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closeBarbara and Frank Sanchez help youngsters who display "sisu," a Finnish word akin to courage.
The first was their daughter, Jolene, who died of a brain tumor at age 21 in 1997. Her long struggle inspired the Bellingham couple to found the Sisu Children's Fund, to help children with health challenges. The nonprofit charity is supported by donations and fundraisers.
Barbara Sanchez, 69, who is of Finnish heritage, alternates between tears and joyful smiles when she talks about the charity.
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- Sisu Children’s Fund: sisuchildrensfund.org.
- Barbara and Frank Sanchez: 671-8766 or snabblady@msn.com.
Question: That's an unusual name for a charity.
Answer: People in Finland say they have "sisu" if they show courage and perseverance in the face of adversity. It's a high compliment there if someone says you have sisu.
Q: Your fund seems to have helped numerous youngsters.
A: We've had help from many wonderful local organizations and businesses. We're in our eighth year and we've paid out $80,515 to help 33 children, and we've awarded 19 scholarships to those dealing with medical or physical problems.
Coming up in May 2009 will be our biannual fundraiser, with a production of the musical "Boys From Syracuse" at the Bellingham Theatre Guild Playhouse. We made $8,000 at our last show there.
Q: How does your charity work?
A: We're a public charity, which allows us to give directly to children instead of having to donate to another nonprofit, as a foundation must. We try to help children whose needs often fall through the cracks.
Q: What are some of the ways you help?
A: We've purchased several wheelchairs, and I remember the voice-activated computer for a young adult who had lost nine fingers to lupus. We've purchased a Braille note taker, and we've paid for speech therapy, vision therapy, a program to enhance education for deaf students, and a wide variety of other needs.
Q: What's one of your fondest memories?
A: We helped a child who was then 5 years old, Cassie Waters, with intensive speech therapy. She had given up speaking because no one could understand her because what she wanted to say would come out with completely different sounds and words. After 10 months with an outstanding therapist, Linda Newman Kennedy, Cassie got up in front of her classroom and gave a speech to students and parents!
Q: How did your daughter's struggle inspire you?
A: She was our only child, and when she died we realized we had no one to will anything to, so we decided to form our charity to help other children while we could.
Q: How long did she struggle?
A: Jolene was diagnosed at age 13 with a malignant tumor that normally gives a person about six months to live. But after surgery and treatment, she had six years before the tumor returned, shortly after she began college classes. Her first surgery left her with learning disabilities, but she found new ways to learn. She overcame so much and graduated from Sehome High School with her Class of 1994.
Michelle Nolan is a freelance writer.
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