Five-year-old Chloe Arnell is doing her part to help orphaned children thousands of miles away. The Syracuse resident has been busy making items to be sold at an upcoming fund-raiser.
"I made some bracelets for the African children," Chloe said. "They don't have anything."
The 49 bracelets young Chloe made will be on sale Oct. 19-21 at a Mothers Without Borders Children's Village fund-raiser.
"If you want to buy one, then you have to go really early because they are going to go quick," Chloe said.
Chloe is one of many local residents putting things together for the sale. Her grandmother, B.J. Warnick, is organizing the event.
The fund-raiser will include boutique items, a silent auction and a raffle at the Chantilly Mansion, 170 N. Main St., Layton. One hundred percent of the money raised will aid orphaned children in Zambia.
Warnick is part of Mothers Without Borders, a group dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable children throughout the world. As part of her membership, she has visited Zambia three times.
"Each time I go, for three weeks I feel different," Warnick said. "I am more humble. I am more grateful. I am more compassionate. I am more open to listening to what the needs of others are."
But Warnick said when she returns home to Utah she forgets the feelings she had on her trip. That's why she decided to do something here.
"I decided that for me it's not enough to give just three weeks a year, there's something I can do over on this side of the ocean to help them out," the Syracuse resident said.
She, with the help of a committee of volunteers, began organizing the fund-raiser.
Mothers Without Borders is a Utah-based humanitarian organization that provides relief supplies, skill training and education assistance to men, women and children.
A couple of years ago, the organization developed the Lusaka Children's Village. The village, which consists of a small home, sits on a piece of leased farmland outside the capital city of Zambia. So far, 20 children have been given a home there.
But the organization wants to expand its influence.
The organization has purchased 80 acres of land that will soon become the new Children's Village. The village will allow the organization to increase the number of children in its care from 20 to 250. It will also provide vocational training for adults and schooling for children.
The first foundation was dug on the 80 acres of land in July, and the organization is ready to begin work on digging a well, putting in a road and installing security fencing in the village.
Eventually the village will have several individual houses, a school, a medical clinic and a community center.
But the ability of Mothers Without Borders to move forward on its development of the village is largely determined by its ability to raise money.
The organization is calling on local residents to help further its cause.
The group's fund-raising boutique will be Thursday, Oct. 19, from 4-9 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 20, from 10 a.m.—9 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A silent auction will take place Saturday at 6 p.m. Tickets to the auction are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and include a light dinner. Auction items include donated items from local businesses as well as a quilt that was made by the 20 Zambian orphans.
Raffle items, to be given out each hour during the three-day event, range from a marquee diamond ring worth $2,100 to oil change certificates from local businesses. The raffle tickets for the diamond ring are $10, all others are $1.
The fund-raiser's boutique will feature many donated items. One of the boutique's sections will be a kids-helping-kids section where all the items sold will be made by children or made for children.
Another section will feature many items that were made by Zambian women who participated in a Mothers Without Borders sewing club.
All of the items for the fund-raiser are donated, including the use of Chantilly Mansion. Warnick said it is exciting to see how many people have wanted to help. Being a part of Mothers Without Borders has made a significant impact on Warnick. "It continues to change my life," she said.
E-mail: nclemens@desnews.com