Meet Jenny Hutchinson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Hutchinson, Director – Sistahs Reachin’ Out.

Hi Jenny, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My brother and I are products of a single parent-led household. Our mom, for as far back as I can remember, constantly struggled — as a single mom — to provide for us. It wasn’t because she wasn’t a beast about it, but it was moreso due to a number of unfortunate circumstances, i.e., she’d get reliable transportation to get back and forth to work and my brother ended up totaling the car. Or she’d land a great job paying more money with hours that allowed her to be home when we were home, but she somehow broke her ankle that had her off that job for weeks. It was the constant one step forward, two steps back, on top of single parenting, that by all rights should have broken her. But, as much as I remember the struggle, I also remember my mother’s resilience — going to school, in rain, sleet and snow on the city bus, to get her bachelor’s degree in Accounting, making a clean space at the kitchen table for her schoolwork, making carbon copies for her as she ran a tax business out of our basement for years. This was my example and, as such, it has informed my life’s work.

I am the director of Sistahs Reachin’ Out (SRO) mainly because of my mother’s journey. SRO is a community-based nonprofit serving the city of Detroit from its northwest Detroit community. The overarching mission of SRO is to move the city’s growing population of low-income single parent-led families from situations of economic insecurity to situations of economic mobility and security through the two proven pathways of higher education attainment and entrepreneurship.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely, not! Running a nonprofit organization has been both the most rewarding and most challenging phase of my career to date. It is not for the faint of heart! But, critically, I have learned that to do the type of work we endeavor to do in our community, relationship-building is key. Not just with potential funders and community partners, but more importantly with the individuals we want to serve. The process of gaining economic security, i.e., economic freedom, for residents in our community who boast generational poverty, generational lack — across the board — sometimes through historic levels of disinvestment — is often just that, a process, meaning it will take time. Getting community members to trust that we will be there for them through all the time it may take, takes trust. And trust does not come without relationship.

This takes, among many things, some ‘sticktoedness’ on our part — on my part as the director of this effort — no matter the obstacles or challenges. This is how I know that I know I’m my mother’s daughter, because I, too, am resilient. I will not quit until we meet our goals.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Although my background is in Community Education, I am also an entrepreneur — yet another trait I get from my momma. So, in addition to running a nonprofit, I also own framemycellpix.com — on e-retail service for the printing, framing, and shipping of digital photos. So, when we get that low-income single mom or dad who comes to the nonprofit for help in accessing a 2- or 4-year college degree program to obtain that credential that will make them more competitive for professional opportunities that net wages that can effectively lift a family out of poverty or seeks information on how start a low-cost, community-based business toward achieving better financial outcomes for their family, my expertise, as well as that of our Board and volunteers, every day helps us meet the mission of the organization and the community we serve.

What makes you happy?
Truly, helping others makes me happy, and it makes for a purposeful existence. So often, the temptation is to think only of oneself, your issues, your problems. But, for me, it so much more fulfilling to think of others — certainly not at the expense of myself or my family — be in how I can be a resource in meeting a critical need for someone else. If I can fill the rest of my remain days as a helper to someone in need, that’s nirvana. 

Pricing:

• All programming offered by SRO is free

Contact Info:

• Website: https://srodet.org
• Instagram: @srodetroit
• Facebook: @srodetroit