Walpole Residents Help Raise Funds for Needy Children in Guatemala

Walpole residents Jill Takacs, Anne Healy, Julie Bushway, Annie Hunter, Maura Scully King and Sister Ellen Powers volunteered at the Third Annual Celebration and Fundraiser for Mil Milagros/A Thousand Miracles. 

The fundraiser was held Oct. 3 at the Boston law firm Goulston & Storrs. Mil Milagros is a Boston-based non-profit organization that works to eradicate childhood hunger and malnutrition in Guatemala and to ensure that children there graduate from sixth grade.

Now in its fifth year, Mil Milagros supports 1,100 Mayan children in a country where half of the children suffer from chronic malnutrition and only 40% complete sixth grade. Mil Milagros trains the children's mothers and grandmothers to prepare the children's hot school lunches, while the children bring their own dishes and utensils to school, along with firewood for the stoves. Last year, 95% of the children supported by Mil Milagros graduated from sixth grade.

The October event attracted over 100 supporters, many of whom have adopted children from Guatemala, including Lt. Governor Tim Murray.

Jill Takacs, a member of the Mil Milagros Board of Directors, volunteers to manage the sales of handicrafts from Guatemala, along with Julie Bushway, in order to help raise funds for the program. 

Both women have children adopted from Guatemala.

Anne Healy, Director of Finance and Administration at Rosie's Place and also a MM Board member, has been working with Sister Ellen Powers and the Sisters of St. Joseph to implement a program about Mil Milagros and Guatemala in local schools. 

Annie Hunter and Maura Scully King also volunteer their time to help with the handicraft sales. 

A holiday sale will be organized by Walpole residents and volunteers Jo-Ann and Jay Barrett on Sunday, Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Epiphany Parish, 62 Front Street, Walpole.