What started as a church mission trip has grown into a thriving initiative that is changing lives.
SewHope, a Toledo-based nonprofit, runs several programs in rural Guatemala with the mission of helping to end the injustices of poverty and bring about sustainable communities.
Started in 2007 by Dr. Anne Ruch, a local obstetrician-gynecologist and chief executive officer of Compassion Health Toledo, the operation and the work has grown bigger than she could have ever expected.
“The first time I went to Guatemala was in 1998, and I went with a group from our church,” Dr. Ruch said. “The whole purpose of us going was just to find a little project in Guatemala that our church could support.”
After several mission trips, Dr. Ruch said she always returned feeling exceedingly compelled to do more.
“I’m coming back, and I’d be lying in bed thinking, ‘What are we really doing?’ We’re going and we’re giving out little medications … and I’m coming home spiritually invigorated, but like, what have I really done? We need to do something that’s meaningful, that’s not just making us all feel good,” she said.
That pull led to her spearheading a cervical cancer prevention program.
“I’m a gynecologist, but I had no idea that cervical cancer is the No. 1 cause of cancer death there. And it happens a lot,” she said.
The program provides HPV vaccinations and pap smears. Last year, nearly 7,000 women were screened.
“Dr. Ruch would be down there, women would come and they would bring their children, and they would wait for hours to see her,” said Cecilia Chaudhary, development director.
“Nurses and different people that would go on the trips would start reading with the kids, and, over time, they would start bringing computers and doing activities with them, and that kind of turned into an after-school program,” Ms. Chaudhary said.
That program ultimately expanded into a faith-based independent school that employs certified Guatemalan teachers that work to provide a high-quality education to 162 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
“We never, ever thought that it would grow the way it has, truly,” Dr. Ruch said.
SewHope is set to host its annual fund-raiser, LEAP, or Love Ends All Poverty, at 6 p.m. Friday at the Premier, 4480 Heatherdowns Blvd.
Attendees will get an opportunity to contribute financially to SewHope’s initiatives while learning more about the organization.
“People come to our event, and they see all the things that are happening, and how something that started off as a cervical cancer prevention program ended up turning into so much more,” said Roxanne Ward, director of education.
Proceeds from the event are the main source of revenue for the organization, allowing service to communities in Petén, Guatemala, whose people are among the poorest in the world, organizers said.
“In the last 15 years, over 26,000 women have been screened for cervical cancer,” Ms. Ward said. “When you think about that and then Anne saw these kids and she just knew there was something more for [them] — and now, these kids are thriving.”
Recently, students from Mercy College of Ohio worked with SewHope to pack 10,000 meals bound for Guatemala. That effort inspired a collaboration to provide much needed tote bags for the students’ supplies.
Using leftover materials donated by local home furnishings store Betty Rumpf Interiors, for weeks the group worked to sew 165 bags.
A student coined the name “Totes for Tomorrow,” and in early February, Ms. Ward delivered the bags to Guatemala. The bags brought endless joy to children who live in extreme poverty, SewHope organizers said.
“God just sends the people. You need somebody, and they know something that you don't know, or they connect you with somebody and that’s how this whole thing has been. And even this LEAP event, every year, gets bigger,” said Dr. Ruch, who is slated to speak at the event.
In addition to a buffet dinner and a live band, Friday’s fund-raiser will include 129 silent auction items and experiences.
“Auction items are anywhere from artwork to events, Mud Hens tickets, Urban Air, and quasar paintings,” said Gloria Buganski, treasurer and events chairman. “We’ve got beautiful ceramic works by different local artists.”
A $100 raffle ticket will offer the choice for a trip to Hawaii or Orlando, with only 10 still available, she said.
Other raffles include a Garmin Forerunner sport watch, a Shark Matrix robotic vacuum, and a pastel painting by Wendy Fetters that will be done live at the event.
LEAP fund-raiser tickets are $90 and are available at sewhope.org.
First Published March 12, 2025, 4:22 p.m.
