Sue Runsvold remembers her first bike very well.
She also remembers what it's like to be a poor child.
So, for the second year in a row, the nurse manager at Valley Medical Center asked colleagues for money to buy bicycles and helmets for needy children.
This year, Runsvold, 54, raised more than $2700-enough for 40 bikes and helmets-that she delivered last week to the San Jose Fire Department's Station No, 1 downtown. The firefighters included the bikes in a toy drive sponsored by Los Bomberos of Northern California, a Latino firefighters group.
"I'm a biker," Runsvold said, to explain how she came up with the idea. "I go on bike rides with my grandkids. It's a great gift; it doesn't take batteries and it gets you outside. And, who doesn't remember their first bike?"
Runsvold said that last year she asked people at work, including about 60 nurses, nurse assistants and housekeeping staff on a surgical floor at Valley Med, to donate. She raised $700 and bought 12 bikes and helmets at Toys R US. The store donated the $10 assembly fee for each bike, Runsvold said.
The workers stayed until 4:30 a.m. assembling them so Runsvold could pick them up later that morning, she said. "They really got into doing it."
This year, Runsvold got an earlier start, sending e-mails and posting fliers about the fundraiser. The response was quick, she said. Then, Mark Mooring, chief of protective services, offered to match whatever was raised, up to $1000, Runsvold said.
Much of the money came from staff members "who least can afford it, Runsvold said. One colleague offered to make up whatever difference was needed to reach the $1,000 for matching funds, she said, adding that she'd already decided to bridge any difference herself.
As it turns out, Runsvold didn't have to open her wallet again. She raised $1,367, and Mooring matched the entire amount, bringing the total to $2735.
"Toys "R" Us was wonderful," Runsvold said. The store not only donated the assembly, but also gave her a price break on some helmets, which cost about $20 each.
She also got 12 helmets that had been donated to the hospital's pediatrics department.
Runsvold requested a selection of 16-, 18-, and 20-inch bikes equally split between models for boys and girls. "You need a good assortment of sizes, so we can cover a lot of kids," she said.
The assortment was stretched further by the firefighters, who had collected 12 26-inch bikes, ideal for teenagers, Runsvold said. The bikes were waiting at the station when the truck pulled up last Thursday.
Children from 300 needy San Jose families were on hand Saturday at the Berryessa Community Center for the bicycle giveaway. Other toys collected by Los Bomberos also were handed out.
About 70 bikes in all were giving away through a raffle. The families' names were given to the Bomberos program from schools, churches, homeless shelters and social services agencies.
"As firefighters, we always see tragedy," said Rick Carruth, a fire department arson investigator who coordinates the Bomberos toy drive. "This is a chance to turn that around, to do something that makes people happy. It gives you a warm feeling."
Runsvold can relate to the needy children. Growing up in Southern California, her mother needed help to pay for Christmas goodies. "There were many years that without help, we wouldn't have gotten gifts," Runsvold said.
So it's her turn to pay back the kindness. Said Runsvold: "I believe in the magic of the season."
From the San Jose Mercury News,
December 23, 2004
Reporter: Donna Yanish
