Auction benefits Guatemalan children

Activists and volunteers will gather Wednesday evening to help children living in unimaginable squalor.

Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage will hold its third annual fiesta at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City, with proceeds directly benefiting those living in a garbage dump in Guatemala. The public is welcome to the event, which runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m.. Tickets are $30 at the door, with $10 for children under 12.

Local members of Great Lakes Friends, one of 10 Safe Passage friends groups around the world, are throwing the fiesta to raise both awareness and money for the Maine-based operation.

New this year is an auction featuring donations from 10 area artists, including Glenn Wolff, Elizabeth Price, Melodee Rupert and Bill Allen.

Fiesta organizers invited artists in the spring to view the documentary short film "Recycled Life" about the dumps and a devastating fire. While Rupert could not make the showing at Higher Grounds Trading Company, she borrowed the DVD. Profoundly affected by the story and images, she watched it repeatedly.

"I am a very emotional painter and I take a lot of notes on feelings, color and emotions and color and shapes, what's happening," said Rupert, who created a three-panel artwork transitioning from degradation to hope. "That segment of humanity is a treasure that we're ignoring, just as we ignore the trash that we throw away."

The passion and energy to help these children characterize Safe Passage volunteers and supporters, including Sharon Workman.

The Cedar resident has visited Guatemala five or six times with Safe Passage and is a member of the organization's board of directors. She noted that Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage has sent more than 50 people from northern Michigan to volunteer there.

Many return multiple times after seeing the organization alter children's lives through improved health care and education.

"It's unbelievable when you go down there, a life-changing experience," said Workman, deeming the material poverty "beyond our imagination."

"When you see where they live, most have no light or electricity, living literally on the garbage dumps."

Since Safe Passage began in 1999, the nonprofit organization has grown from helping 40 children to 500. Educational assistance covers uniform, book and tuition fees while providing a place for homework and tutoring. Enrichment programs, including English education, are also available.

The organization recently added a literacy program for parents and a new preschool that serves 60 younger children.

"We had our first two graduates this year and in Guatemala if you have a high school diploma you have a much better chance of getting a good job," said Workman, noting that the organization is trying to help these graduates attend university and trade school.

The strength of the Safe Passage friends groups -- whose roster will expand to 12 soon -- is that they connect individuals directly to people in need via a program that makes a difference.

"If you have people who have a connection to this program on a personal level and have worked with our children and hugged them, they're our strongest advocates and voices for the children," said Rachel Meyn, United States director of Safe Passage.

The Third Annual Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage Fiesta will be held on Wednesday, July 16, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City. Tickets are available at the door for $30 per person, $10 for children under 12. For more information, call (231) 590-6072.

Photos

Glenn Wolff is one of 10 area artists who donated work to the Third Annual Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage Fiesta, scheduled for Wednesday.

Local photographer Elizabeth Price examines donated artworks that will be available during an auction at the event.