Fort Mill Scholarships

Tim and Gloria Wheeler are two of Al Steele's contacts in Honduras. They work for an organization called Heifer, a non-denominational, international organization whose mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth. The Wheelers have been in Honduras for the last 30 years.

Honduras public education ends in third grade. Education after that must be paid for. The Wheelers approached Al and asked for scholarships for promising students. The cost averages $750 per year per student.

Jeff Harr is Chair of Fort Mill's Scholarship Committee. He recently was a Charity Bartender at Beef O'Barley's in Fort Mill that raised $2100 for Scholarships. On the 7-hour trip from Copan to Marcala, we had breakfast with Roni. He is studying business and his scholarship will literally change his life.

At lunch, we met six more students. Two teenage girls who are under scholarship, and four more students who want to be. The girls are studying sewing and baking, skills that will earn them a living. The picture shows Jeff Harr is the middle, Roger Metz on the left and Al Steele on the right. Jeff is committed to funding all of these students. He would also like to build a public library that would provide books and jobs in rural areas. Knowing the Fort Mill Club, I suspect that he will do it.