Hello Friends! Thank you again for the support you’ve shown to our effort over the last four years to send kids in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and now Haiti to secondary school! You’ve helped over 100 kids attend school, resulting in our first university graduates and real, clear paths out of poverty. This summer, we supported our first five students from Jacmel, Haiti, in their pursuit of education. Three weeks ago, we approved an additional student who, because of economic realities, had to move to a different city and lost her scholarship from another source. We picked her up so that the economic issues causing her to move did not derail her education. I have a lot of exciting news to share below, and a special invitation, as we gear up to launch our campaign for 2026! Thank you so much for all you do!
WE’RE OFFICIAL! For the last four years, we have operated as a designated fund at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. We are incredibly grateful to Prince of Peace for the many ways members and the congregation have supported this work! We’ve known, though, that in order to grow, we needed to become official–and now we are! As of July, the Global Secondary Education Fund is an official 501(3)(3) organization. This is changing the way that you can support us. For those supporting through a church, you can certainly still do that. Now, though, you can also mail checks directly to the Global Secondary Education Fund, 4130 SE 24th St., Des Moines, IA 50320. Soon, we will have a direct Venmo account, as well as online giving. Watch for a special announcement about online giving–including incentives for monthly donors–in the coming weeks!
SO NOW… IT’S TIME TO PARTY!!! We’re so excited to get going, we thought we should celebrate! Stop by the Ding Darling Shelter in Birdland Park in Des Moines on October 12 from 4-6 for a special celebration. The event is free, and includes a chicken grain bowl bar from Dinner Delights, a cookie decorating station with cookies shaped as Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Haiti, informational displays, Kenyan soapstone and Haitian art for purchase, and a silent auction! At 4:30, we’ll have a few remarks from Joe Nolte, GSEF Board President, and Tafadzwa Dzinoreva, Founder of Broken Wings Initiative, our partner in Chiredzi and Chipinge in Zimbabwe, and we will make a special announcement regarding our 2026 goal. You won’t want to miss it! Make sure to let us know if you are coming by replying to this message or going to our Facebook event page and clicking “Going”. We hope you’ll join the party! And please invite your friends–I’ve attached a poster you can use.
AND YOU CAN GET INVOLVED! We’re developing opportunities for local involvement in this project. If you like people and would like to help with events, please contact me at president@globalsef.org. We could use help at our launch party, as well as at various events where we can sell soapstone or spread the word about our work. If you have a club, church, Bunco group, or a dinner party where you’d like to have a speaker talk about what we are doing, reach out to president@globalsef.org. We’ll go anywhere in the country (our president has airline miles to use!). The more we can grow, the more students go to school!
CHECK US OUT ONLINE! We are now on the internet (so you know we are official): Find our website at www.globalsef.org. From our website, you’ll find links to our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages.
BUY SOAPSTONE YEAR-ROUND! Thank you to Zumi Collections at the Painted Tree Boutiques, 11101 University Avenue, for carrying a selection of our soapstone in the store! We are opening an additional site soon for year round soapstone purchasing! And you can again find us at the Prince of Peace Fall Festival on Saturday, October 11, from 9-2, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Des Moines. Our soapstone and Haitian goods are donated, so 100% of the proceeds of your purchase support secondary school fees for students in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Haiti.
Mesi! Asante sana! Thank you again for your support of this work! We appreciate you. And as always, please reach out to me with any questions.
Joe Nolte, Board President
Global Secondary Education Fund
319-929-0197
Global Secondary Education Fund Board of Directors:
Katherine Sharma, Vice President
Paula Kyburz, Secretary
Kathy Arnold, Treasurer
Ricki King
Joanne Nolte
Tushar Sharma
Global Partners:
Richard Nyagiro/St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s Secondary Schools, Kisii, Kenya
Broken Wings Initiative, Chiredzi and Chipinge, Zimbabwe
Friends of St. Joseph Family, Haiti, Jacmel, Haiti