The Tracey Jarzombek Memorial Education Fund
Happy International Women’s Day! On this day and every day, we celebrate the strength and resiliency of the women in the Free The Girls program.
Today we’d like to introduce you to and honor a woman who is part of the fabric of Free The Girls and was a tireless champion for the women we serve.
Always a smile on her face, and careful with what she said and when she said it, Tracey Jarzombek was the kind of person you wanted as your friend. An accomplished leader in non-profit boards over her lifetime and a well-respected businesswoman as a partner in her family’s international shipping business, Tracey’s proudest accomplishment was being a loving mom to her three kids Jackson, Ellie, and Harry. Tracey began serving as a board member at Free the Girls in 2017 and eventually was nominated by her fellow board members to be President of the Board of Directors of Free the Girls USA and Canada from 2018-2022. The organization grew in size and reach under her leadership, and she was well respected by her colleagues on the board.
Sadly, Tracey was diagnosed with a rare gene mutation that lead to lung cancer in 2022. She received the best treatment plan in the world, but unfortunately passed away on May 20, 2023 at the young age of 53. Heartbroken, her family vowed to carry on doing good in her memory. She is remembered and missed literally every day. Tracey’s legacy lives on in FTG’s Tracey Jarzombek Memorial Education Fund. The fund was soft-launched in December 2024 with a matching grant from LR INTERNATIONAL INC. (where Tracey was a partner) and fully funded school fees for 27 children of the women in the FTG program.
FTG is thrilled to announce this scholarship fund will be available year-round to the women in our program starting in 2025 with an inaugural gift from the Tracey Jarzombek Family Trust. The fund pays school fees for the children of the women in our program and supports continuing education for the women themselves as they work towards sustainable economic independence.
Tracey’s family adds, “Tracey never took herself too seriously, but she took her service to others very seriously and we are confident that she would have been thrilled with the chance to help women rebuild their lives.”
Free The Girls extends our heartfelt appreciation to the Jarzombek family, LR International, and the Tracey Jarzombek family trust for their generous support of our work. We miss Tracey and love to see her legacy live on in this way.
*name changed to protect privacy
