On a recent evening, Tools for Schools Africa Foundation hosted our third Shine! fundraising event where we sold donated jewelry, handbags, scarves and belts. A sellout crowd helped us raise approximately $39,000. This goal was achieved only through of the generous support of the Central Alberta community.
Events such as this cannot happen without substantial business, community and volunteer support.
A special thanks to Terry and Angela Balgobin and their staff at Artistry in Gold, who accept merchandise on our behalf and help us value donated jewelry items. Thanks to Phil and Sue Neufeld of True-Line Homes, who provided and served wine to our guests. We appreciated the support of Marsha Smalley of Collins Barrow Red Deer LLP and the Ellis Group of Edmonton, who paid for one of our co-ordinators, Gabriella, to join us. A warm thank you to the Hearts of Harmony, a cappella chorus, for entertaining guests, Bill and Rhonda Olafsen from Earls, and Jeff Sharpe of Vold Audio.
Of course, the general community has our unending appreciation for the donation of no-longer-used accessories.
Our heartfelt thanks are extended to the 70 or so volunteers who spent countless hours preparing the items for sale and working at the event.
Tools for Schools Africa Foundation is a Red Deer-based registered charity that provides educational scholarships to girls in northern Ghana. We know each of the 115 girls we have supported, and in the 2014-15 school year, 16 of these girls will attend post-secondary institutions studying accounting, nursing, teaching, medicine, electrical engineering, geography and agriculture. Two girls graduated from university last July.
Work has already started on next year’s event and we are striving to make it even better. If you are cleaning drawers and/or closets, please consider donating jewelry, handbags, scarves and belts to Tools for Schools Africa Foundation. All donations can be dropped at Artistry in Gold during business hours.
Thank you for your support of Tools for Schools Africa Foundation and for helping us make such an important difference in the world.
Lyn Goertzen
Chair, and the Board of Tools for Schools Africa Foundation
Red Deer