SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Need a holiday gift for that Spartan fan while they’re watching the Holiday Bowl? Want a spice up that basement with some maize and blue?

Bernadine Biske might have the gift for you; and it will help a great cause.

On Nov. 18-20, Biske partnered with St. Therese of Lisieux Parish in Shelby Township to sell pre-decorated Christmas trees, wreaths and other arrangement to benefit Friends of Kenyan Orphans, a nonprofit that raises funds for homeless orphans in Kenya, particularly girls.

“I belong to Circle of Friends (a parish group that helps raise money for families in need), and we always had market days where we’d sell items and give money to a family that couldn’t afford a nice Christmas,” Biske told The Michigan Catholic. “When I joined, I wasn’t a knitter or a crocheter, so my contribution could be Christmas trees.”

The trees are small plastic trees, ranging from 18 inches to four feet tall, which Biske decorates year-round in her basement.

“Michigan and Michigan State we tend to see a lot, but we have Pistons, Lions and Tigers, dogs and cats, the Minions, Barbie, trains,” Biske explained. “We also have fancy trees as well, for those who don’t want a theme but want an elegant tree.”

For Biske, it is a way to give back, but also a way to keep going.

“I’m retired, and in retirement you can still give back to people,” Biske said. “When I retired, I wasn’t ready to retire. I had Parkinson’s, and the doctor said I had to retire. So I looked for a project, and this is one of the projects I can do well.”

Biske was recently diagnosed with cancer and undergoes radiation and chemotherapy. She credits making trees, and prayer, as key motivators that keep her going.

“I’m getting chemo and radiation and doing well, but I’m doing well because so many are praying for me, offering Masses, and I’ve received the sacrament of anointing of the sick, which is particularly important,” Biske said.

Biske estimates more than 200 trees, wreaths and arrangements were sold this year at St. Therese of Lisieux.

“A few years back, Bernie approached the parish wanting to take on this wonderful project and right from the begging she had my full support,” St. Therese of Lisieux pastor Fr. Larry Zurawski said. “Bernie and her husband Jim work tirelessly all year long constructing these trees.”

This year’s sale goes to Friends of Kenyan Orphans, a nonprofit started by Bud Ozar that helps homeless girls in Kenya find suitable shelter and education and the tools necessary to build a life.

Ozar worked for the Archdiocese of Detroit from 1978 to 2001 as director of family, youth and young adult ministry. Since then, he’s focused on mission work abroad.



After he and his wife, Sue, went on mission to the Samoa Islands in the early 2000s, they spent a few years in Kenya and learned about the plight of homeless orphans, particularly girls, in the country.

Ozar and his wife worked with local clergy to help the orphans, and eventually were sent back to the United States to raise money toward building a facility for homeless girls.

“When we formed nonprofit status in 2009, we began to raise funds and talk to anyone we could at parish functions,” Ozar said.

Ozar went from parish to parish looking to raise money, until one day he went to St. Therese of Lisieux, where Biske was in the congregation.

“I was doing a mission appeal at the parish, and Bernadine was there,” Ozar said. “After I did my talk, she came up to me and said hello, and she’s been a supporter ever since.”

Friends of Kenyan Orphans built a large facility to serve as an orphanage for girls and now houses 365 girls. The organization strives to give the girls a 12-year education, something most girls in Kenya lack. This May, two girls from the first graduating class from the orphanage will be graduating with top honors from American universities.

“The priest we work with in Kenya said the girls will not only get an education, they will change the culture in Kenya,” Ozar said.

Ozar travels back and forth from Kenya to the United States to raise money for the orphanage, which led to Biske’s involvement in the project.

“The selling of the trees for the orphanage was totally Bernadine’s doing,” Ozar said. “This is her way of using her talents and skills. God love her. She is using her creative talents to raise funds to rescue girls.”

For Biske, she is glad she found something to stay active with while at same time helping others.

“I’m enjoying that people are able to take something home that was enjoyable for me to make,” Biske said. “And that all the money is going to help a good cause.” Before the Friends of Kenyan Orphans project, Biske’s trees were sold to benefit the PIME Missionaries, raising money to build a chapel in Cameroon. In two years, the project raised an estimated $15,000.



“Last year, Bernadine reached a rather monumental milestone by raising enough money to have a chapel constructed in Cameron,” Fr. Zurawski said. “We just recently received notice that the chapel is now being constructed and will be named The Chapel of the Four Evangelists. This is another great example of how the people of St. Therese are working to unleash the Gospel, even across the world.”

Now this year, the project has so far raised nearly $6,300 for Friends of Kenyan Orphans.

“I think everyone needs a particular something to do when they get up in the morning,” Biske said. “Everyone has a need to be needed, a need to help others. I get up in the morning and pray to have the strength to get done whatever Jesus would have done that day.”

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Help an orphan out

To learn more about Friends of Kenyan Orphans and make a donation, visit friendsofkenyanorphans.org.