Stamped with Love: Love From America Gala 2025

​

Join us for an evening of community, culture, and impact as we launch Love From America (LFA) with our inaugural gala!

This evening will celebrate the journey of Love From America, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit utilizing place-based learning and international community-driven projects to expand the Edina Global Scholars Program throughout Minnesota.

​

In April 2025, 20 high school Global Scholars traveled to a children’s home (orphanage) in Zimbabwe. These youth heard the director’s story, saw the kids’ challenges, and on their own decided to pool money for bikes so high schoolers in the Children’s Home wouldn’t have to walk an hour each way to school. That one choice grew. The Global Scholars raised money for one bike, inspiring the adults to support the rest. Upon returning home, the Global Scholars weren’t finished. They asked the director for a list of needs and committed to meeting them all.

​

For Love From America, this story was a catalyst lived by its co-founders, and from this experience was born the idea that one community, one youth, one moment can create an echo full of endless possibilities.

 

Schedule:

6:00 pm | Conversations & Happy Hour, Silent Auction Browsing

7:00 pm | Dinner & Global Passport Adventure

8:00 pm | Program by Executive Director Tyrie Williams and co-founder Lindsey Smaka

8:30 pm | Auction closes

9:00 pm | Closing Remarks

​

Evening Highlights:

• Emcee Edina Rotarian Josh Sprague

• Love From America Passports with stations that connect you to communities around the world. Hosted by International Students and Fellows from Global Minnesota! - fill that passport with all of the station stamps for a prize!

• A taste of Jamaica with dinner catered by Pimento Jamaican Kitchen

• Desserts from around the world

• Cocktails and drinks available for purchase

• Student stories and projects from the Edina Rotary Global Scholars program

• A silent auction from local and global businesses and partners

• Attire: Formal - cultural attire welcome and encouraged!

• ​

What is Love From America?

Love From America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit utilizing place-based learning and community-driven projects to expand throughout Minnesota the Edina Global Scholars Program, an initiative that prepares secondary students for next-generation careers through leadership development, civic engagement, and global competency.

​

What will Love From America do?

In LFA’s vision, the expansion of the Edina Global Scholars program will reimagine global education within Minnesota. Through its use of place-based learning, LFA will support our community partners and youth in navigating culturally aware resources, cultivate our systems to engage and adapt to varying needs, and increase our exposure to diverse audiences, thereby increasing LFA’s capacity to support community-driven projects that establish a framework for culturally relevant and reciprocal travel experiences while ethically integrating with international communities. As a result, LFA can confidently partner with communities to navigate inequities in access, systemic knowledge, and visibility.

​

Where does the money go?

Proceeds from the gala directly support Love From America’s mission by helping to fund:

• Edina Rotary Global Scholars Student Fundraiser: The group aims to raise $12,000 for Ethandweni Children’s Home in Zimbabwe, supporting critical supplies like school shoes, textbooks, and dining hall chairs, as well as property improvements, including painting a guest house and roof repairs.

• Expansion of Global Scholars Program: Our goal is to fund a teacher coordinator position in more Minnesota schools, provide a global competency curriculum, coordinate youth travel to work with LFA’s community-driven partner projects abroad, and offer need-based scholarships for youth interested in participating.

• Community-driven projects abroad: Our first community partnership is the Ethandweni Children’s Home in Zimbabwe! This partnership is envisioned to be long-term to ensure the success and stability of this innovative orphanage. Along with Global Scholars raising funds for supplies, LFA seeks to raise funds to provide the salary for a much-needed social-emotional counselor to work on-site with the kids.

• Living Classroom Experiences for students: As part of the Global Scholars program, students travel abroad to work collaboratively with a community and immerse themselves in the country and local culture. As part of their experience, they complete a capstone project based on one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This project is goal and action-oriented to help address a global issue both here in Minnesota and where they travel abroad. Funds will help create these experiences, build curriculum, and establish strong partnerships between LFA and organizations abroad.

 

Thank you for attending this evening, donating to our cause, and supporting Love From America’s mission of creating classrooms without borders!