Our Story

How It Began

Fr. Marty Holler, a retired priest from Ohio University and long time friend to Mike Shawver, has been helping St. Jude's rural Catholic school in Mweiga, Nyeri, Kenya since 2014. While at Ohio University, Fr. Marty met Ernest and Rosemary, two graduate students from Kenya. He married them and baptized their first child, thus starting this great relationship.  

Ernest’s mother started St. Jude’s school and invited Fr. Marty to come and visit. He fell in love with the kids, teachers, and mission of St. Jude’s Catholic school and started making regular visits for 3 months at a time every year.  

Mike Shawver and his family (wife Rosie and daughter Sofia) had been hearing stories about St. Jude’s for many years.  Then finally they decided to make plans to visit the school in the summer of 2025. 

A large historic red brick mansion with two prominent towers, surrounded by trees and cherry blossoms in bloom, under a clear blue sky.
Group of children and one adult standing outside in a rural area, with trees and a small building in the background. The children are wearing jackets, sweaters, and beanies.

Current Conditions

After 18 hours of flying from Los Angeles to London to Nairobi, Kenya and a 4-hour drive from Nairobi to Mweiga, ending with a 30 minute drive on a dirt and bumpy road, the Shawver family finally arrived at St. Jude’s school.

The dorms only have simple bunk beds and a foot locker for each student. There is no running water, so the kids take bucket showers. The kitchen is basically a wood burning fire pit and the kids do not get any meat and very little protein in their diet. The bathroom is only a hole in the ground with nothing to sit on and no toilet paper.  

The classrooms are very simple and have a chalkboard as the main resource of instruction. There are very simple desks, but there are not enough desks for the kids. The teachers do have ipads and internet access, but there are not any projectors to share with the whole class.

In January of 2026, all students received brand new textbooks and the teachers received new teacher resources to accompany the textbooks, as a result of generous donations from the US. 

School students and teachers in a classroom with boxes of books and educational materials.

Picture taken in Kenya of the children with their new textbooks.

The school has amazing kids and teachers who are so loving and positive, but needs a lot of help with facilities, classroom resources, food, and many other essentials.  The Shawver family returned from their visit to Kenya moved with compassion and empathy to help improve the conditions for the kids at St. Jude’s.  Mike started the Give Butter fundraising page in August of 2025 and started sharing the story of St. Jude’s with family and friends.  

Now, we are committed to raising money to help improve the conditions and resources for the students and teachers at St. Jude’s Catholic school.  Mike will be taking a group of 9 students from Loyola High School in LA, where he is a theology teacher, to visit St. Jude’s school in the summer of 2026.  

We are truly inspired by the goodness and positivity of the students and teachers at St. Jude’s Catholic school.  Together we can all help with our generous donations to give them the resources and support that they need to succeed.  Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your continued prayers, support, and generosity!  God bless!

Why Did We Start This Foundation?

A classroom scene with many young students wearing winter coats and hats, standing and sitting while listening to a teacher at the front. The teacher's back is to the camera, and there are colorful posters on the wall behind them.

Updates & Events

In August 2025, Mike launched our GiveButter fundraising page and began sharing St. Jude's story with family and friends. The following month, Steve brought us online by creating our social media accounts.

By January 2026, we made our first transfer of funds to St. Jude's in Kenya, funding new textbooks and teacher resources. For the first time ever, every student and teacher received brand-new textbooks on the same day, transforming the classroom experience overnight. Watch the students and teachers share their reaction in this. Thank You video.

In February 2026, Sofia designed and launched this website to help tell that story to a wider audience.

That momentum carried into April 2026, when we began our first cross-continental collaboration: Teacher Margaret at St. Jude's connected with Erch, Mike's former high school science teacher and track coach, who works with kids at his church in Ohio. Erch hoped the two communities could get to know each other, and the plan is for students on both sides of the world to build real connections through messages, photos, and videos.

Then, from June 15–17, 2026, Mike brought that vision to life in person, leading nine students from Loyola High School in Los Angeles (where he teaches theology) on a visit to St. Jude's. The trip was a resounding success, the students and teachers at St. Jude's welcomed the Loyola group with incredible warmth and hospitality. The days were filled with singing, dancing, and cooking together, painting three classrooms, and playing soccer and volleyball, among countless other joyful moments. See photos from the trip here.