[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 98 (Friday, July 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7296-S7297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      WISHES DO COME TRUE FOR KIDS

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, a newspaper article entitled ``Wishes do 
come true for Kids'' appeared in the Saturday, June 21, 1997, edition 
of the Washington Times. The article relates the story of a charitable 
foundation--Kids, Inc.--which was established in 1982. The foundation 
has helped gravely ill youngsters in 17 states find some measure of 
happiness in their last days by financing a special vacation with their 
family members, or meeting a celebrity, or attending a circus, or 
participating in a group outing such as a VIP tour of the U.S. Capitol.
  The article also tells about the moving force behind this very 
worthwhile volunteer organization--retired Army Colonel John G. 
Campbell of Burke, Virginia.
  I am not surprised to read of Colonel Campbell's efforts to help some 
of our most vulnerable citizens. I have known Colonel Campbell for many 
years. He accompanied me on a congressional delegation to China and on 
several trips to dedicate military facilities in the state of West 
Virginia. He has served the country in uniform and as a staff member of 
the U.S. Senate. I have always found Colonel Campbell to be a man of 
competence, compassion, and Christian conscience. I thank and commend 
him for his efforts on behalf of the children who have benefited from 
Kids, Inc., and wish him and his wife, Jan, well.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the article about Colonel 
Campbell and his work on behalf of seriously ill children be printed in 
the Record at this point.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Washington Times, June 21, 1997]

                      Wishes Do Come True for Kids

                          (By Patrick Butters)

       To be perfectly callous, most people wonder whether giving 
     cash and precious time to charity actually goes to the poor 
     folks who need it most--or whether it just sinks into the 
     black hole of ``administrative costs.''
       With Kids Inc., a good answer would be to look around its 
     small office in Burke. Ensconced behind a heavy, nondescript 
     door in an office complex on Old Keene Mill Road, the 
     nonprofit group's results can be seen on its walls.
       Photos show smiling and sometimes laughing children, most 
     of them gravely ill. Since 1982, Kids has helped such 
     unfortunate youngsters in 17 states find a few moments or a 
     few days of happiness through special requests, such as 
     visiting Disney World or meeting wrestler Hulk Hogan, actor 
     Michael J. Fox or a member of the Washington Redskins. 
     Children have gone on such group outings as VIP tours of the 
     U.S. Capitol.
       ``There are no fancy ads, no fancy offices, no glossy 
     publications and no fund-raising firms. It is small and has 
     direct impact,''

[[Page S7297]]

