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100 Clubs help families of fallen: organizations
provide support and financial gifts.
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| Article Type: | Cover story |
| Subject: |
Nonprofit organizations
(Services) Self-help groups (Services) Victims of crimes (Family) |
| Author: | Lechliter, John |
| Pub Date: | 03/22/2008 |
| Publication: | Name: The Forensic Examiner Publisher: American College of Forensic Examiners Audience: Professional Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Health; Law; Science and technology Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 American College of Forensic Examiners ISSN: 1084-5569 |
| Issue: | Date: Spring, 2008 Source Volume: 17 Source Issue: 1 |
| Topic: | Event Code: 360 Services information |
| Product: | Product Code: 8380000 Nonprofit Institutions; 8300000 Social Services & Nonprofit Institutns NAICS Code: 813 Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; 624 Social Assistance SIC Code: 8300 SOCIAL SERVICES |
| Geographic: | Geographic Scope: United States Geographic Code: 1USA United States |
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| Accession Number: | 176130283 |
| Full Text: |
Police officers, fire fighters, and other public servants seldom
receive salaries that recognize and fully reward the contributions they
make. Their jobs often carry high risks, and too many make the ultimate
sacrifice as they work to protect and serve others. When a chaplain carries out the most dreaded duty and knocks on a front door to deliver terrible news, a family is left reeling. The line-of-duty death of a spouse, a father, or a mother, is a blow to the gut that few can comprehend. The good news is that families of the fallen have a great resource for support in many communities across the country. Service organizations known as "100 Clubs" have been raising money and providing help to grieving families for more than 50 years. But the bad news is that many public safety servants work in communities that have no such resource. Beside their personal loss, they must deal with the loss of income from a family member killed in the line of duty. Bills can start to mount up, adding financial stress to the unfathomable emotional strain that grips families. Forensic professionals who work closely with law enforcement officers and public safety workers are among those most affected by line-of-duty deaths, and many will want to know how to provide help to families in need. In areas served by 100 Clubs, helping is made easy by the organization. Anyone not residing in an area served by a 100 Club has the option of starting an organization, just as the original clubs were founded. 100 Clubs Arise From Family Needs More than a half-century ago, the Saturday Evening Post reported on the formation of the first 100 Club. The Post article, "The Bluecoats' Best Friends" states that a Detroit businessman, Bill Packer, who owned the largest Plymouth dealership in the world, came up with the idea for the organization. The Post reported that Packer's friend, a police sergeant, had been seriously wounded in a shooting. As his friend lingered between life and death, Packer came to realize that officers often faced danger. He knew that his friend's family would be financially devastated by the loss of his income. His friend recovered, but later Packer heard the story of a Detroit officer who was killed while making a routine arrest. The officer's wife had just sold her small beauty parlor business because she was expecting the couple's second child. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Packer relied on what he knew best and took an entrepreneurial approach to forming an association of business leaders who would join together to provide financial assistance to the family. He wrote to 100 of Detroit's elite businessmen and enlisted the aid of a local newspaper columnist. The idea was to raise enough funds to pay off all of the family's bills, and to provide enough financial support to get the family back on its feet. With the generous contributions, the family's house was more than paid for, with enough money left over to supplement the $170 a month pension the widow received. Then another Detroit officer died in the line of duty, and the businessmen got together again to provide a helping hand. Packer saw the need for a permanent and more formal organization, and he helped found the "100 Club" in 1952. Soon more business leaders began to flock to such a worthy cause, and the ranks surpassed 200, then 300. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the organization's services to be needed. A motorcycle patrolman died in an accident in a Detroit intersection. The 100 Club responded immediately, giving the officer's widow $7,500 to pay off the mortgage on the family home (adjusted for inflation, that's more than $56,000 today). Soon the 100 Club gained notoriety through media reports such as the 1956 article in the Saturday Evening Post. Other communities began to copy the success, and the entrepreneurial associations sprang up in many larger cities. 100 Clubs Today Today 100 Clubs number more than 100, and they extend from coast to coast. Some clubs, such as the Phoenix 100 Club, serve their entire state. Most serve specific communities. The largest and second-oldest 100 Club is Houston's, which boasts more than 27,000 members. