Running head: REFLECTION PAPER 1

Reflection of My Friendship House, Inc. Experience

Loretta McKelvey-Edwards

Wilmington University
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Reflection of My Friendship House, Inc. Experience

I was super excited about starting my internship at The Friendship House, Inc. because it

is a faith-based non-profit organization that assist individuals and families that are at risk of

facing homelessness or are homeless. I was impressed with the organization because of its

longevity; this organization has served the inner-city community of Wilmington, Delaware for

over 30 years and counting, and had recently expanded their services throughout New Castle

County; to include Newark, Middletown and the North Wilmington areas of Delaware.

It is my desire to transition to the non-profit arena upon my retirement from the Delaware

Department of Corrections. I believed that an internship with The Friendship House, Inc. would

provide me with knowledge, skills and experience needed to seek employment in the field of

non-profit management.

Before the Internship

Before the internship began, I contacted the Executive Director of The Friendship House,

Inc., Kim Eppehimer, via email on February 15, 2019 and attached a “Letter of Interest”

expressing my desire to intern with The Friendship House, Inc. Kim Eppehimer responded

immediately and requested that we meet face to face to talk further about the internship

opportunity. We stayed in contact via email from March until our actual meeting which took

place Tuesday March 27, 2019. During the meeting we reviewed the Guided Practicum manual

and discussed the role and expectations of the instructor and student.

At the conclusion of our meeting, Kim Eppehimer offered me an opportunity to complete

the 120 hour Guided Practicum at The Friendship House, Inc. and I gladly excepted. We decided

on the day and time that I would begin the internship and signed all the required documents so

that my first day with the organization I would be set up and ready to start.
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First Day

On my first day, I was greeted by the Executive Director, Kim Eppehimer, and she

introduced me to the administrative staff members at the main office; Roxanne Blake, the Office

Manager and Genell Walls, the Financial Assistance Program Worker and main office assistant.

Then together we reviewed, and I signed The Friendship House, Inc. Internship Agreement, I

was given access to the organization administrative Google Drive, issued a parking pass, met the

former Executive Director, Bill Perkins, who remains on staff as a consultant and had my

additional questions and concerns addressed. Additionally, I reviewed organizational documents

such as 501 3 (c) , program descriptions, the by-laws, the manual and learned about their mission

impact and sustainability.

I knew from the first day that I would enjoy interning at The Friendship House, Inc.

because the entire staff was warm and welcoming and excited to be a part of my learning

experience.

Experiences and Highlights.

Conducting my internship at The Friendship House, Inc. allowed me to have so many

positive experiences and the opportunity to learn about nonprofit organizations. I must admit that

I was unaware of the many services that The Friendship House, Inc. provided to the community.

They are known for their homeless ministry but they also have Transitional Housing for men and

women, provide clothing to the community by way of The Friendship House Clothing Bank of

Delaware, Day Ministry Empowerment Centers in Wilmington, Newark and Middletown,

Delaware and other programs such as their Sunday Breakfast; where they serve breakfast to men,

women and families in the community, the Winter Sanctuary program; where from 6am to 11am

their affiliated churches open to provide a warm place for the homeless during the winter months
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and Code Purple; which when temperatures are dangerously low participating churches open

their doors and offer food, water, coffee and shelter to those sleeping on the streets when

homeless shelters are full.

Hearing about, reading and observing the operation of these programs during my

internship sparked the flame of volunteerism in me and I’ve become an active volunteer of The

Friendship House, Inc. for the Sunday Breakfast program, and the Andrews Place transitional

house for men.

As an intern, I also had the opportunity to observed informal and formal Board meetings

conducted by the Executive Director. The informal meeting was called “Coffee Talk” in which

the Executive Director, over coffee and donuts highlighted and reviewed information for some of

the board members from the annual report, provided them with statistical information about the

clientele and briefly talked about the goals of the organization, trends and challenges the

organization is facing. I also observed the formal and annual board meeting which was five hours

long.

This was a great experience for me because I observed everything from the set up to the

major issues discussed throughout the meeting. This formal meeting provided me with an in

depth look on the roles and responsibilities of an Executive Director. For the annual meeting

specifically, the Executive Director had to prepare an agenda, a detailed report which covered

areas such as staffing, corporate affairs, fundraising, property management, mission & vision

committee, and a summary of the meeting. Other agendas were discussed during the annual

board meeting such as the Treasurers report, resource committee report, the Board Development

Nominating report, the assessment of The Clothing Bank report, and the report profit and loss

report of the Clothing Bank. The observation of an actual board meeting proved to be beneficial
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to me as I had no previous experience as to everything that takes place in operating a non-profit

organization.

