Bluffton, IN – The Forgotten Children Worldwide (FCW) Dinner and
Benefit Auction Monday night had record attendance and donations for the annual
event held at the Bluffton 4-H Building.
Financial gifts have more than tripled in the past three years to bring
in approximately $65,000 for orphans and vulnerable children worldwide along
with 15 new
child sponsorships reserved.
The event also sold out for the first time with 450+ registrations two
weeks prior to the event, according to Brandy Aschliman, volunteer Benefit
organizer for the Bluffton-based organization.
“We were humbled by the sold-out attendance at this year’s Benefit
Auction and encouraged by the generosity of so many who gave so sacrificially
for those who have so very little”, Matt Hartsell, founder and executive
director, said. “Thank you to all who
assisted to make the evening a huge success for the Kingdom.”
The evening included Silent and a Live Auctions called by Brian Imel, a
dinner and a brief program, and the debut of the new FCW video showing how FCW
is preventing Human Trafficking.
In a griping moment, Hartsell told of just returning from Ethiopia,
where he learned children were being sold for as little as $6 into human
slavery. Eighty percent of these
children are used for sexual exploitation.
He went on to say that every 26 seconds a child is sold around the
world, including the United States.
Forgotten Children, through its sponsorship program and
self-sustainability programs, is seeking to prevent trafficking around the
world.
In addition to asking the crowd to give financially, Hartsell also
asked the group to set their cell phone alarms for 1:26 p.m. for the next 30
days as a reminder to pray for these children who are often tricked into trafficking
under the false hope of a job in another country.
Forgotten
Children Worldwide is in the process of renovating the old Movie Gallery, 650 N
Main St., to serve as its new orphan exhibit and packing center. An open house is scheduled for May.