Photo by Tyson Pough
Helena Banks has lived in several places across the Dallas-Fort Worth area in her lifetime, but for her, nothing compares to her time in East Dallas. She’s made a home here and believes those around her are the most “neighborly of neighbors.”
“This is our little community,” she says. “I live, work and play inside of Loop 12.”
Banks has earned her stripes as a nonprofit veteran, starting at KERA as the major gifts coordinator and then joining the American Heart Association as the major gifts adviser. Most recently, she’s served as the Director of Development and external affairs at Bonton Farms. She clearly remembers the moment she knew this would be her career path.
“I took one of those weird tests in like seventh grade where it said, ‘What are you gonna be when you grow up?’” Banks says.
The results came in. She was bound to become either a congressperson or work for a nonprofit agency.
“I took that very seriously. It’s what I always wanted to do,” she says.
Her pursuit of nonprofit work, and a knack for fundraising she discovered during her college years, has led her to Our Friends Place.
The organization started in 1987 and aims to help young women dealing with abuse, neglect, poverty or homelessness. Its program requires residents to enroll in an education or vocational program, while working a job. Their earnings are used partly as rent and the rest is used to build savings. All of this takes place while they attend weekly sessions about life and job skills.
Banks took over as the CEO of Our Friends Place following the 30-year tenure of former Executive Director Sue Theirs Hesseltine.
“I knew from the beginning that I wanted my resume to reflect my values,” she says. “My passions are women and girls, the arts and the animals of course — but primarily, I want to be a helper.”
As she settles into the new role, receiving guidance and insight from Hesseltine, she’s clear on what path she wants to take at Our Friends Place.
“My goal is to strengthen Our Friends Place’s fundraising capacity and administrative infrastructure,” she says. “To enhance and expand the delivery of essential programs and homelessness prevention services.”
