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Oregon Football, Irving Elementary and Sparrow Club join forces to raise funds

A Eugene-area toddler suffering from a rare neuromuscular disorder received some happy help this week when a group of University of Oregon football players joined forces with students at Irving Elementary School to help raise money for his family.

Theo suffers from SMA, a neuromuscular disease that weakens the muscles in his spine due to the loss of nerve cells. Theo's SMA is the most severe form, and most children do not live to see their second birthday.

Despite all this, Theo fought through and after two months in the pediatric intensive care unit, he learned to walk, talk, eat and sit.

Theo was adopted by the Sparrow Club, a Washington-based nonprofit that adopts children with life-threatening illnesses and raises money for them through volunteer work at a school.

The nonprofit connected Theo with Irving Elementary School, where students got to know Theo at assemblies throughout the year. This led to the Irving Day of Service, where 275 students pulled weeds, planted flowers, spread bark mulch and painted rocks to beautify the garden.

The Sparrow Club donated $10 to Theo's family for each hour of community service performed, raising a total of $2,750.

The day of service was supported by Papa's Murphy Pizza, the University of Oregon football team, CUPZ Coffee, Lane Forest Products and many mothers.

One of the PTO members at Irving Elementary School is a member of the Rotary Club of Eugene, and the Sparrow Club approached them and asked them to expand into the Willamette Valley. When Principal Carmen Adler was approached about this, Adler immediately agreed and said, “Yes, let's do it, advocacy for children is one of the most important things we can teach.”

In April, Adler spoke at a Sparrow Club fundraiser luncheon, where Karl Holmes, the University of Oregon football director of player engagement, heard Adler speak.

“It blew my mind … we would love to be there for that day of service,” Holmes said.

On Wednesday, Irving students took turns working in the garden from 9 a.m. to noon, removing weeds, planting flowers and spreading bark mulch around the school. Fifteen football players from the University of Oregon helped with wheelbarrows and shoveling mulch from piles provided by Lane Forest Products.

Other community members also volunteered their time, including Rodger Deevers, a financial advisor and arts activist. Deevers volunteered his time to repaint a map of the United States on a playground. He said he knows the power of art because it helped him through difficult times in his life.

The Sparrow Club has adopted 34 children into the program this year, including eight from the Willamette Valley. The Sparrow Club's main mission is to spread compassion through action, a slogan printed on each of the students' t-shirts.

The power of compassion through action is something that Sparrow Club Area Director Julie Burket believes is crucial for every participant.

“The hope would be that this becomes a long-standing tradition here in Irving and that there is a new sparrow every year,” Burket said. “What really happens is that it becomes predictable; the kids know what to expect and they are excited to meet their new sparrow.”

Burket and Adler said they are excited about the future of the Sparrow program at Irving Elementary School and both believe the first year was a success.

Josiah Pensado is a multimedia reporter for The Register-Guard as part of the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism. You can contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Instagram. @jpa.fotos

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