heART for Haiti Begins Tonight

Local artists in five Fairfield County towns are pooling their works to benefit Haitian children in today's "heART for Haiti" event.

Rockwell art galleries in Westport, Wilton, Fairfield and New Canaan and the Galleria d'Arte in Ridgefield have collected hundreds of donated works of art that will be for sale Friday and Saturday, of which 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit Westport-based Save the Children.

The global humanitarian organization has been working in Haiti for 25 years and sent additional staff and resources to respond to the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince Jan. 12.

Two weeks after the quake, Save the Children has helped 105,000 children and families by providing food, medicine and basic supplies, according to its Web site. The agency continues to protect children there by setting up safe places for them to play and learn until their schools reopen. Save the Children is also working to reunite unattended children with their families.

When the earthquake struck, local artists began to ask how they could help, said painter Claudia Mengel whose work will be on display at the Westport location Friday.

At the urging of photographer Ted Horowitz and the help of Steve Desloge, owner of Rockwell Art and Framing, Mengel said artists pooled their talents and set a goal to raise $1 million for Save the Children.

At each of the five locations, an artwork sale and gala reception is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday and noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. The events are open to the public. Anyone wishing to donate to the fundraiser but not interested in purchasing art can also write a check to Save the Children. Monetary donations will be collected at each of the five sites.

For more information, visit heART for Haiti's Web site.