Save the date and start working on your act. On Saturday, July 27, the Young People’s Theatre Workshop is creating, coordinating and presenting Children of the Wind, an Arts-A-Thon to raise money and hope for migrant children detained at the southern U.S. border. This event will unwind with performers on stage in 10-minute blocks from 3:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at The Players Club of Swarthmore; the entire Wallingford-Swarthmore community (and beyond) is encouraged to attend.

“I was driving to theatre arts camp one morning when I heard a report on NPR regarding the plight of children at the southern border,” YPTW executive director Claudia Carlsson said this week. Like many others, she felt shattered and helpless as she listened to the shocking details of the conditions that small children were being forced to endure. “I was really upset by that report, and even more upset by the prevailing notion that there’s nothing we can do. I thought: maybe there is something that we can do.”

What Carlsson and her colleagues at YPTW decided to do is to plan an all-ages event that would unite a community in positive response, both in creative expression and in practical assistance. “This event is a way for people to come together to make some positive change. It’s insane to pull this together so quickly, but this is when the space is available, most families are still around town, and the iron is hot – people are outraged and want to act somehow.”

The Players Club of Swarthmore is supporting the event by opening its theatre at 614 Fairview Road from 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on July 27. Performers may sign up for 10 minute slots. They may share songs, spoken words such as monologues, essays, scenes, poems, and dance. Organizers are hoping each performer can raise $100 for their time slot, but will also pair donating sponsors to cover all performers.

Although Carlsson expects that many of the slots will feature young and not so young YPTW students and alumni, kids and adults can participate onstage even if they have no theater or musical inclinations — by reading material that is meaningful to them, by telling jokes, by convening a discussion with friends, for instance.

And all in our community can pledge to support the two organizations targeted by the event: RAICES and Together Rising. Donations from businesses and organizations are welcomed as well. Details on the cause and the response can be found on the Young People’s Theatre Workshop website at yptw.org.

Everyone is encouraged to drop by the theater on July 27, enjoy the talent on stage, listen, share stories, and have a bite to eat. If you have any questions about the event or want to participate as a performer or a volunteer, please email Claudia Carlsson at yptw@aol.com.