Good Neighbor Award
Community. Compassion. Homes.
Robert (Rob) Sherman has always fostered a passion for helping children and young adults with intellectual and cognitive disabilities. He truly believes in helping others who might be unable to help themselves, and that belief drives him to use his talents and resources whenever he sees a need. It was that very passion which drove Rob to found the volunteer-run charity organization Do Unto Others (DUO) in 2012, seeded with Rob’s own $10,000 donation and an $8,000 donation from the Sherman family following the death, and in memory of, Ashley Sherman—Rob’s sister. To partner the organization, Rob enlisted the help of local Special Olympics coaches and enacted a board consisting of 5 members, including myself. Like Rob, we saw a need for fundraising to continue Special Olympics operations in Wayne County; one of the poorest counties in Michigan.
Although Special Olympics is free to our friends with disabilities, the responsibility to pay for local tournaments, jerseys, practice facilities, and equipment falls on the shoulders of the individual teams hoping to participate in the activities. This limits the availability of athletes to the amount of money that can be raised by each team. Many athletes hoping to participate were turned away from competing and attending events, because the local area simply could not afford to sponsor them. Even Special Olympics funded tournaments cost the local area teams money to participate. Filling this daunting need was the idea behind DUO’s inception. Soon after its founding, DUO became the largest source of funds for the Wayne-Westland area Special Olympics, allowing more athletes to participate. DUO’s fundraising also supplied all athletes with new jerseys and equipment, effectively replacing items that were years old and often falling apart. Today, Wayne-Westland Special Olympics currently has 85 athletes, participating in 10 sports with often 3 or more teams participating in each sport. In 2019, the local school District eliminated the paid position for a Special Olympics Coordinator. Rob and I stepped in to continue running and organizing Special Olympics in the area, while continuing the work that DUO engages to fund the athletes.
As a realtor, Rob is constantly using his growing network to solicit local entities to come alongside DUO, to support local athletes. In 2019, Rob facilitated the sale of his home-church’s new 45,000 square foot facility, and volunteered regularly during the remodel of the building. Through the process, Rob and River of Life Assembly of God (ROL) negotiated a safe environment with the leadership that will allow the athletes to use the updated facilities for future practices, tournaments and events once we can safely return to in-person practices. ROL has committed to the free use of the facility during these events, which will allow for the addition of more athletes to our growing community. Rob has also used the marketing available to him through Re/Max to have donations made to DUO for every home sold by his Come Home Michigan brand during certain periods of time throughout the year. Through his brand, Rob is rolling out Come Home Cares—the charitable arm of Come Home Michigan—covering the cost of administration for both DUO and the Wayne-Westland Special Olympic teams.
During the COVID pandemic, Rob has hosted a weekly social media “Facebook Room” to invite all his contacts to connect with his athletes to chat virtually and play games through the platform. Most of his athletes get no other social interaction throughout the week, so this serves as a much-needed opportunity to connect, until the world can return to some form of normal gatherings. Rob uses any and all avenues available to keep his friends and athletes connected, inspired and engaged, and to let them know that someone cares.
“What we do is not only about athletics. It is about inclusion and hope. It is finding the human being that has fallen through the cracks of society and bringing them into our family. Until the world sees our athletes as equal to themselves, our mission is not done. We use sports to unite and as a centerpiece to our interactions. But social change is the hope. Bringing a voice to those that sometimes cannot speak for themselves is the mission. Seeing those left in the shadows brought out to be center stage restores my joy.”
— Robert Sherman