Moving Back to Detroit: Challenge Detroit Participant Brittany Sanders

Sep 15, 2012

My friends and I often joke that our lives growing up in Detroit would have been perfect material for a reality show. Not a reality show depicting blight and violence – words that some people automatically associate with Detroit – but a show filled with normal teenage madness: school, relationships, driver’s training, hanging out and extreme fun!

Challenge Detroit

My childhood in Detroit was nothing short of amazing. I grew up in a middleclass neighborhood, attended some of the city’s most reputable schools, had an active social life and was involved in many extracurricular activities. Although I loved Detroit, I wanted to leave Michigan for college. I really wanted to move to Atlanta to attend Spelman College. So, after graduation, I did just that. Fast forward 10 years and I have lived in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, and I spent this past summer in DC. Challenge Detroit is what brought me back home.

One day while living in Tennessee, I was perusing Facebook and saw a post from a high school friend about a program that she wrote, “[sounded] like a great opportunity.” In her post, the word “Detroit” grabbed my attention and I had to know more about this opportunity. After reading as much as I could about Challenge Detroit, I knew I needed to apply. I submitted my application a few days later; the rest is history.

I feel extremely thankful to have been selected for this program. I received a lot of strange looks when I told people I was moving back home. However, once I told them why, the looks changed from incredulity to approval. The general consensus was, “That’s exactly what the city needs.” I couldn’t agree more. I remember back to a time a couple of years ago when I was talking to my mom and I randomly said, “If someone ever put together a program where you could come to Detroit and help rebuild the city, I would do it.”

Challenge Detroit Tour

Two years later and here I am! Orientation kicked off with a keynote speech from Mayor Dave Bing. The week also included talks from other heavy hitters in the area, professional development sessions, a ride on the People Mover (which I haven’t done in at LEAST 15 years!) and clean-up on the Detroit Riverfront. I also visited my host company, Focus: HOPE, where my manager set up meetings for me with the CEO (who will be my mentor!), COO and two Directors.

Focus: HOPE is a non-profit civil and human rights organization here in the city working to overcome racism, poverty and injustice. At Focus: HOPE, I am a part of the Community Development team, where I am currently working on recruiting for an entrepreneurship training program for entrepreneurs in Focus: HOPE’s target area. The work that Focus: HOPE has been doing for the past 44 years is meaningful, tangible and impactful. With Challenge Detroit, U-Haul and Focus: HOPE, I am so excited to be a part of this great work to move the city forward.

~ Brittany

More articles like this one…

What’s New

Veterans Day 2023: U-Haul Shows Support in 3 Parades

Veterans Day 2023: U-Haul Shows Support in 3 Parades

From the Big Apple to the Valley of the Sun, U-Haul Team Members honored our nation’s heroes by participating in three Veterans Day Parades on Nov. 11. The ongoing U-Haul commitment to veterans -- and support of Veterans Day parades to honor them -- derives from the...

U-Haul Bakes Pizzas with Purpose at St. Vincent de Paul

U-Haul Bakes Pizzas with Purpose at St. Vincent de Paul

What do delicious homemade pizza and Team U-Haul have in common? They were both recently found at St. Vincent de Paul’s main campus in Phoenix during a volunteer event where U-Haul Team Members and other volunteers prepared 150 pies for people in need of food. For...

Serving Meals at André House Brings Joy to U-Haul Volunteers

Serving Meals at André House Brings Joy to U-Haul Volunteers

Located in a bustling section of Phoenix, André House serves hundreds of people each day who are currently experiencing homelessness. The nonprofit generously provides a variety of resources to help people get back on their feet, including free hot meals, drinking...

U-Haul Makes Meals to Help Families at Ronald McDonald House

U-Haul Makes Meals to Help Families at Ronald McDonald House

For more than 37 years, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Central and Northern Arizona has provided a “home away from home” for families traveling to the Valley to obtain medical care for their children. At the Roanoke House in Midtown Phoenix and other...

U-Haul and VVA Unite to Serve Veterans

U-Haul and VVA Unite to Serve Veterans

Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), an organization founded in 1978 to support and advocate for veterans of the Vietnam War, serves by the motto “never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.” VVA’s goal is to promote the well-being of all veterans and...