Explorers Gift Wrapping Success!

Thanks to our partners at the Crossroads Mall in Portage, Michigan, the Explorers had another successful gift-wrapping fundraiser! Our goal for our 5th year of fundraising was $6,000. While we were a bit short of the goal, we were very close, thanks to the Explorers, their families, and community members who contributed their time, and

Explorers Partner for Henrietta Lacks Exhibit

BUY TICKETS AT THIS LINK: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/henrietta-lacks-traveling-museum-tickets-208951799457?aff=HeLa KALAMAZOO (MICH)- The Merze Tate Explorers has once again partnered with local curator Jermaine Jackson for a history exhibit. The Henrietta Lacks Traveling Museum will be featured in Kalamazoo November 20-21st at the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Suites, downtown Kalamazoo. Jackson curated the exhibit a few years ago after

Halloween Fun with the Explorers

The Merze Tate Explorers provided more than 20 hours of community service at the Crossroads Mall. This free community Trick or Treat event provided candy, entertainment, and cash prizes to youth who sought an alternative to door-to-door trick or treating. Nearly 200 youth ages 0-7 entered the costume contest with smiles and a few tears.

Provost Invites Public to Celebrate

Western Michigan University Provost Jennifer Bott is inviting the community to celebrate history in the making. Dr. Vernie Merze Tate (1905-1996) was a 1927 graduate of the university (See details of her life in the previous post.) Her dedication to the university during her life and in the bequests she left upon her death will

International All-Girl Production

When girls from two continents join forces they can change their worlds. The Merze Tate Explorers and the WoteSawa Domestic Workers Organization in Tanzania have brought their talents together for an international scholarship fundraiser! Their goal to raise $10,000 to split between both organizations will help provide educational scholarships for girls. The Explorers worked to

Virtual Auction to Help Girls in Tanzania

TASTE OF THE WORLD TO RAISE $10,000 FOR GIRLS ON  TWO CONTINENTS! KALAMAZOO (MICH.) – When Colleagues International passed the Taste of the World fund-raising event to the Merze Tate Explorers, the pandemic hit. Not only were the plans for a fundraiser canceled, so was their study abroad to South Africa.  A year later, a