Photo submitted to Times Observer Restoring Hope event coordinator Anne VanHouten, right, presents Thad Turner of the Association for the Recovery of Children with a check for $21,000 raised during the Restoring Hope dinner and dessert auction at Praise Fellowship on November 15. An additional $21,000 was raised and donated to Rescuing Lives in India.

Restoring Hope, an annual dinner/dessert auction that serves as a fundraiser to fight human trafficking, was held at Praise Fellowship in Russell on November 15. According to event coordinator Anne VanHouten, multiple churches, businesses, and organizations came together that evening and raised $42,000.

100% of the donations were split between the following two organizations:

The Association for the Recovery of Children is an organization comprised of former and active intelligence officers, military special operators, and law enforcement officers who rescue missing, abducted, and trafficked American children being held in the US or overseas. ARC Founder and President Bazzel Baz was a speaker at the event.

Rescuing Lives is a group delivering life-changing hope to women and children in dire circumstances in India. These women and children are at high risk for human trafficking or are already enslaved and in need of rescue. Rescuing Lives President Jaipaul Papabathini was also a speaker. For more information on either organization, visit their websites at www.recoveryofchildren.org and www.rescuinglives.org. Restoring Hope and Praise Fellowship would like to thank everyone in the community who helped make this evening possible. Praise Fellowship is located at 7451 Market Street in Russell. Sunday services begin at 9 and 10:45 a.m. Everyone is welcome to attend and encouraged to come as you are.