FARMINGTON -- Magicians Without Borders, a non-profit organization based in Vermont, will present a benefit event in support of Franklin County's sexual assault crisis center, SAVES (Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services, Inc.) with the proceeds to benefit SAVES and Magicians Without Borders.

The event will be held at 2 p.m. next Sunday in Lincoln Auditorium in Roberts Learning Center at the University of Maine at Farmington. Tickets are $5 and $20 for a five-person family pass. For children ages 3 and younger, admission is free.

Tickets are on sale in Farmington at Mickey's Hallmark on Main Street, at the Calico Patch on Broadway, and at SAVES on Pleasant Street.

Tom Verner and his wife, Janet Fredericks, founders of Magicians Without Borders, travel to refugee camps, orphanages, schools and hospitals around the globe to perform magic shows. They have connected to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees and the agency often provides local logistical help, according to its Web site. All other costs of the visit are paid by Magicians Without Borders.

Magicians Without Borders was founded when Verner was travelling in eastern Europe in 2001 and did magic shows in refugee camps in Kosovo and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The shows were so well received he took an extended leave from his teaching and started performing full-time.

Verner and Fredericks were invited to Farmington by longtime friend John Rosenwald, a member of the SAVES Board of Directors.

"They know that relieving the misery in refugee camps is not just about food, shelter, and clothing but also about spirit. Through mime and magic they have brought laughter and delight to thousands of children both young and old," Rosenwald said.

"People don't know there are 20 million refugees in the world and they live in camps for decades," Verner says. "Magic can awaken hopes and dreams. Magic makes the impossible seem possible."

SAVES offers support to victims and survivors of sexual violence, survivors, their loved ones, school students, faculty, staff and parents, professional organizations and businesses, faith communities and systems providers.