About Us!
Friends In Deed has been around for a while. For almost 40 years, we’ve worked to help our neighbors in need by filling in the cracks of assistance offered by other organizations and nonprofits in the community. In recent years, we expanded our focus. We now have three Help Line programs that help stabilize families in crisis, as well as an 18-month program that focuses on building community to end poverty:
- Our Direct Assistance Program helps families prevent utility shut off, obtain a prescription or other one-time medical need, and more.
- Our Furniture Program helps families obtain basic-needs furniture, including beds, kitchen tables and chairs, couches, etc.
- Our Transportation Program helps families with both their long-term and short-term transportation needs, including Lyft certificates, car repair and even access to reliable used cars.
- Our Circles Program focuses on helping families lift themselves out of poverty.
History
Friends In Deed evolved from the efforts of Polly Helmke and Libby Hillegonds, who brought together a group of people to study the Love Inc. model back in 1982. With the support of several local congregations, the group eventually pooled their ideas about the services needed by the Washtenaw County community and created Friends In Deed.
Humble Beginnings
The doors opened on June 5th, 1983, with a volunteer staff in donated office space: 64 N. Huron Street in Ypsilanti. While requests for assistance started pouring in almost immediately, the organization didn’t have its first paid position until 1985, when Barbara Beesley accepted a part-time position as Program Director. As the organization grew over the next few years to serve more people, the staff grew as well. In 1988, Helena Prince was hired as a part-time casework manager.
Adaptive Service Programs
Friends In Deed’s mandate has always been to fill in the cracks of service offered by the other organizations and nonprofits in the community, which means Friends In Deed’s services have changed and evolved over the years. For instance, at times during the organization’s history, Friends In Deed offered an appliance repair program and eviction-prevention program. It also offered parenting workshops, new mom’s support groups, financial management training and a car-care clinic.
The late 1990s was the time period during which several services and programs were initiated that continue to this day, including the Car Repair program, Furniture program, How-to-Help Seminar, and Resource Guides publications.
Congregational Support
While the Direct Assistance and Furniture programs continued to grow over the years, so, too, did Friends In Deed’s congregational support. By the early 2000s, Friends In Deed had a network of 47 congregations that supported us financially and with volunteers.
Office and Warehouse Facilities
This growth eventually resulted in the need to consolidate Friends In Deed’s operations and warehouse. A Capital Campaign was created in 2007 with the goal of raising $300,000 to purchase, renovate and equip a building: 1196 Ecorse Road in Ypsilanti. Friends In Deed moved into the facility in December of 2008. Through the generous donations and pledges from the Board of Directors, the Capital Campaign was completed and the mortgage retired in early 2011.
Moving Forward
Helena Prince retired in 2011, and Sarah Thornburg was hired as the new Executive Director. The mission at Friends In Deed continues to adapt to the needs of the community. We look forward to the next 30 years of serving Washtenaw County.
In 2017, Friends In Deed implemented Circles Washtenaw, a new program that works to lift families out of poverty by matching low-income heads of households (Leaders) with two middle- to high-income volunteers (Allies) for 18 months.
Staff
- Executive Director
- Director of the Furniture Program
- Director of Communications/Development
- Development Associate
- Office Manager
- Caseworker
- Circles Coordinator
- Circles Coach
- AmeriCorps VISTA (Andrew)
- AmeriCorps VISTA (Megan)
Sarah Thornburg is our Executive Director, which means she’s responsible for just about everything at Friends In Deed. She supervises the staff and works with clients and volunteers alike. She also serves as the liaison to our board, generous donors and congregation/business partners. Sarah took over the Executive-Director reins from Helena Prince, who held the position for many years. Sarah started in April, 2011 after holding increasing positions of responsibility at other non-profit organizations. Sarah loves that Friends In Deed’s mission allows the organization to change to accommodate the needs in the community. She also loves working with the amazing people – staff, board, volunteers, donors – who are the friends of Friends In Deed. “These volunteers blow my mind; I’ve never seen people with their level of commitment.” Personally, Sarah’s “claim to fame” is her grandson, Morgan.
Kia was born and raised in Detroit. She decided to move out of state to Missouri in 2007, where she spent a little less then a decade. She soon realized that she missed her family and returned to Michigan. She spent some time looking around the neighboring cities, but found herself residing comfortably in Ypsilanti. It was just the right fit.
After receiving help from our Direct Assistance program, Kia looked into our Circles program. It ended up being a good fit for her needs, so she started on the program’s 18-month journey.
Kia was working at a nursing home at the beginning of the pandemic. While she enjoyed the work, she wanted something different. She also wanted something that would allow her to spend time with her daughters, and Friends In Deed’s flexible schedule would allow her to do just that.
Kia has an 11-year-old daughter named Nya, as well as a beautiful newborn daughter named Nova. Nova is now 2 months old!
Laurie Sternberg is our Director of Communications & Development, which means she handles most of the communication for the organization, including grant writing and this website! She also posts information on social media, reaches out to get new volunteers, writes the newsletter and works on the Annual Dinner & Silent Auction and Golf Outing.
Laurie came to Friends In Deed in 2013, after working on the Help Line for several years. While Laurie’s background is in law and journalism, she finds she utilizes both skills in persuasive grant writing and writing client profiles. She also likes the variety of people she works with on a day-to-day basis, as well as the variety of tasks that make up her job.
Laurie likes that Friends In Deed focuses on helping people overcome those obstacles that would otherwise result in catastrophe: an unexpected car repair, falling short on a DTE payment, etc.
“It continually amazes me how little assistance it takes to keep people on track.”
Laurie has a husband, three kids, and two dogs.
