

Initial partners are expected to join this effort and other nationally recognized industry leaders. Additional partners and funders will be announced in the coming weeks.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan

Serving more than 17,000 youth annually, BGCSM is a national model for reimagining youth development by integrating workforce readiness, entrepreneurship, and mental wellness into its Club experience. With a focus on economic mobility, BGCSM is creating a future where all youth are ready to compete and lead in the industries shaping tomorrow. Learn more at www.bgcsm.org.

About Michigan Central

Michigan Central is a 30-acre technology and cultural hub in Detroit, where leaders, thinkers, communities, and creators come together to accelerate bold ideas and technologies that shape our collective future. By providing access to world-class infrastructure, tools, and resources, Michigan Central inspires innovators and community members to collaborate on real, ground-breaking solutions to global problems. Since opening in April 2023, Michigan Central has grown into a diverse ecosystem of about 1,000 employees from 150 companies and startups working at the intersection of mobility and society. Learn more at Michigan Central.