Church and Chapel owners help fund school in Tanzania – Grows from 32 students to 455

By Karen Pilarski — Waukesha Freeman
kpilarski@conleynet.com
262-513-2657

Ted and Pam Larsen, owners and operators of Church and Chapel Funeral Service, helped fund a school in Tanzania.

WAUKESHA — Ted and Pam Larsen, owners and operators of Church and Chapel Funeral Service, have been serving Brookfield, West Allis, Waukesha, Milwaukee, New Berlin and Cudahy area families for years. 

The couple felt inspired to help out an international cause after a plant donation.

Bethany Husby of Minnesota launched the idea of a school after a safari trip to Tanzania in 2017. While looking for postage stamps she stopped at a store and spoke with a clerk about goodwill and Tanzania. The clerk mentioned the intention of building a school, according to Ted Larsen.

Husby was holding a plant fundraiser and ended up traveling to the Larsens’ home to pick up plants. The ladies got to talking over coffee about the school.

“I just loved the idea and it was like something I was searching for at that time to get involved in,” Pam Larsen said.

Heart To Care Tanzania is a “USA-based nonprofit dedicated to building and sustaining Bethany Pre and Primary School for children in need in Kisongo, a small village in Tanzania. We believe that quality education will equip the next generation with the skills needed to take on the challenges of the future. The charity helps an entire village,” according to the website.

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2022 Fall Garden Party Highlights

We are so happy to report we brought in over $15,500 – enough to purchase the seed planter and continue construction on the last building. With $78,900 more, the building will be finished.

We had 76 people attend the party and enjoy an afternoon of delicious food, wine, and live music.  Many attendees made new friends and visited with old friends. It truly was a wonderful event!

Roseville woman uses gardening gift to help schoolchildren halfway around the world

The following story by Richard Reeve appeared on KSTP Channel 5 News on May 11, 2022.

Bethany Husby may just be the ultimate plant lady.

“I’m a gardener, I love gardening,” she declares. “They just spring to life, and I’m just very good, I guess, at doing the garden.”

From her Roseville backyard to several rooms in her house, Husby has nurtured 6,000 potted plants in all — even in the dining room.

“These are plants that will be coming outside, holding them here to make room,” she says, walking through her solarium.

In the dining room, plants covered a large table.

“I grew all these upstairs,” Husby smiles.

Her husband Paul says she’s not kidding.

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Judy’s Home Page

Our Mission

Heart To Care Tanzania is a USA-based non-profit dedicated to building and sustaining a school for  pre and primary children in need in Kisongo, a small village in Tanzania. We believe that quality education can equip the next generation with the skills needed to take on the challenges of the future.

Students at the school funded by Heart To Care Tanzania

Our Guiding Principle

Although Heart To Care Tanzania provides the funds, local villagers own and run the school. Professionals within the community designed the buildings, employed local construction workers, and selected their own teachers and staff.  Learn about the Bethany Pre & Primary School!

School construction funded by Heart To Care Tanzania

Our current needs

Our primary goal this year is to raise funds to build the upper three floors of the final school building at an expected cost of about $150,000. HELP FINISH CONSTRUCTION! Learn more about building a school in Tanzania.

Students using textbooks funded by Heart To Care Tanzania

New textbooks required

In January 2022, Tanzania specified a new set of textbooks for all grades. This will cost about $12,000. HELP BUY TEXTBOOKS!

Students sponsored by Heart To Care Tanzania

Sponsors needed

Another opportunity to help our school is to sponsor a child.  Sponsorship funds help the school pay teachers a decent wage, provide food for the children, and buses for students living too far away to walk. See what it is like to sponsor a child in Tanzania!

Learn more about Heart To Care Tanzania!

Judy’s changes

In 2017, 12 members of the extended Husby family were enjoying a safari vacation in Tanzania.  Little did they know that a chance encounter with a young man in a gift shop would lead to building a school. As events unfolded, a great family project evolved – Heart To Care Tanzania.

Listen as Bethany Husby tells the story in her own words:

HTCT logo

Heart to Care Tanzania is incorporated as a charity

Bethany wanted to help Emanuel Boaz and his brother-in-law build a school on their land. This looked like it might be a big project, so Bethany’s husband, Paul, did the paperwork to create a non-profit charity called Heart To Care Tanzania. The IRS granted approval on May 9, 2017 and the fund-raising for the school began.

Garden plants that will be divided for the plant sale

Turning plants into dollars

Bethany and Paul have a large yard with lots of plants. Fortunately, Bethany loves to garden. Twice before, the family divided plants and sold the remains for charity. Because Bethany works as a bone marrow transplant nurse, the first sale supported the Be The Match Foundation. The second sale was to help build a chapel at her hospital. Now it was time to sell plants to build a school in Africa.

View from above of the plant sale

Huge Success from plant sales 

The Husbys had experience in organizing large plant sales, but they needed even greater results to build a school. Their first two plant sales in 2017 and 2018 helped fund much of the school’s construction. In 2019 the plants needed to rest and grow. Then in 2020,  the Pandemic hit. However, it turned out that people stuck at home wanted to garden, and sales exceeded all expectations!

Educational signs at the plant sale

More than just plants

The plant sales gave the Husbys a chance to tell people about the school and show them photos. As a result, many became donors and some even sponsored students.

Just selling plants wasn’t quite enough! Along the way, the Husby’s son, Joe, created a website for Heart To Care Tanzania. He also created the means to provide professional newsletters. {Receive our newsletter updates!} [pic with J&B at the computer? or?]

Heart To Care Tanzania garden party

We try many things!

We’ve had other fundraisers too. Garden parties, for example. A breadmaking class. Even collecting used shoes! But our greatest support is through faithful donors. Whether it is a special project, or a needy child, they always come through!

Heart To Care Tanzania is still a family project. We have no hired staff and spend nothing on wages. All administrative expenses are donated by volunteers, so 100% of donations can go directly to help the school.