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Local help for local kids

Charity for Children a small charity with a big agenda

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

By Frank Brieaddy

Staff writer

A year after it was founded, Charity for Children still has a bank account that is far too small for what seems to be a monumental mission.

The nonprofit wants to be the "go-to" resource for families with disabled or sick children when all other forms of aid are exhausted or unavailable.

Charity for Children's Executive Director Nina Albino admits that the charity couldn't possibly help every Central New York family that believes it meets that description, certainly not now with cash on hand of less than $15,000.

Organizers recognized that limitation by setting a maximum grant of $500 per family.     

But they broke their rule almost immediately when they raised and awarded $1,000 to John and Billie Jo Iden, of Clay, toward the purchase of a wheelchair-accessible van to transport their son, Matthew, 12, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy.      

Albino, the only paid staff, and many of the board members are veteran workers for the local chapters of national health charities that have strict rules and lots of administrative paperwork.

"We really wanted to do something for kids and we really wanted it to be local," said Albino, who worked 19 years with the American Cancer Society and two and a half years with the March of Dimes.

She said it is more an observation than a criticism that employees for national charities spend a lot of time on duties that seem distant from the mission.

Sitting in her tiny DeWitt office supplied rent-free by the Syracuse Federal Credit Union Albino said, "There's no more time wasted on ridiculous conference calls where you don't learn anything." Charity for Children adopted the same local-emphasis philosophy used by Multiple Sclerosis Resources of Central New York when it broke away from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society because of consolidation that moved decision-making to Rochester, she said.       

In its first year, the Charity for Children has raised $76,000 and spent most of it on startup costs and eight requests for help, each of which was fulfilled.

Larry and Sandra Rookey, of Oswego, were delighted with the charity's donation of a computer with audio controls for their son, Kyle, 14, who suffered traumatic brain injury as a result of cancer treatment.

Sandra Rookey said the family has received aid from a variety of sources. "There's always those little loopholes" that block something that is necessary. "We really needed to tap into other resources," she added.

Charity for Children also provided clothes and toys at Christmas for two Syracuse girls with disabilities, Shayanne Fuller, 2, and Sovanna, 5 months, while their mother was fighting what turned out to be a losing battle with heart disease.

"They didn't have much," said Heidi Wells, an aunt who helps care for the girls. "It was awesome."

Albino said she knows that more awareness of the organization will generate more requests, but she also believes it will produce more support.

"Hopefully, the requests won't come in faster than the money," she said.

Albino gets some of her "can-do" attitude from Dr. Robert Dracker, a board member and driving force behind Charity for Children. "The needs are huge and they're episodic," said Dracker, a pediatrician who has worked with many charities serving children. "I run into this stuff every day."

Dracker was a principal supporter of Just for Babies, a local charity that provided infant necessities to poor mothers until it folded in 1999. He's been organizing a variety of efforts to fill that gap ever since and says he believes Charity for Children can address that issue, too.

Charity for Children aims to be more than a nonprofit that dispenses money, Dracker said.

He envisions a databank filled with people who could provide goods and services to families with sick or disabled children in emergencies.

He also would like to create a written primer and set up an expert list for families who are thrust into difficult situations and need to organize a fund-raising party.

It all seems like a complicated and expansive agenda for one small charity, but Dracker said this community is up to the challenge. "We have a tremendous resource in this community of very helping people," he said.

 

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