Annual 5K fundraiser to be held April 26
Days after graduating from Delta State in 2016, Cleveland native and the founder of Zoe Ministries, Taylor Summers, flew across the world to live in Kenya for six months as an intern for a nonprofit organization.
“I fell in love with it during that internship,” said Summers. “I knew within a couple months that’s what I wanted to do long-term. So I came back home to Cleveland during Thanksgiving break of 2016, and presented my idea to people that I trusted.”
Although he appreciated his experience with the nonprofit that had previously given him the opportunity to visit Kenya, he knew there were important things that needed to be done that weren’t being taken care of. So by 2017, Zoe Ministries had been created to fill those needs.
According to Summers, he wanted the name to have meaning and the word Zoe translates to life in Greek. He referred to John 10:10, which says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly”. His idea was to give “life” back to the people of Kenya through the nonprofit.
After he decided on the name and the mission of the organization, Summers said the next step was getting donors who believed in what he was doing. He already had a small head start because he raised more money than was needed for his internship, and his mother had put it aside for his future.
By May of 2017, the organization had bought its first property in Kenya, and Summers said today the nonprofit now owns about twelve acres with multiple projects stemming from each location.
“We really hit the ground running and everything has taken off since then,” said Summers. “To date, we have over 50 full-time staff spread out through the southeast and Kenya. We operate in three areas of focus: orphan care, clean water, and women empowerment. It’s just been a blessing to see what the Lord can do from what started off as a sheet of paper and now affects so many lives each and every day.”
Summers said he is good at reading people because his degree was in social sciences, but there is no class to teach someone how to run a nonprofit. He believes he has gotten to this point by listening to people with more experience and learning through trial and error.
“If there is a class on how to manage a non-profit and run it, I guarantee you’re only going to take a very small percentage of that and apply it,” said Summers. “They’re all different. It’s learning as you go. Looking back now, I can’t believe I did it that way, but it worked.”
Summers said they host mission trips throughout the year where people get to see and experience Kenya.
“That has been a huge blessing for us, because those people come back and market it for us for free,” said Summers. “They get to tell people what it actually looks like, and that means a lot more.”
While on mission, Summers said the tasks you are given are based off your abilities. Many of those who are stronger and more capable may go around and help repair bore holes, others work with children or the orphan care team doing home visits, and women may work alongside the women empowerment team to pass out sanitary pads to those who need them. They are also empowering vulnerable women by teaching them trades like farming and tailoring, so any volunteers with those skills might help in those areas.
“We don’t change up who we are when we have mission teams,” said Summers. “We allow them to work with us. We tell people, no matter your background, there’s always something for you to do. And, we will get you out of your comfort zone.”
Over the course of time Summers has been working in Kenya through Zoe Ministries, they have repaired 350 bore holes, served 220,000 people, drilled sixteen new bore holes, and worked in two countries, Kenya and Uganda.
Although most do not realize it, Summers said Zoe Coffee is not technically a part of Zoe Ministries, but it does serve as a way to share their mission with the community, and helps financially support the organization.
“We pitched the idea to our non-profit board directors in the Summer of 2019,” said Summers. “We wanted to start something that creates a sustainability leg, something that auto-generates income. That can give back to the nonprofit.”
When the pandemic hit, Summers said he and his wife had been living in Kenya and they flew back in the middle of March, 2020. After about a month of not working, they knew they had to find a way to serve their mission from the states. So while the rest of the country was closed down, they got to work on Zoe Coffee.
“I knew I wanted to get back to the Delta at some point,” said Summers. “My wife told me she would never move to the Delta, but I slowly talked her into it. The next thing we knew, we were moving here in the middle of May, 2020.”
In June of 2020, Summers said they began construction and the shop opened on October 27th.
“We started that simply to be an avenue of sustainability,” said Summers. “You learn about what we do, and you buy coffee. From day one I have told people that the mission is great, but to a paying customer the cup of coffee needs to be the best in town. Our mission will only take us so far, so the coffee, the product, needs to be superior, and the mission can follow.”
To date, Summers said that the coffee business has done more than he ever imagined. The business has been able to give back substantially to the ministry and has funded one or two water projects each year since opening.
