The Honduras Promise Children Mission will hold its annual Honduras Auction and Chinese Auction on Sunday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 3748 Route 430, Bemus Point. The event is open to the public, with Andrew Campbell as the live auctioneer. Many businesses and individuals have donated gift certificates, gift baskets and other items for the auction. Viewing begins at 5 p.m. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

The auction supports the organization’s ongoing program, which is also supported by St. Timothy and many other local churches which support children and their families year-round. Recently, the churches have added English and computer classes for the children, and a microloan program for the mothers. A mission team is planning to go to Honduras in January 2026, to work with the children, assess the needs of the program, provide medical check-ups and teach the mothers new skills.

The auction is one of the major fundraisers for the Honduras Promise Children Mission, which has been going on for more than 25 years. New sponsors are always needed for the children, since they support the year-round weekly program, plus give protein based foods to the family once a month.

Sarah Goebel, Honduras Promise Children Mission chair, said the initial inspiration for the mission came from a Compassion International conference in Central America. The first mission trip to Honduras was in 1995 after Hurricane Mitch destroyed a lot of Honduras, and members of the organization have been going down once a year since to do things like build a school and spend time with the children there. Many of the boys that were in the orphanage and started with the program have grown up and graduated and now help the program as well.

The Honduras Promise Children Mission, based out of Chautauqua County, will be holding their annual fundraiser to help children and mothers in Honduras. Submitted photo

“We agreed to sponsor the poorer families in the village,” Goebel said. “We do a lot of teaching. People are always grateful and happy to see us. There’s a lot of hugs and we spend a lot of time with the children and mothers.”

The Mission also recently collaborated with the Jamestown Zonta Club to help teach the mothers cooking and baking, allowing for five groups of six mothers to work together these days to make something once a month to sell. This collaboration, Goebel said, allows the mothers to both learn a new skill and how to make their own money, which is something that can be hard for them to do there.

The next mission trip will be in January, and the organization besides visiting with the children and mothers will also be doing things like a large birthday celebration for all of the kids, and helping people with things like business plans and promoting tourism. The plan is to help these mothers be able to purchase and run their own bakery storefront.

The live auction is the Mission’s big fundraiser for the year, with this year’s auction including baskets and other things to bid on such as gift certificates, a Buffalo Bills basket, children’s items, food baskets, cider, honey, maple syrup, Christmas baskets, and more. All proceeds go towards helping people in developing countries, Goebel added.

People are allowed to begin arriving at 5 p.m. Sunday to view the baskets and enjoy refreshments. The live auction begins at 6 p.m. with a Chinese and silent auction also happening at the same time.

“It’s fun,” Goebel said. “People have a great time. The auctioneer is fun and a great guy. We’re usually out by 8 p.m. We have some really great gift items and it gives people an opportunity to support a program that makes a difference for children and women in Honduras.”

Goebel encouraged the community to come out, enjoy themselves, and bid on these baskets. She thanked the community for their support over the last 30 years.

“It’s been unbelievable to watch this program grow and sustain itself and change lives,” Goebel said. “The children that have gone through our program are now pastors, doctors, musicians, people that are able to support themselves and their families and give back to their own communities. We have graduates that come back and tell others their stories of being in the program. It inspires everyone.”