IGE Holiday Fundraising 2022-2023

Dear Members and Friends of IGE,

     As we near the end of  2022, the Board of the Institute for Global Education would like to ask for your financial support. We are a local non-profit organization, dedicated to peace and healing and helping those in need. Here are some of our programs and events from the year:

     In January, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we celebrated the life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had recently died. In March, we published a Resolution for Peace in Ukraine and stood at our intersection in solidarity with Ukrainians. In April, we held a Socialism 101 class and celebrated Earth Day. In August, for Hiroshima/Nagasaki Day, we remembered our local Peacemakers who have passed on — for example, Frank Rosengren, one of our founders. On September’s Peace Day and Peace Week, we held our annual Interfaith Peace Service and presented in the schools about the importance of a peace curriculum. In November, we held our annual meeting where Professor Roger Durham gave a presentation about Ukraine and the Just War theory. 

     And throughout the year, we showed films and held discussions. We helped our homeless community at St.Mark’s. We grew a garden, distributing produce through Baxter Community Center. We encouraged other groups to use our office for meetings. IGE Talks, which is our show on GRTV, presented conversations on important topics. We helped organize the statewide Michigan Peace Alliance. We secured a grant to show a documentary on Fannie Lou Hamer, partnering with local community groups to fight racism and this may be an ongoing collaboration. We have partnered with the Catholic Information Center on programs and events.

     Here are some reflections from some of our board members and friends:

Gerard:  As the new Chair of IGE, I hope to lead this nonprofit through some hard times ahead financially.  But that’s nothing new for IGE or many organizations like us.  Over the last 40 years, it has always been a struggle to continue operations in order to fulfill our mission.  Now more than ever, there is a dire need to work against the injustices and social problems that threaten our world and our local community.  Although it often seems daunting and overwhelming  to confront the worship of violence and conflict, the unwillingness to solve suffering and environmental destruction, we continue to call for healing and peace.

Anne: I’ve been appreciating the work of the Institute for Global Education for almost 25 years now.  Their presentations of societal subjects, support of our community projects and informing us of current events along with the continuing annual celebrations allows us to recognize our shared humanity.   This year I’m proud to follow some wonderful footsteps and  to join the IGE board.

Chuck: I always wish I could be more active. We are in IGE together, despite hailing from different religious or philosophical foundations. We re-evaluate our visions, because that’s the difference between business as usual, and progress.

Please consider an end-of-the-year financial gift to the Institute of Global Education.  

  • Meta (facebook) is matching up to a $100 limit if you set up a recurring donation.  Please go to this link if you are interested. Meta matching fundraiser

  • An Anonymous Donor is matching any donation to IGE up to $2000 by the end of the year.

For your convenience, here are links to our fundraising apps:

Thank you and Peace be with you!

Gerard Akkerhuis, 2023 Chair

Kim McKeon, 2022 Chair

IGE Board