Charity has been helping Idaho kids who have life-threatening illnesses for 40 years
The rows of kids’ photos on the Friendship Foundation’s Instagram page are what chokes me up.
They all faced life-threatening illnesses and were beneficiaries of the annual Friendship Scramble fundraiser, now in its 40th year.
Some of the kids made it and are living happy, healthy lives today. Some, though, didn’t make it.
But they at least had one day dedicated to them.
“It’s a day away from the hospital, from being poked and prodded every other minute,” Mike Russell, one of the cofounders and tournament director, told me in a phone interview. “And they just get attention and praise. It’s a day set aside just for them.”
What started out as a small informal golf scramble to benefit a friend and family member who had health issues has grown into an annual event that is celebrating its 40th year of helping children and their families in the midst of battling a life-threatening disease.
This year’s scramble is Saturday at Warm Springs Golf Course, where it’s been held every year since 1987.
The tournament began as a small, fun fundraiser to help Mike’s cousin, Pat Russell, or Father Pat, a priest in Boise who had osteogenesis imperfecta, a brittle bone disease.
“We had so much damn fun that first year, though, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, let’s do this again,’” Mike said. “It was just every year, it kept building and building.”
Friendship Foundation aiming for $1 million in donations
The Friendship Scramble also now has a corresponding half-million-dollar nonprofit Friendship Foundation that not only donates money to the family of the chosen recipient, it also donates money for research into that child’s disease.
“As of last year, the total amount we have donated is $725,144,” Mike said. “And I’m really excited to hit the million‑dollar mark.”
The Friendship Foundation partners with St. Luke’s each to select one child per year, under the age of 16, newly diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
What I like about the idea is that they just give the family the money, no strings attached, just do with it what you want. They’re planning on giving this year’s recipient a check for $40,000, to correspond with the 40th anniversary.
“Here’s a small gift that maybe you can use to go on a family gathering,” Mike said. “Some of the things that these recipients’ families have done over the years would just blow your mind.”
In the past, funds have been used to get out of homelessness or to buy a used car to get to doctor’s appointments. The money has gone to save for college, with at least one recipient going on to complete college after recovering from her illness. Other families have used the money for a vacation to Disneyland.
“One little boy wanted a backyard to play in,” Mike said. “So we put in grass and a swing set.”
Remembering one Friendship Foundation recipient
It turns out that I knew the 2009 recipient, Jayden Bennett, of Kuna, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when he was 9 years old. I wrote about Jayden several times throughout his fight. At one point, he had his leg amputated, and I remember going to his house one day shortly after and watched as he jumped on a new trampoline. I didn’t know it at the time, but the trampoline was purchased with money received from the Friendship Scramble.
Jayden’s face is one of the faces on the Friendship Foundation’s Instagram page.
Sadly, Jayden is among those who didn’t make it. He died in 2012 at the age of 11.
This year’s recipient will be announced at the tournament on Saturday.
Recipients treated like celebrities
On the day of the tournament, recipients are treated like celebrities. Some come via ambulance, limousine or helicopter. Sometimes they’re in a wheelchair or even a hospital bed. When they’re there, players swarm around them, giving them fist bumps and high-fives and showering them with gifts, praise and words of encouragement.
The tournament, much like its original roots, is all-volunteer made up of friends and family members.
Breakfast is donated by Dan Ansotegui, lunch is donated by Westside Drive-in, adult beverages are donated by Stein Distributing and soft drinks and water are donated by Swire. Many families and businesses donate quietly behind the scenes and out of the limelight. It’s a real community effort. Many of the donors have been doing it for 25 years or more.
I asked Mike how he and the group of all volunteers do it every year and whether they ever thought about calling it quits over the past 40 years.
“I never have, and I don’t think our committee or the family ever had either,” he said. “You know, I try to explain this, and it’s hard, but we get so much more back. Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you do so much.’ It’s just that we get that feeling, and we get back so much more than we give. Are we exhausted and tired at the end of the day? Absolutely, but it’s a good tired. It’s a great feeling, and it’s a ‘we want to do it again’ feeling. It’s worth it.”
Scott McIntosh is the opinion editor of the Idaho Statesman. You can email him at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com or call him at 208-377-6202. Sign up for the free weekly email newsletter The Idaho Way.
