For a little help, all you have to do is ask
By MARLENE SOKOL
Published April 27, 2007
Dan O'Brien makes his living in employee benefits. He makes his home in Westchase.
Through his job he knows what a severe childhood illness can do to a family's finances. And through his home life, he knows how neighbors can help.
It happened in 2004, when 9-year-old Brooke Overstreet had cancer and her family was rocked by sky-high medical bills. O'Brien and his buddies held a golfing tournament to raise money.
Today O'Brien, fellow neighbor Ralph Caputo and six others oversee the Westchase Community Foundation.
What started as a friendly game is a full-fledged charity, organizing casino nights, restaurant fairs and other social events. So far they have assisted five families, all with ailing children, in a model they hope other communities will imitate.
But they wonder: Could they do more? "I know there are families out there in need of support," O'Brien said.
He suspects that even though the grant process is discreet, some families are too proud to come forward.
It's an interesting dilemma.
The rules of the nonprofit corporation are very specific: Recipients must need the money because of a child's medical needs, though they can spend it as they wish. They must live inside Westchase's community development district.
Only rarely can the foundation make an exception.
It's not that they are all about Westchase, O'Brien said, aware of how uncharitable that provision might sound.
Rather, the foundation is targeting middle-class families, who have neither the deep pockets of the very rich, nor the social services network of the very poor.
These are the families who can be wiped out by a $5,000 insurance deductible, a rushed trip to an out-of-state research hospital, the need to quit a job to care for a sick child, or all of this and more.
While the foundation has disbursed some $20,000, O'Brien says it has far more sitting in an account. "I feel uncomfortable having events and raising money if we're not giving anything out," he said.
But make no mistake: The charity is here to stay.
A father of two with a wife who teaches elementary school, O'Brien likes to see children get involved in positive activities.
He has seen kids funnel their birthday presents to the foundation, and collect toys at Christmas time for hurricane victims.
To keep the organization child-focused, there is always something for kids to do during the golfing events: a moonwalk, a swim party, a DJ playing dance music. "I don't golf," O'Brien said. "I stay back with the kids."
They expect their next event will be in the fall.
Who knows? They might rework their guidelines if it means helping more families. To keep their profile high, they immerse themselves in a wide range of Westchase activities.
Santa Claus on the fire truck? That's O'Brien's group, sounding the siren that has children running from their homes.
"Our kids are really learning from this," he said. "And that's awesome."
Fast Facts:
For more information
To find out more about the Westchase Community Foundation, visit http:// www.westchase foundation.org. You can also call Dan O'Brien at (813) 920-0350 or Ralph Caputo at (813) 920-6088.