Superheroes & Acts of Kindness with Mark Grashow (S2

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Superheroes & Acts of Kindness

with Mark Grashow

(Season 2 | Episode 89)

[Tessa] Mark’s life is an inspiration. And his stories from his life will touch your heart.

Mark started a non-profit later in life that has most likely reached over a million people in need across the world. His mission in life has kept him vital, motivated, and full of fire. Born and bred in Brooklyn, a graduate of the University of Buffalo, Mark found his happiness as a math teacher in the NYC area. His work with children in New York would seem to be enough. As Amir said, “Mark is an educator, rather than a teacher.”

Mark is 77 years old. In so many ways he is in the prime of his life right now. And it’s his good work that is keeping him young even though his wife has passed away. He founded the USACF after he “retired” from teaching. This is an organization that has dominated his life since 2001.

USACF | US-AFRICA CHILDREN’S FELLOWSHIP

USACF is a New York, NY US based non-profit. (501c3, EIN: 55-0875394 | Bridge Number: 6803296339).

In 2003, Mark Grashow and Sheri Saltzberg journeyed to Lasuka, Zambia to attend a friend’s wedding. Following the wedding, they traveled to Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo where their son, Alexander Grashow, had done development work in partnership with Zimbabwe’s Organization of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP). During a tour of several rural schools Mark and Sheri were struck by the need. The schools had very little. There were no libraries, no textbooks, no school supplies and no sports equipment. Some students lacked shoes and warm clothes for the winter.

LEARN ABOUT USACF

USACF’s first container was shipped from Brooklyn in 2005. ORAP distributed the contents and soon found significant positive impacts at its 35 schools. The program quickly expanded. More and more containers were shipped and the number of targeted schools grew to 75 and then to 175. By 2018, 290 Zimbabwean schools were receiving donations. The Zimbabwe model was so successful that USACF expanded into Ghana and Tanzania. In Ghana, we partnered with the National Partnership of Children’s Trust and The Mothers of Africa. The Ghana partnership was hugely successful and is still flourishing. The Tanzanian program ran for three years and served 38 schools. The Tanzanian program was terminated after three shipments because of the lack of a strong partner on the ground.

When the program ended in Tanzania, USACF expanded its program into South Africa. In 2010, USACF formed a partnership with two NGOs in South Africa. The first was Sharing to Learn, which supports schools in Makuleke, South Africa. The second was Equal Education, operating out of Cape Town, which received their first container in 2012.

Hardly a week goes by without an NGO reaching out to USACF for advice or a request for a new partnership. USACF‘s door is always open and we are always ready to make the world a little better place for its children.

Below are snippets and links to our most recent Hobbies and New Ventures episodes.

Resources for You

We want to provide you with support and many resources for your own Open Nesting Journey. Our resource page has so much to offer as does our private discussion group on Facebook about queerness and other topics of interest:

Open Nesters Resource Page

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About Tessa

Tessa Krone is the engine behind and the face of The Open Nesters.

Tessa holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is a speaker, coach, program and journey facilitator & leader, author and, of course, Podcaster.

Her offerings are based in her mission to help people open to their most self-expressed, loving selves. Tessa’s specialties include embodiment from all the senses and elements of our inner and outer lives, ranging from mindfulness, dance, play, and sensory exploration in nature. If she had one superpower, it would be to help people, especially as they age, to live more open hearted lives.