FOR A GOOD CAUSE:

The theme of this year’s gala to benefit the Todd Anglin Home for Children in Nicaragua is “Little Hands Across America.” But it was the memory of Todd’s own hand, a man’s gentle hand reaching out to needy children, that his mother remembers most.

In April 2005, Todd Anglin saw a documentary about saving the life of impoverished, abandoned and neglected children in Latin America, placed his hand on the TV screen, turned to his mother, and said, “We need to take care of these children.”

Days later, Todd, 28, was killed in a car accident on his way to work. By the end of that year, Marie Anglin, a teacher and lecturer at OCC, had established an orphanage in Nicaragua in memory of the son whose vision she wanted to carry out.

Saturday, Marie’s nonprofit organization will host its third annual fundraiser in an effort to continue to provide a home for children in one of Latin America’s poorest countries, a mission she began more than three years ago.

“That scene was so vividly etched in my mind. It was such a powerful message, and when I lost Todd, I called the United Nations to find out where to go to get accurate information on how to go forward.”

Marie said 99.9% of the people around her, including friends and family, thought she was crazy and too grief-stricken to know what she was doing. They told her she was taking on an overwhelming task, but Marie refused to waver, believing it was something she had to pursue for Todd.

“No, I know what my son said, and I have to do it,” was her response.

Bonnie Sharp is a longtime board member with the Todd Anglin Home for Children, and she said what excites her most is the knowledge that they are caring for vulnerable and helpless children.

“We are affecting the lives of children who would otherwise be lost or living in the streets. Now they have guaranteed attention, food, schooling, and psychological care, if needed,” Sharp said.

It was shortly after Todd’s death, with the help of Irvine law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP, who assisted her pro bono, that Marie began the process of filing for nonprofit status, contacting representatives in Nicaragua and trying to locate a building that could house the children.

Marie made her first visit to the Third World country in December 2005. She went alone, she said, because it was an emotional journey she felt she had to make unescorted. She had a contact in Nicaragua who picked her up at the airport, and within days they located an abandoned facility — a spacious, three-bedroom house that could accommodate up to 15 children — that she rented with government approval before returning to the states.

Marie returned to Nicaragua in June 2006 and hired a management company to oversee the day-to-day operation of the orphanage. When she returned, it was to meet the rescued children who lived in the home.

“Some of these children are abandoned, abused, poverty stricken — they are street children. Some would roam the streets trying to find food in bins or they would beg on the streets,” she said. “We have girls who have been sexually abused at age 3 and 4, and some of the parents are drug addicts, alcoholics and prostitutes who often abused the kids.”

In September 2007, Marie was able to move her children to a larger facility that can now house up to 30 children. There are 21 children living in the home now, and Marie, who visits at least three times a year, said the changes in the children — they play, they smile, they have hope — are obvious to all who see them.

For Marie, the visits are incredibly gratifying, and help her to cope with Todd’s death, something she said she will never get over.

Marie is hands-on when she visits “her children,” snuggling with them in their bunk beds, rocking them to sleep, eating meals with them, and waking in the morning to what she described as “the pitter-patter of little feet, followed by ‘buenos dias.’ ”

“I look forward to seeing them. They all want attention at the same time, and they do more for me than I do for them,” she said.

The Todd Anglin Home for Children is supported solely through donations and grants from the community.

Grant Seaton, 25, joined the board in July 2006. He was looking to get involved with a group where he could gain international nonprofit experience, Grant said, but was most impressed by how passionate other board members were.

“They were very directly touched by Todd’s life, and even though I didn’t know him, I was able to feed off their passion and excitement,” Seaton said.

The home’s 12-member board is made up of accountants, lawyers, a doctor, students from Marie’s classes, and some, said Marie, who have also lost a child and would like to channel their grief into something worthy.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Todd Anglin Home for Children Benefit Gala

WHEN: 4:30 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Bridges at Hidden Valley, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine

COST: $45

INFO: Call (714) 539-6863 or www.toddanglinhomefor children.org

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at [email protected].