     says Frank Norton, who volunteers with his wife, Carol.
       ``This is neighborhood. These are folks you may not know 
     but you could know. They may be your nextdoor neighbor or 
     your cousin.''
       The head neighbor of all this is retired Army Col. John G. 
     Campbell, president of the nonprofit group. Not surprisingly, 
     his consulting firm has donated office space to Kids.
       He's a tall, handsome Texan with an endearing drawl, a 
     killer grin and a disarming demeanor. At Kids events, he's 
     everywhere at once, announcing the next guest or simply 
     rounding up metal folding chairs for the artist he's enlisted 
     to draw pictures of the children. Col. Campbell's stunning 
     wife, Jan, who is Kids secretary/treasurer, and the rest of 
     the volunteer army work the huge crowd.
       ``A brilliant, brave soldier with a touch of bravado,'' 
     says Sen. John Warner, Virginia Republican, of Col Campbell, 
     with whom he has worked for many years on Capitol Hill.
       Yet Col. Campbell takes great pains to point out that this 
     is an all-volunteer organization. What little overhead there 
     is pays for a certified public accountant and for operating 
     licenses. Kids could not survive on just John Campbell, and 
     he knows it.
       ``While most of the news you read is bad news, there are a 
     great deal of good things going on,'' he says. ``People are 
     willing--and eager--to help if they know it's going directly 
     to a worthy cause.''
       The first child Kids helped was 8-year-old Andrew Bley, who 
     suffered from a brain tumor. The boy went to the same church 
     as Col. Campbell, a Burke resident, who at the time was a 
     well-connected Army liaison officer to the U.S. Senate. He 
     and several others met with then-Rep. Earl Hutto, Florida 
     Democrat, and Frank Borman, then-chairman of Eastern 
     Airlines, whom Col. Campbell knew while on the faculty of 
     West Point. They pooled their resources and sent Andrew and 
     his family to Walt Disney World ``for what was really their 
     first real, great family vacation.''
       ``The family's resources were exhausted--which, by the way, 
     is frequently the case in all of these things,'' Col. 
     Campbell says. Andrew was ``a brave, cheerful kid who fought 
     until the end and died,'' says Col. Campbell, his voice 
     ebbing.
       The boy, as they say, did not die in vain. The trip created 
     a lasting impression on the volunteers.
       ``It was so rewarding for those of us who participated in 
     it, we thought, `Gee, we ought to try and to this on some 
     sort of organized basis.' '' Col. Campbell says.
       A framed check dated Dec. 28, 1983, on the wall of Col. 
     Campbell's office is signed by Mr. Warner for $250. This 
     marked the first actual donation, opening the bank account 
     the day Kids officially went into business.
       The orders came in immediately. Some children wanted--and 
     got--events such as being onstage with Bill Cosby or trips to 
     Ocean City or the circus. (One child even went fishing in 
     Alaska.)
       Others received items such as a new wheelchair, an 
     automatic page turner, art lessons, home computer, a canopied 
     bed or a pneumo-wrap, which helped a 16-year-old boy with 
     Duchenne's muscular dystrophy breathe more easily. One 
     heartbreaker wanted an Easter dress and matching bonnet. 
     Another just wanted a Barbie doll.
       Some of the other requests weren't so simple, but were 
     attainable. A little boy spent a few nights on the aircraft 
     carrier USS Saratoga and sat in the cockpit of a jet. (``They 
     made him an honorary member of the squadron and gave him a 
     leather jacket,'' says Col. Campbell.) Kids has also taken 
     children on elephant rides, trips to the FBI's target range 
     and up in the air in a hot air balloon.
       The first year, 1982, Kids helped seven children. The 
     numbers doubled the next year, and last year the organization 
     helped 60 children.
       The Kids brochure stresses that the families of the 
     patients are involved as much as possible. ``Generally in 
     these situations the family is wiped out,'' Col. Campbell, 
     ``but in the end we do what the child wants to do.''
       This message pervades conversations with participants. In 
     the pauses, it's evident that childhood illness is very 
     democratic, within and without.
       ``It affects the entire family,'' says retired Army Col. 
     Frank Norton, a member of Kids' 28-member advisory board. 
     ``It's not just the child suffering. The other children in 
     the family watch their parents have to put all their money, 
     time and energy into this one child, and they may not have 
     time to do other things with the other children. Kids is a 
     way to help the entire process, and I think they have been 
     successful in a wonderfully low-key way.''
       While Kids' heart is in the right place, it does not--and 
     cannot--accept everybody. There are 10 specific requirements. 
     One is that children must be recommended by a social worker 
     or other health care professional. Another specifies that 
     children be 16 or younger, though Kids can be flexible on 
     this point.
       As it is with any well-oiled charitable machine, once word 
     gets out about its success there seems to be more people in 
     need than there is money. Kids raises its funds through 
     events--such as the annual Kids Celebrity Tennis Party and 
     the Kids Hot Air Balloon Rally, golf tournaments, art 
     auctions, movie premieres and car shows.
       Depite the complexity of such operations, the events 
     themselves come off pretty casually. The children, sometimes 
     wearing crisp, colorful Kids T-shirts and ball caps to shield 
     their shaved heads from the sun, show up with their parents 
     and brothers and sisters. The picnics are filled with games 
     and food, and the volunteers seem to have as much fun 
     laughing and playing as do the families.
       ``In terms of the parents, they are profiles in courage,'' 
     says Mr. Warner. ``They want to do everything they can to 
     bring some happiness into that child's life. And then you see 
     in the child's face equal or even greater courage. They may 
     have some knowledge of their terminal nature and yet they 
     retain that youthful vigor.''
       Connections are crucial for a nonprofit in this town, and 
     Col. Campbell makes no bones about using his to keep Kids 
     afloat. On the wall is a framed 1992 excerpt from the 
     Congressional Record, which contained Mr. Warner's remarks 
     about the value of Kids. He and his Senate pals Strom 
     Thurmond, Alfonse D'Amato, Pete Domenici and Trent Lott are 
     on the Kids board of advisers, as are Reps. W.G. Hefner and 
     Bob Livingston and former Sen. J. Bennett Johnston.
       Mr. Warner has been a mainstay at many Kids events, as has 
     Mr. Thurmond. Former Sen. Bob Dole even took time from his 
     presidential race last year to show up at a Kids event at the 
     Capitol. There must be something going on here, because sick 
     children can't vote.
       ``I think this organization achieves its goal,'' Mr. Warner 
     says. ``A moment, even though fleeting, of happiness for both 
     parents and child.''
       Kids can be reached at 703/455-KIDS, fax 703/440-9208, or 
     write 9300-D Old Keene Mill Rd., Burke, Va. 22015.

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