This past weekend, Big Sean's non-profit organization, Sean Anderson Foundation, hosted its second annual D.O.N. Weekend in the west side of Detroit. The event spanned two days; Saturday consisting of a block party, and Sunday a mental health awareness discussion. The Sean Anderson Foundation's website lists its founding pillars as the promotion of "education, safety, health and well-being". In just two days, the foundation managed to organize several activities that foster all these things.
The block party was hosted behind the Dick & Sandy Dauch Boys & Girls Club, an educational and recreational youth center. On Saturday, Big Sean unveiled the $100,000, fully equipped Sean Anderson Foundation Production Studio in the center, which will be used to teach kids audiovisual skills, to host small performances and other events for aspiring artists. Big Sean was accompanied by his mother, Myra Anderson - who is his partner in running the foundation - for the studio's grand opening.
Outside the center, the Sean Anderson Foundation's neighborhood block party took place. For this event, Big Sean collaborated with another organization, Ally, which its chief marketing and public relations officer, Andrea Brimmer, described as "focused on aiding economic mobility through programs that provide all individuals greater access to services, education and resources they can use to help improve their economic circumstances and enrich their lives". The block party's activities included live music, free food, free haircuts and braiding, neighborhood hero awards, health screenings, job placements, felony expungement, carnival rides, coding tutorials and more.
On Sunday, Big Sean hosted Mental Health Awareness Discussion with Dr. Jessica Clemons, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and Shawn H. Wilson, President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan. As the Sean Anderson Foundation's website specified, the discussion aimed to "explore the narrative and stigma around mental health in the Black Community". Last month, Big Sean returned from his quiet hiatus with new music, but also by sharing that he had been struggling with anxiety and depression during that period. Today, Big Sean posted a clip from the mental health panel on Instagram in which he says, "I truthfully feel like communication is the bridge to salvation that God is walking us across and just like any bridge you can't miss out on any steps."
Clearly, Big Sean is doing all the right things to improve his mind and his community.