On November 12, 2015, Justin Phipps, senior at Aurora University, hosted Talent Helps Teach, a talent show to raise awareness of Jane Adeny Memorial School for Girls (JAMS).

Mr. Phipps organized this talent show as his senior project and chose JAMS as the beneficiary of his project because JAMS provides education to poor and orphaned girls and gives them the opportunity to learn skills such as cooking, growing their own food, bookkeeping, and other business skills.

As an opener to the talent show, Dr. Diana Swanson, Dr. Teresa Wasonga, and Dr. Andrew Otieno of Northern Illinois University, gave a presentation to students and faculty who attended the show. The presentation included an overview of JAMS as well as how it started and the future possibilities for the students who attend the school.

After the presentation, there were four student performers. The performances displayed talents such as slam poetry, songwriting, rapping, and singing. As the performances came to an end, the audience voted for the winner by round of applause. Two performers tied for first place and each received a gift card.

The event raised over $200. Justin Phipps directed that the money be used as a part of a student’s tuition at JAMS, in order to give another young woman an opportunity for an education in Kenya.

The school’s founders, Drs. Wasonga and Otieno, as well as Friends of Jane Adeny Memorial School, want to express sincere gratitude and appreciation to Mr. Phipps for his generosity and hard work.