On a recent evening, Tools for Schools Africa Foundation hosted our second Shine! fundraising event, where we sold donated jewelry, handbags and scarves.
Funds raised exceeded $36,000 and we know that we could not have achieved this without your generosity and support.
Tools for Schools Africa Foundation is a Red Deer-based NGO that provides scholarships to girls in West Africa so they can attend junior high, senior high and post-secondary institutions.
The overall funding raised at Shine! will support the 80-plus girls on scholarship, 11 of whom are receiving post-secondary education in electrical engineering, pharmacy, business management, medicine, landscape design, education and nursing.
We know each of these girls personally and support them throughout the year with mentors who are professional educators.
In fact, we have just returned from another annual trip to Ghana where we confirmed first-hand that the money from our fundraisers continues to be accounted for and used well.
Events such as this cannot happen without substantial volunteer hours invested, and the support of individuals, groups and local businesses.
A special thanks to Terry Balgobin and his staff at Artistry in Gold, who accepted merchandise on our behalf and helped us value donated jewelry items; to Phil Neufeld of True-Line Homes, who provided and served wine to our guests; to Marsha Smalley of Collins Barrow and the Ellis Group from Edmonton, who paid the flights for one of our mentors, Francisca, to join us; and to all those who donated items.
A special thanks goes to the volunteers who spent countless hours cleaning and preparing the items for sale and working at the event.
We extend our most sincere thank you to the Central Alberta community for your support of Tools for Schools Africa Foundation and for helping us make such an important difference in the world.
We have already started work on next year’s event and are striving to make it even better.
If you are cleaning drawers and/or closets, please keep Tools for Schools Africa Foundation in mind for donations of jewelry, handbags, scarves, belts and gloves.
Lyn Goertzen
Chair
Red Deer