Small charity provides gigantic help

By philanthropic standards, a new Spokane-centered charity is a featherweight. But it’s already provided heavyweight help to a handful of families whose children suffer from life-threatening medical conditions.

The nonprofit, Ready to Give, is directed by “five local guys trying to do good” and took shape in late 2005 under the leadership of Steve Howard, a 1989 graduate of Shadle Park High School.

All in their 30s, the five friends worked together to give back to the Spokane community, the city they call home and which launched their careers, said Jay Affleck, Ready to Give spokesman.

What sets Ready to Give apart from almost all other charities is the fact that “every dollar in is a dollar out” that’s given to recipients, said Affleck. No paid administrative costs, advertising or salary expenses.

That’s because the directors work for free, he said. Joining Howard, dubbed “The Wizard” by his directors, are: Affleck, Jeremy Solomon, Brandon Donahue and Todd Mohr.

Together, they’ve grown a network of sponsors that provide monetary and in-kind donations.

For the most part, Ready to Give has learned of needy families from people in its extended circle of friends and acquaintances, Affleck said.

The charity thus far has given away more than $92,000. By 2012, it expects to have donated more than $1 million. Most of the money is raised at an annual summer golf tournament and a fall bowling competition.

Colville residents Amy and Randy Hall, and their son Gregory, 8, are among eight families who’ve received financial assistance from Ready to Give since its inception.

Last year at this time, Gregory was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.

The Halls’ lives were filled with fear, worry and turmoil.

“We were a family torn apart,” literally, said Amy Hall. She took a leave of absence from work to accompany Gregory to Seattle’s Children’s Hospital for a $600,000 bone marrow transplant; dad stayed behind, working and taking care of two 16-year-olds.

Behind the scenes, Ready to Give was gearing to help them.

A month or so after it receiving the Halls’ online application, the charity cut them a $9,000 check.

“It’s a very awesome thing that they do,” said Hall, who brought her fatigued but recovering little boy home in February.

Now, she said, the biggest of the hospital bills are rolling in.

An accountant for Stevens County, Hall said keeping track of billed services, insurance benefits decisions and the family’s budget is daunting.

“It’s wonderful to receive something with no restrictions,” Hall said of Ready to Give’s donation. “You have a hard enough time with the doctors’ bills, the on-call service, radiology, doctors’ visits and who you’ve talked to.”

Affleck said Ready to Give strives “to make a significant impact to families lives; $1,000 or $2,000 doesn’t go very far.” And making big gifts keeps the group fired up about the cause and fundraising, he said.

Although the group will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the need is legitimate, they try to make the application process as nonintrusive as possible, Affleck said.

Christine and Chris Burge of Spokane are parents of 4-year-old Duncan, who’s recovering from an atypical, fast-growing childhood cancer that originated in his liver when he was just 15 months old.

Average wage earners, the Burge’s found they made too money to qualify for most traditional financial assistance programs.

“Most programs are geared to absolute disaster,” Christine Burge said. “It’s almost harder for people in this country who are middle class to get by in a long-term illness.”

Ready to Give “didn’t require us to explain that we were struggling. They had faith in us, in our needs and our family. They invested in our family’s future,” said a grateful Burge

On top of the money, Ready to Give surprised Duncan with a “dream” toy: a kid-size Cadillac Escalade from the battery-powered Power Wheels series.

And they sent his parents for a weekend getaway to winery-rich Walla Walla.

They bestowed the gifts at a quiet gathering. “They thought of everything, from the needs to the hopes and to the dreams. We were totally blown away,” Burge said.

Best of all, there was no grandstanding, she said. “They didn’t have a ton of media around. It was such an intimate, friendly, thoughtful encounter. They weren’t marketing our pain or our hardship. They respected our privacy.”

It’s one of the charity’s trademarks, recipients said.

Mary Ann Ruddis is director of Candlelighters of the Inland Northwest, a nonprofit that assists families of children fighting cancer. Ready to Give pumped the first $10,000 it earned into the charity’s general fund, she said.

“They want to do something good and I’m glad they’re starting to get out there a little bit,” Ruddis said.