As it relates to the daily operations of the administrative aspects of a non-profit

organization, I experienced the application of how the agency tracks the independent, local and

corporate donors by way of their main database. I was showed this function by the Office

Manager, Roxanne Blake, detailing exactly how to upload all the letters of donations and thank

you letters into the database. I also learned that the Executive Director personally signs all thank

you letters to donors of $500 or more. This was a nice gesture as it makes donors feel appreciated

that the executive director personally wrote and signed their thank you letter.

Funding for nonprofit organizations is huge as they rely heavily on donations; especially

The Friendship House, Inc. because they are an organization that do not accept any form of

government funding. The Executive Director informed me that the organization prefers not to

accept government funding because it allows the organization to maintain discretion over the

allocation of funds, eliminates restrictions for those that they help, and it allows the organization

to remain true to their mission.

One of the largest fundraising events for The Friendship House, Inc. is the Highmark

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Delaware Walk for a Healthy Community. This fundraiser is

important because the proceeds raised through the walk for The Friendship House, Inc. they

keep….100%! The walk was a success for 2019 as they raised $62,000 and is seeking to raise

more for the year 2020. I learned how to solicit financial and non-financial donations by utilizing

social media, traditional emailing, flyers and telephone soliciting. My family and I raised $100

for the walk, participated and recruited 5 additional walkers as well. It was an amazing fun filled
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event that allowed for networking among all local non-profit organizations within the State of

Delaware.

Touring the organizational facilities was interesting as they were not what I had

imagined. The properties were cleaned and staffed with welcoming professional that believed

whole-heartedly in the mission and vision of the organization. I learned the importance of

partnership and collaborations. For example, The Friendship House Clothing Bank of Delaware

partners with the State of Delaware Department of Corrections Women’s Work Release Center,

Hazel D. Plant Women’s Treatment Facility, and provide paid training to female offenders as

they are transitioning back to the community.

During my internship I had the opportunity to speak one on one with a few of the women

participating in the transitional housing program. It was refreshing to see how the women were

open and honest about their past and how they are pleased with The Friendship House, Inc. staff

members because they treat them all with love, kindness, and respect. While interviewing the

women a former graduate of the program came and shared how the program changed her life in a

positive way and that she returns to the site every few months just to lend a helping hand where

needed. This spoke volumes to me about the services provided and how strongly the program can

impact one’s life.

As far as shadowing the Executive Director, she had a busy schedule and I worked

independently at times. However, during our one on one time together she demonstrated how the

organization keeps the books balance; using Quick Books and explained the various sources of

income outside of the basic donations. Although the organization is not required by law to file a

990 form, they complete yearly it just in case they are ever audited. The organization believes in
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being transparent and publish their annual report on their website along with other documents,

however, they do not disclose the names of their donors for privacy reasons.

The organization was looking for a way to implement a recurring donation style program

to their webpage. The Executive Director assigned me to a special project which was to create an

informational document that she could share with the Board members about recurring donations

and incorporate it onto their website. The project was to provide them with a basic baseline that

they could build upon for recurring donations. I completed the project and she used it to

showcase an “idea” that the organization could build upon in the future.

Overall, I am pleased with the experiences and knowledge gained throughout my

internship at The Friendship House, Inc.

Recommendation.

The Friendship House, Inc. is an excellent organization to consider for an internship. The

current Executive Director, Kim Eppehimer and former Executive Director, Bill Perkins; who is

serves as a consultant for the organization, has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field

of faith-based non-profit management. The Friendship House, Inc. has offers so many services

and completing an internship with this agency will allow for the student learner to experience a

variety of areas in the Human Service field. I would highly recommend any student in the

Administration of Human Services program to consider The Friendship House, Inc. as a host

agency for their guided practicum.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, I had an amazing experience throughout my time I spent at The Friendship

House, Inc. and wouldn’t trade it for the world. I learned a lot through observation as well as

hands on application. I gained a better understanding of the role and responsibilities of an

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Executive Director. I realized that I enjoy more of the management aspect and hands on type of

position verses that of an Executive Director. I believe that I would need to more exposure to the

nonprofit arena before I seek employment in the field. I believe that because I became a

volunteer, I will gain additional knowledge and experience on the operations of nonprofit. I was

however, offered employment at my exit interview but was unable to accept the offer at this time;

however, I did commit to volunteering as much as my schedule allows.