Discover the rich history and impactful contributions of The International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit, a community service organization over 100 years strong.
Learn About Our History
The International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit (IIMD) was founded in 1919, by a group of YWCA volunteers who sought to help legal immigrants learn English, appreciate freedom and democracy, become citizens, be assimilated into their communities, and learn to understand each other’s cultures. The International Institute of Detroit was one of 55 such institutes founded by the national YWCA in cosmopolitan cities all over the U.S., at a time of peak immigration into the U.S.
The International Institute movement was inspired by Jane Addams’ Hull House, in Chicago (1889), and the “settlement movement” in England, including Toynbee Hall in London, founded in 1884. The first such International Institute was founded in New York City by Edith Terry Bremer, in 1911. The original International Institute of Detroit, starting in 1919, was located in a brick cottage at the corner of Adams and Witherell, in Downtown Detroit (at the site of the current Comerica Park Detroit Tigers baseball stadium). Newly arrived immigrants to Detroit were welcomed at this building, as they sat around what became a familiar fireplace in the building’s living room.
“We Are dedicated to working with low-income, foreign, and native born populations in an effort to establish a more inclusive, equitable, and just society.”
It provides and utilizes human and physical resources to advance the welfare and the integration of the foreign-born and their relatives; foster community awareness that varied cultures contribute to the richness of American life; and serve other organizations in the areas of its competence.
Keywords: International Institute, Metropolitan Detroit, Community service, Nonprofit, 100 years strong
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