By Heidi Bailey, Pikes Peak Courier

For six years, the owner of the Painted Bear gift shop in Green Mountain Falls has donated the store’s profits to disadvantaged children in Africa.

Margaret and Mike Frey bought the building that would become the Painted Bear in 2019. Known in the small mountain town for its Swiss-style architecture, the building sat empty for several years and was beginning to fall into disrepair.

The Freys renovated the property and planned to open in May 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The same year, 9,000 miles away, Father Charles, a priest in Nairobi, Kenya, was working to convert another unused building into a home for orphans and children with disabilities from impoverished villages.

Margaret Frey met Father Charles while on a pilgrimage in Rome. During their conversations, he described Kenya’s education system, which requires families to pay fees for students to attend high school.

For many families, especially those with multiple children, the costs are impossible to afford.

Margaret decided to sponsor two boys so they could continue their education.

The following year, Father Charles shared plans for the children’s center that would serve orphans and children with disabilities.

“Right from the beginning I knew I would support them with the shop,” says Margaret.

Opening a new business during the pandemic brought uncertainty, but the project in Kenya gave Margaret an added sense of purpose.

“At first I figured if the shop failed, I could blame the pandemic,” she said.

Now failure wasn’t an option.

The center began with seven children. Today, it serves 49. Father Charles travels through the region seeking supplies such as wheelchairs and other equipment for children who lack access to specialized care.

“If we don’t care for these children,” he says. “They won’t have hope. They are important to society. Disability is not inability.”

In 2025, Margaret funded the installation of a well to provide drinking water for the children and nearby residents.

“They have different hardships that we don’t even think about,” Margaret says.

She has now sponsored three additional students to attend high school.

This month, Father Charles is visiting Colorado thanks to support from Margaret and her husband.

“Here,” he says, “you know what is next. There, they never know what is next.”

Margaret raises funds by selling her artwork. She paints scenes familiar to Green Mountain Falls visitors, including the gazebo, wildlife, columbines, aspen trees, and mountain landscapes. She also creates hand-painted ornaments and postcards at lower price points.

Because tourism in Green Mountain Falls is seasonal, Margaret looked for additional ways to raise money for the center.

She began teaching painting classes and serving coffee on a donation basis.

During the summer, the Painted Bear fills with locals and visitors drinking coffee, talking outside, and tossing a ball for Stella, Margaret’s yellow lab.

A poster shows photos of the students whose education she sponsors as well as images from the children’s center.

“Some people donate $100 for a cup of coffee,” Margaret says.

Next, she plans to help purchase a vehicle for the priests working in the rural villages. Much of their work fills the role of a social worker.

“Seven priests share one car,” she said. “If one is using the car to visit a village, the others have to walk.”

Father Charles encourages Americans to travel and experience places like this firsthand.

“The U.S. has a lot of opportunities,” he said. “Go for an exchange program. See how life is. Understand the reality. You will be touched by the way people live.”

Margaret also volunteers locally by cooking and delivering meals to unhoused residents in Colorado Springs.

She is now closing the Painted Bear in part because of her husband’s declining health. The business will reopen under new ownership as Wild & Kind Coffee Shop, while continuing to operate as both a coffee shop and gift store.

“I’m so grateful that Andrea, Trent and Maia are so perfect for this,” Margaret says.

Though her store is closing, she plans to continue supporting the children in Nairobi through art sales and painting classes. She also intends to train horses, drawing on her 30 years of experience as a show jumper.

Father Charles says perspectives on happiness differ between cultures.

“Our happiness is different,” he says. “In Africa, happiness is not what you have, it’s seeing a new day.”

To learn more, contact Margaret Frey at margaretfrey30@gmail.com.

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