Chester Quarter was delighted to hear from Lansdowne Friend Elaine Fultz at the 4/27 Quarterly Meeting about the Sharifi family. The Sharifis are Afghan refugees who escaped their home country when two of their family members were shot at a wedding. After spending several years in an Indonesian refugee camp, they were approved to come to the U.S. The children attend Lansdowne Friends School and are receiving 50% scholarships--the most that Lansdowne offers.

Friends asked how they might offer financial support in addition to what Elaine has raised over the last few years with a devoted group of friends and neighbors. As you can imagine, the need is great since there are three children in the school and they are enrolling in higher grades.

How to contribute – For the immediate future, contributions should be made by check to the Lansdowne Friends’ School, attention: Eric Mayer, Head of School, 110 N. Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, PA 19050. Please note on the check that the funds are for the Sharifi children’s education.

For contributions for 2026-27 and beyond, we are creating a fund with Friends’ Fiduciary, which would enable donors to make contributions for multiple years.

We strongly encourage donors to use the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC), to direct some of their PA state taxes to scholarships for the Sharifi children.

Video - At this link is a video in which Subhan and Hasib Sharifi, along with their Mom, describe their experience at Lansdowne Friends' School.

Elaine would be pleased to address any questions. Her email is mef1972@gmail.com.