ABOUT US
African Palms is an outreach ministry of St. John's Episcopal Church in Olney, Maryland. The ministry provides palm crosses to churches, schools, hospitals, prisons, bookstores, and church goods distributors for use on Palm Sunday and other special occasions. Palms are hand crafted, 100% environmental palm leaves harvested from the forest in Masasi, Tanzania.
African Palms was founded in 1965 by Father Alan Talbot, an Anglican priest who served for six years as a missionary in Tanzania. Father Talbot observed the poverty of the people and sought ways for them to increase their income. He encouraged the villagers to weave palm crosses to sell to churches for use on Palm Sunday. In 1976 the women of St. John's Episcopal Church in Olney, Maryland accepted the mission of distributing the palm crosses to churches throughout the United States; African Palms USA is now a major outreach of the church. 100% of donations are used to fund grants.
African Palms awards grants in amounts up to $5,000 to community projects. Net proceeds from the sale of palm products, totes and donations fund basic humanitarian aid projects in the form of self-help grants. Projects are self-sustaining and are based on need. These projects may include - improvement of community water supply; health clinics; training for HIV/AIDS prevention; agricultural and animal programs; vocational training and community education. To date African Palms has awarded over $2 Million in the form or self-help grants to communities in Africa.