Empowering Every Trainee: Building on 85+ Years of MARI Care and Innovation
Since 1937, the Mary A. Rackham Institute (MARI) has been a launchpad for hundreds of clinicians – psychologists, social workers, speech-language pathologists, and more – serving the University of Michigan and the wider community with compassion and expertise.
Many of our supporters are alumni who remember the hard-earned progress their clients made in their work together, the skills they gained through their training at MARI, and the meaningful connections made with their fellow trainees and clinical supervisors.
Introducing the New Trainee Support Fund: Flexibility & Choice for the Next Generation
What’s different this year?
On this Giving Blueday, we’re launching a dedicated fund to help every new MARI trainee – across our Psychological Clinic, University Center for the Child and Family, and the University Center for Language and Literacy – purchase what they need to excel in their training and client care.
In its inaugural year, our goal is to make sure each trainee has equitable access to essential training resources. Donations will go to empowering our trainees, providing the support they need to succeed and innovate – no one gets left behind.
Unlike the excellent supervision and basics (paper, pencils, etc.) that MARI already provides, this fund would allow trainees to receive personalized items that help them and their clients thrive.
Examples include (but are not limited to):
- Organization & Clinic Supplies: Binders, sheet protectors, whiteboards, and dry-erase markers, for example, to support organization and daily operations.
- Fidgets and Sensory Tools: Useful for helping clients regulate attention and manage anxiety.
- Therapeutic Games, Toys, and Art Materials: Facilitate creative engagement, assessment, and intervention.
- Clinical Workbooks: Help track client treatment goals and build essential resources as trainees progress toward licensure.
- Language-Learning Tools: Includes flashcards, technological aids, and apps.
- Books and Reference Guides: Focused on emerging therapies and current best practices.
- Certification, Training, and Workshop Costs: Funding opportunities for professional development and deeper expertise.
- Assistive Devices: For working with clients with physical or communication needs.
Donations would be investments in their skill, confidence, and the impact they bring to every client session.
"Additional funds for our clinical trainees would not only help them more effectively serve their clients now, but it would also give them a stronger foundation of physical materials they can use after their training at MARI is done that will support their launch into the next stage of their careers."
— Erin Hunter, Director of MARI’s Mental Health Clinics
For Alumni: Pay it Forward
Remember the tools, support, and encouragement that helped you succeed? You can give that same boost to those who follow in your footsteps. Today’s trainees face new challenges and opportunities—and with your gift, you equip them to rise to the occasion.
For New Supporters: Your Impact is Immediate
Your donation creates more personalized, effective therapy, meeting clients where they are, with what they need, while empowering trainee clinicians to grow, innovate, and connect.
Why Flexible Support Matters
Every trainee has unique professional goals, client populations, and approaches – so “one-size-fits-all” funding doesn’t meet their needs. This fund would make support practical, reusable, and inclusive: all trainees, in every discipline, benefit equally – now and in the future.
Give Today. Enable Tomorrow’s Excellence.
Your support isn’t just a gift, it’s a legacy. Whether you once trained here yourself or are new to our mission, you are shaping the MARI story for years to come.
Thank you for empowering tomorrow’s clinicians and the clients whose lives they’ll change.