Talk Movies and TV. Laurie and her family love watching movies and binge watching TV; so challenge her to name names. Can’t remember who starred in a movie? Check out LMDB (Laurie Movie Database). Her head is stuffed (some say to overflowing) with TV and movie trivia.
Amtheyst Floyd is our Development Associate, working directly under Laurie Sternberg, the Director of Communications/Development.
Amtheyst found Friends In Deed when she was working on her college Capstone project, returned as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2018, and became an official employee in 2019. So far, she says that “this has been an amazing experience!”
Jane Slider is our office manager.
Joye is Friends In Deed’s caseworker, which means she completes intakes with clients in person and over the telephone. She also collaborates with other agencies and advocates on her clients’ behalf.
Joye’s ability to empathize with her clients is reflected in her work history. Aside from a brief stint as a paralegal, Joye has always been attracted to the human services field. Her first job was as a daycare preschool teacher. She also spent 10 years rehabbing people suffering from traumatic brain injury.
She also worked on a helpline through her prior job as a Housing Resource Specialist at Housing Access of Washtenaw County (HAWC). While Joye already knew the difficulties families faced finding housing after a setback like eviction, her experience with the FID Helpline gave her insight into all of the other struggles faced by low-income families in our community.
Joye is married and lives with her husband, her 8-year-old stepson, 12-year-old daughter and new puppy in Ypsilanti.
Suzanne Van Dam is our Circles Coordinator, which means she will look outward into the community to find and train allies, develop resource teams, and raise funds.
Suzanne has a Master’s in English from the University of Illinois and has over 20 years of teaching, communications, and program development.
From Yooper to Ypsi: Suzanne is not only new to Friends In Deed, she’s new to the area. She hails from Houghton in the U.P., where she was very active implementing her community’s first AmeriCorps program and the first county-wide recycling program.
Friends In Deed and Circles: Suzanne loves the idea of helping people directly. While she appreciates Friends In Deed’s programs that provide emergency assistance and keep people on their feet, she is glad to have the opportunity through the new Circles program to empower them in the long term.
“Everyone wants to be independent, whether it be financially or emotionally.”
Personal: Suzanne has two adult daughters living in the area. One of her daughters is attending U-M law school, while the other is working for FoodCorps in Detroit. She also has a pooch named Freida.
We’d like to extend a warm welcome to Bonita Bingham, our new Circles Coach. Bonita will be the person who works with the Circle Leaders and volunteer Allies.
Background: Bonita originally hails from Grand Rapids. After completing her Bachelor’s degree at University of Michigan, she returned to Grand Rapids to teach for 10 years. After going back to U-M to obtain her Master’s in Urban Planning, she worked for Genesee County, where she developed her interest in community development.
That interest helped guide her in her career choices thereafter. For instance, she worked as a fidelity manager for the Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program, where she gave support to its programs in Michigan and Ohio. The Carrera Program is a long-term youth development program and views youth at-promise rather than at-risk. In addition to preventing pregnancy, the program included components in education, job skills, creative expression, lifetime sports, family life, mental health and medical & dental.
Friends In Deed and Circles: One of the reasons Friends In Deed’s Circles program appealed to Bonita was because it “connects the dots for people to enhance their quality of life.”
Personal: “I like to dabble in a lot of stuff,” Bonita says of her personal hobbies. That being said, she really likes family genealogy research.
While Bonita is obviously interested in her family’s past, she’s managed to make a big contribution to its future. Her four children have given her 12 grandchildren and four great grandchildren!
Andrew Green. It he.
Megan Rochlitz, the newest member of the Friends In Deed family, comes to us from St. Ignace, where she served a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Mackinac Economic Alliance. Majoring in religion, with a minor in English, she was drawn to the field for its interdisciplinarity. Branching into matters of history, philosophy, sociology, and more, what she found most interesting in her studies was the role religious movements have played as both drivers for and bulwarks against social change.
After graduating, Megan joined the workforce but found herself unsatisfied. “I needed something that would be different. Something that would help people rather than just improve the company’s bottom line,” she explained. So Megan committed to a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA, a program she so enjoyed that she’s decided to do it all over again with Friends In Deed.
Board of Directors
There are many, many people who help Friends In Deed (FID) help those in need, not the least of which are our generous donors and volunteers. That being said, there a several people responsible for FID’s continued operation and future direction. The people who make up the Board of Directors of Friends In Deed donate their time, resources and expertise to the organization.
- Robert Thompson (President)
- Cameron LaFleur (Vice President)
- Mike Klar (Treasurer)
- Danielle Milner (Secretary)
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- Alexandra Dieck
- Kristin Gapske
- Phil Geyer
- Rev. Jerry Hatter
- Tom Humphreys
- David Pate
- Alisha Spencer
- Gary Stahl
- Najma Treadwell
- Angela Williams
Contact Information & Map
Our offices are located at:
Friends In Deed
1196 Ecorse Road
Ypsilanti, MI. 48198
You can reach us at:
Direct Assistance and Transportation Help Line: (734) 484-4357
Furniture Line: (734) 484-7607
Circles Line: (734) 340-9042
Administrative Line: (734) 485-7658
Office Hours
Mission Statement
Helping People in Need; Building Community to End Poverty
Non-Discrimination Policy
It is the policy of Friends In Deed to provide employment, membership and service opportunities to all eligible person without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, gender,
marital status, sexual orientation or disability. It is the policy of Friends In Deed to comply with all federal, state and local laws and regulations regarding equal opportunity.
Additionally, it is the policy of Friends In Deed not to discriminate against any person on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation or disability in participation in its programs, services and activities. For further information about this policy, contact the Executive Director.
