Huntington Place Heroes

The Huntington Place Heroes program is an array of activities and programs designed to engage the local Detroit and global events communities. 

• Health and fitness events open to the public, event attendees and employees

• Community engagement events offering local volunteer opportunities

• Rigorous Anti-Human Trafficking Program 

• Naming sponsor, Huntington Bank, adds caring with financial opportunities and free education sessions to the public 

• Mamava nursing pods, gender neutral bathrooms and a comprehensive accessibility program 

• As the economic engine for the Southeast Michigan community, Huntington Place is proud of its record in providing jobs and job fairs to local residents

Community Engagement

The Huntington Place Heroes health and fitness program is ongoing during the spring, summer and fall seasons, providing free exercise, networking and community engagement opportunities for the local downtown community. Activities like Zumba, Yoga and Tai Chi are coupled with opportunities to give back to local non profits that support the areas needy such as Forgotten Harvest and COTS.

Activities are conducted on the venue's outdoor terrace, Huntington Place Square, in view of the 4,000 square-foot marquee digital sign, which is sometimes incorporated into the festivities in creative and interactive ways.

During inclement weather, the activities are inside in the beautiful 30,000 square-foot, three-story glass atrium, overlooking the Detroit River. The addition of locally sourced music, fashion, wine tasting and craft beer often add to the Huntington Place Impact community ambience.

Volunteerism And Community Beautification

Each year, Huntington Place employees along with their friends, family and other invested community members participate in year-round beautification efforts for the downtown Detroit area. Volunteers help clean around homes, businesses, churches and schools, and board up vacant houses. The planting of flowers, plants or trees also is encouraged.

Hungtington Place staff (above) honors the memory of Delores Bennett, founder of Huntington Place's annual Adopt a Child for Christmas event, a program that shares the joy of the holiday with thousands of Detroit area children in Huntington Place. Joined by other community groups, staff cleans up the Delores Bennett Park and returns periodically to continue to help maintain the park.

Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts

Human trafficking is an enormous problem, particularly for the event industry.  Knowing the importance to identify warning signs of people caught in human trafficking rings and contributing to the eradication of the problem, the Anti-Human Trafficking Program in Huntington Place provides education for employees, suppliers and visitors to the venue. 

Huntington Place leadership rigorously engages the Detroit law enforcement task force and downtown Detroit hoteliers in identifying and apprehending human trafficking activity during events. All information and reports are immediately turned over to the local FBI office for further investigation. To date, we are proud to say the these efforts have led to several arrests and disruption to the human trafficking organizations.

View our Human Trafficking Policy.

Huntington Bank and Huntington Place Care

Huntington Bank announced the award of the venue naming rights in early 2019, cementing a partnership that brings enormous resources to the Huntington Place Impact program. Throughout the Metro Detroit area, Huntington Bank provides funding for neighborhood development, stabilization and revitalization, free job training, and reduced and discounted banking products for city workers. 

Huntington Place and Huntington Bank offer financial education and counseling sessions to families to alleviate tax foreclosures, access mortage assistance, and help people and neighborhoods develop good money management skills allowing them to make informed financial decisions, empowering them to take control of their financial future. The sessions provide an introduction to banking as well as home ownership and credit basics targeted to low and moderate income individuals.

The 22 year naming rights contract for Huntington Place means many more opportunities like these for local Detroit residents are expected to be offered in the venue in the near future. Stay tuned!

Huntington Place As Economic Engine for Detroit

As the 16th largest U.S. convention center and the largest event venue in Detroit, Huntington Place is proud of its record in providing an ever increasing number of jobs to local Southeast Detroit residents over the past decade.

Several local unions operate in Huntington Place to provide services to events in the venue, including: Electricians; Teamsters/Ironworkers; Carpenters; Stagehands; Janitors; Food Service Workers; Security. Along with the Huntington Place operations and capital improvements team, this ever growing workforce provides decent work and economic growth to employees. The number of employees at any one time in the venue fluctuates with events. For example, during the annual North American International Auto Show, 3,500 people are employed in the venue. Huntington Place is currently hosting 250 events a year.

Diversity, Gender Equality and Inclusion

Huntington Place is an equal opportunity employer committed to supporting a diverse workforce. Numerous events in the venue support gender equality and LGBTQ rights. Huntington Place is an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant center. We make it a priority to welcome and accommodate all guests.

Gender neutral bathrooms are available for events. Consult your event manager for details.

Two Mamava lactation pods are always in place in Huntington Place, and can be moved near events in the facility as requested. They are a clean, private and accessible option to meet the needs of nursing mothers in the venue. Ask the information desk on the concourse for details.