Staff Report
Every day, more than 5,000 children and women are procured for sexual trafficking. Particularly vulnerable are those living in abject poverty.
PACE Universal will host its third annual Bollywood Night, an event that raises funds to disrupt this activity, from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at Terra Mia Vineyards in Paso Robles.
The event is an evening of fine Indian cuisine, music and dance, plus henna art, palm reading, silent and live auctions, and renowned Central Coast wines.
Ticket sales close on Wednesday, April 17.
Proceeds from Bollywood Night benefit the recipients of education and allied services from PACE Universal, founded in 2003 by longtime Solvang resident Deepa Willingham to stop trafficking and gender-biased abuses of children and women. Bollywood Night 2018 sold out two weeks before the event.
PACE, the Promise of Assurance for Children Everywhere, delivers education and life skills to hundreds of impoverished children and women who are at high risk of being trafficked and otherwise abused. It relies solely on donations and on proceeds from its fundraising activities.
Willingham, a native of India, began PACE to stop trafficking and gender-biased abuses through the education of girls and women. Her work began with the construction of the PACE Learning Center (PLC) in the poor village of Piyali Junction, 45 kilometers from Kolkata, India, her childhood home. Piyali Junction is a major hub for the trafficking of girls.
“Many lives have been redirected from an abject existence to a productive future through an educational and life-skills learning experience,” Willingham said.
Tickets are available at bollywood-2019.eventbrite.com for $100 per attendee, in advance.
For more information, visit paceuniversal.org or phone 805-698-6910.