“We also give pretty heavily to local things in this community,” said Summers. “I believe that if the community is supporting us, it’s our job to give back to them as well.”
Because of how well the shop is doing, Summers said they have already begun construction in Greenwood for a second location. It will, hopefully, be open the first week of June, and is located right next to the Viking Cooking School and across the street from the Alluvian Hotel.
In 2021, another idea, the Run4Zoe 5k, was put forth to raise awareness for their ministry. The first 5k was held virtually because of the pandemic, but people could go run or walk regardless of where they were, and Summers said more than 20 states were represented. Since then, the event has been both in-person and virtual. This year, the event will be held live in downtown Cleveland on April 26.
“Last year we had over 250 racers,” said Summers. “This year our goal is that same roundabout number. It is an official timed race event. We bring a team in that does the official timing system, so you can use it for your qualifying times.”
Lisa Pinkerton, a founding board member, now works for the ministry part-time as an administrative assistant. She and her husband, Doug, handle the 5k each year, and, according to Summers, have been a huge asset to the organization since the beginning.
“Zoe has become my true love and passion as I have been able to experience the people of Kenya personally on many trips there,” said Lisa. “What a joy it is to serve the people there by meeting their physical needs and ultimately their spiritual needs by pointing them to Jesus!”
Lisa shared that the 5k is meant to be “a fundraising arm” that allows them to continue to provide for the needs being met by Zoe Ministries in Kenya and Uganda.
“It is our goal to make this the best little race in the Delta to benefit our community while also encouraging active lifestyles, and as a result meeting the needs of our friends in Kenya at the same time — it’s a 3 for 1 — serving Cleveland, the Delta, and Kenya! We hope this race continues to grow each year,” said Lisa.
“Having been there and personally been involved in repairing water wells, and seeing the smiles on the faces of the people is just an amazing experience,” added Doug. “It’s allowing women and children to go to school and to better their families instead of having to carry filthy water for miles all day. And most importantly, spreading the gospel to these people and their lives being eternally changed. That is why I continue to help with Run4Zoe!”
Although you can sign up the day of the race, a t-shirt is not guaranteed on the day of. Summers said the options include: $45 for live registration ages 13-99, $25 for children twelve and under, $35 to sleep-in and still get a t-shirt, and then $35 for the “Jerry Can Relay” which is only one mile, but participants run the mile with 40 pounds of water on their backs to simulate what its like to have to travel for water each day.
“We try to parallel it to the people we impact, the miles they walk every day just to get water, and how something so simple as running 3.1 miles looks to them,” said Summers.
Summers said each in-person participate will receive: a t-shirt, a finisher medal, and a bag full of goodies from the sponsors and Zoe Ministries.
“I think it is a great opportunity for the city of Cleveland whether you want to walk with your dog, push your child in a stroller, or you want to legitimately see how fast you can run a 5k,” said Summers. “It’s supposed to be a fun family event, and the goal is to raise awareness. We’re gonna put our true racers in the front.”According to Summers, there have been over 800 participants in the last four years. The 5k has raised $85,000 for Zoe Ministries and provided access to clean water for over 15,000 people.
For this year’s race, Summers said they are in need of sponsors and volunteers. If you are interested in racing, volunteering, or sponsoring, you are welcome to visit their website, zoemeanslife.org, to sign up or learn more about your options.
“This is very near and dear to my heart, being from here, but it’s also an opportunity to support a cause that does so much around the world,” said Summers. “You have the opportunity to play a small part in that, but that small part has such a big impact on people’s lives by getting them access to clean water. It’s just very humbling to be a part of.”
The following are quotes from a few runners who shared why they run for Zoe each year.
“I run for Zoe to share the joy of Jesus to those in our community and also across the world to our ZOE friends in Kenya,” said Carrie Melton.
“I run for Zoe because it provides for kids like me,” said Ryder Williford. “Zoe makes sure they have a home, have food, and can go to school. It also provides clean water in areas that need it. This is why I run for Zoe.”
“I run this race for a lot of reasons,” said Bennett Crow. “It’s local and easy. But, I really do enjoy the commitment from the community towards Zoe and this race. It’s always fun to see families come together to support the greater good.”