Safe Passage (Maine) - Hanley Denning

Hanley Denning

Hanley Denning, the founder of Safe Passage, was born on March 9, 1970, in Yarmouth, Maine. Denning graduated from High School in 1988 and began attending Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. She graduated from Bowdoin in 1992 with a degree in Psychology. After graduating from Bowdoin she received her Master's Degree in Education at Wheelock College. After graduating from Wheelock, she began her career as a social worker in North Carolina. Many of Denning's students were Spanish-speaking, leaving her frustrated because she had difficulty understanding them.

In 1997, with the hopes of being able to improve her Spanish, Denning traveled to Guatemala to volunteer and visited a Guatemala City garbage dump. At the dump, children dug through the piles of trash looking for anything they could eat, sell, or use for shelter. None of these kids were going to school because they could not afford the uniforms, supplies, and other miscellaneous costs. Denning sold her car and laptop and used the money to open Safe Passage in a nearby church. Eventually, Safe Passage moved to a safer location. In 2007, First Lady Laura Bush visited Safe Passage and recognized Denning's efforts.

On January 18, 2007, aged 36, Denning was killed in a car accident when a bus hit her vehicle head on outside Guatemala City. Denning received commendations from the United States Senate, and Maine State senate for her work with the children and families of the Guatemala City garbage dump.