The Jack, Will and Rob Kids Foundation Passes Halfway Mark of $4 Million Goal

CAMAS, Wash. -- The Jack, Will and Rob Kids Foundation passed the halfway mark of its goal to raise $4 million by January 2001 to build the Jack, Will and Rob Center with a $250,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The current gift total of $2 million will be formally announced tonight at the Camas School District Board Meeting.

"We are so touched and inspired by the contributions we have received from the people of Camas and from across the country. Everyone has come together, giving what they can in either money or talent to help build a center that can serve all the children in our area," said Geri Pope Bidwell, Jack, Will and Rob's mother.

The Jack, Will and Rob Center is named after Jack (age 14), Will (age 13) and Rob (age 9) Warren, who died in a plane crash last November. Pope Bidwell decided then to start work on this youth center that will be designed as a special place where the spirit of her children can live in the spirit of the children being motivated both intellectually and artistically at the center.

The Jack, Will and Rob Center will be owned by the Camas School District in a rare public/private partnership that brings together the school district, the foundation, students, parents, teachers, public officials and private contributors to run and advise the work of the center. The Boys & Girls Club will lease the space from the school district and operate the day-to-day activities.

"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is proud to become another partner in the full community effort to build the Jack, Will and Rob Center," said Bill Gates Sr., Co-Chair & CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We hope this center will become a model for others to follow—not only because of its unique public/private partnership, but because it has demonstrated how a community can come together to address a need and improve lives."

Milt Dennison, superintendent of the Camas School District, has pledged a portion of his monthly paycheck to the fundraising effort, in addition to the School District's pledge of $650,000 in public bond resources to help build the gymnasium at the center.


"I am very excited about the many opportunities the proposed Jack, Will and Rob Center will bring to our Camas area youth as well as young people throughout our region," said Dennison. "By sharing our gift with others, I believe the center will become a prototype for other communities."

More than 1,000 private contributors have given or raised more than $1 million. Some of the fundraising efforts include:

Tonight, the local Campfire Girl troupe and Arnie Schmautz, Canadian hockey legend and owner of Buckaroo-Thermoseal, will attend the board meeting to announce gifts to the foundation. Schmautz and Buckaroo-Thermoseal will make a pledge to provide the materials and labor for the roofing of the center.

"The center is such a great idea for the community. In addition to becoming a living memory for Jack, Will and Rob, the center will serve the rest of the youth in our entire community," said Schmautz.

The center will include Will's Studio for artwork, the Jackson Room for computer and bookwork and Rob's Playhouse for music and drama. A 'memory garden' will grace the exterior. Groundbreaking for the 15,000 sq. foot building is scheduled for Spring 2001.

"I hope that the dreams of every child who walks through the doors of the Jack, Will and Rob Center will grow into realities," said Eric Hoffman, the boy's grandfather.