The purpose of the Sally and John Goodrow Fund is to provide support to the John H. Goodrow Fund (JHGF), housed at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Pleasant. It is the intent of the JHGF to provide emergency assistance, including food, shelter, clothing, medicine, gasoline, or other support to community members. This Fund maintains particular interest in serving the special needs of community members not met or fulfilled by other community resources.
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Sally and John met through the Canterbury Club at Wayne State University (WSU) in the late 1950’s. John had graduated from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and had moved to the Detroit area to take a position as Rector of two segregated parishes - one black and one white.  The two married in August 1959, months after Sally graduated from WSU with a degree in social work. The couple’s first two children were born in Detroit, Katherine and Ellen. In 1962 John took a position as the rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Pleasant. Sally and John had their third child after moving to Mt. Pleasant, John Thomas.
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From the beginning of his 23 years at St. John’s, John used his discretionary funds to provide financial assistance to community members. “John thought churches had obligations to help people in need,” said Sally. When John began helping individuals who were passed over by state and federal assistance because of all the requirements, Sally explained he considered it, “just another part of his ministry.”  John shared his work with businessmen in town during early-morning breakfasts at Stan’s Restaurant. The businessmen took interest and started donating to his cause.
In 1985 John traveled to England where he contracted a bacterial infection that stumped doctors in both England and at The University of Michigan Medical School. They never diagnosed him correctly and John passed away later that year, in his 50’s.  After his death, businessmen and leaders of various social agencies throughout the Mt. Pleasant community began contacting Sally. Each person was concerned the good that was happening because of Johns Fund would end, with nothing to take its place. As a result of their support and donations, the “John H. Goodrow Memorial Fund” was officially set in place at St. John’s in 1987, complete with a board of directors, volunteer training, and later its establishment as a United Way agency. From 1987 through 2009 Sally chaired the board of trustees and served as director of the JHGF Fund in addition to her social worker position with Alma school district. She led teams of volunteers in providing what totaled $600,000 of emergency financial assistance to community residents complimented by thousands of hours of in-kind service hours worth several thousands of dollars. From the first budget in 1989 that allocated $100 each week through the 2009 budget that allocated $1,500 each week she made certain the money helped the greatest number of people possible.
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Patricia Hathaway, who took over Sally’s role as director of the JHFG Fund in 2009 described Sally as not afraid to put herself into anything. “No task is too menial for her,” said Patricia. “She will help someone with laundry one day, meet another person at the train station to buy them a ticket the next, and no one will ever hear about it. She is the most humble person I have ever met.”
Although the memorial fund housed at St. John’s recognized Sally’s husband, Hathaway and the fund’s board members wanted to find a way to honor Sally for her 20 years of commitment. “She’s a dedicated, compassionate, and strong individual,” said Hathaway. “The quote that will always remind me of her is from Eleanor Roosevelt, ‘A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.’” The board’s search led to the creation of the Sally and John Goodrow Fund with the Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation, where the JHGF funds are now permanently endowed.

For the first 20 years, almost 100 percent of fund monies went to consumers with financial emergencies. “The only administrative cost was office supplies,” said Sally with a smile. In 2008 the organization brought on a paid staff member one day a week, Patricia Hathaway, who took on Sally’s role in directing the Fund when she retired in 2009. Sally sees it as the third phase in the development of the organization throughout the years. It began with her husband using what little money he had available to help people in need, developed into a fund run by volunteers, and is now transitioning into an organization run by a professional staff.