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Rick Hartley has directed Houston's 100 Club for 14 years and has personally delivered checks and encouragement to many families. He said recently from his Houston office that in an average year three Houston-area public safety workers, including law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and paramedics, die in the line of duty. In 2007, the number was five. Hartley explained how the process works. "First, there has to be a line-of-duty death," he said. "And there have to be dependents of the officer or fire fighter who was killed in the line of duty. The first thing we do, within 24 to 48 hours, is to get them a check for $10,000 to help with any of their immediate financial needs." "Then when the time is better, and some of the trauma and tragedy has subsided, we will go and meet with the surviving spouse and make a complete needs assessment ... sadly, there are usually a few youngsters under the age of 12. We take all that under consideration with a goal of trying to eliminate their debt--pay off their mortgage, pay off their vehicle, notes, credit card debt, anything that's outstanding." The 100 Club doesn't stop there, often going on to pay for the education of the children through college or trade school. The total gifts to a single family average $300,000, Hartley said. The organization will step in and help out even years after the loved one's death, based on needs of individual families. Families get federal and state funds after a line-of-duty death, but that often is not enough to pay all the bills and pay for the family's living expenses. About two-thirds of the membership of the Houston 100 Club is comprised of members who donate $100 a year to the organization. The other third is made up of life members who donated $1,000 to the cause. Helping families of fallen heroes is a rewarding job, Hartley said. He particularly remembers the case of a Houston officer's widow, who was stricken with multiple sclerosis. The 100 Club bought the woman a new house and filled it full of handicapped-accessible equipment. Families are often overwhelmed by the support they get from the 100 Club. Many family members have gone on to join the organization so they can help other families cope with their losses. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "It's very rewarding work," Hartley said of his job. Most 100 Clubs are much smaller than the Houston organization. For instance, the Greene County 100 Club based in Springfield, Missouri, formed recently with a mission to provide aid to families of police officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty. Police and fire fatalities are rare in Greene County, with years often separating the on-duty loss of public safety personnel. John Rush, president of the organization, said that the hardest tasks in forming the group involved finding insurance and filling out all the paperwork and meeting requirements to be recognized as a tax-exempt 5013c organization. After many months of organizing, the group officially formed in June of 2007 and was quickly faced by the loss of a police officer in a traffic accident. "We heard of the officer's death around 4 in the morning, and by 8 o'clock we had a check in the hands of the widow," Rush said. The organization currently provides $5,000 checks to families. Although losing fire fighters and police is a rare occurrence, the Greene County 100 Club is raising funds with the goal of being able to respond should a tragedy strike that produces multiple casualties. More 100 Clubs Needed The website of the Chicago 100 Club has a directory of 100 Clubs across the nation. According to that listing, there are no clubs serving Alabama, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, or Wyoming. Many 100 Clubs serve only specific communities, so large portions of many of the remaining states are not served by clubs, either. There is no national organization that unites the individual clubs, Hartley said. A few years ago a national meeting was held in an effort to foster sharing of information and ideas, but only about 30 clubs sent representatives. The only things needed to bring 100 Clubs to more areas are people who care and the entrepreneurial spirit to organize a group where none existed before. Hartley said he would be happy to provide information to anyone who wants to establish a 100 Club in an unserved community. The Houston 100 Club has information packets that can help organizers get started. There will, unfortunately, always be families in need, but whether they get help from organizations such as 100 Clubs depends on luck and geography. People willing to step forward and establish new clubs can improve the odds and make the lives of more families a little easier after they have experienced the worst losses imaginable. 100 Clubs in the United States ARKANSAS The 100 Club of Arkansas Bentonville 1-479-442-2503 ARIZONA 100 Club of Arizona Phoenix (602) 485-0100 sharon@100club.org CALIFORNIA The Martin C. Kauffman One Hundred Club of Alameda Co. Concord 1-510-816-0337 The Hundred Club of Contra Costa County Danville 1-925-837-0199 Marvin@MarvinRemmich.com The Hundred Club of Los Angeles Malibu 1-310-589-0902 RES@PIXELGATE.com The Hundred Club of Palm Springs Palm Springs 1-760-323-4449 mcculloch_Michael@email.msn.com The One Hundred Club of Santa Clara County Milpitas 1-408-262 0656 COLORADO The Hundred Club of Colorado Springs Colorado Springs 1-719-471-6181 wjhybl@elpomar.org & jelgart@elpomar.org The Hundred Club of Denver 1-303-331-6315 bob@m2pcapital.com The Hundred Club of Durango Durango 1-970-247-1834 deanelk@aol.com CONNECTICUT The Hundred Club of Connecticut, Inc. Glastonbury 1-203-633 8357 hundred@portone.com DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Heroes, Inc. Washington, D.C. 1-202-638-6658 FLORIDA The Hundred Club of Broward County, Inc. Fort Lauderdale 1-954-563-3925 thehundredclub@gmail.com The Collier County One Hundred Club Naples 1-239-281-3453 Kpassi@aol.com The Hundred Club of Indian River County, Inc. Veto Beach 1-772-569-1282 judylenzi@aol.com The 200 Club of Jacksonville. Inc. Jacksonville 1-904-384-7100 Lee County Hundred Club Fort Myers Florida 1-239-334-9191 The Manatee County Hundred Club Bradenton 1-941-749-0005 ManateeCty100Club@tampabay.rr.com 100 Club of Martin County Stuart 1-772-283 7422 lobelding@aol.com The Two Hundred Club of Greater Miami, Inc Coral Gables 1-305-443-8973 nancycgss@aol.com The One Hundred Club of Monroe County 1-305-743-0440 trichw@GenB.Com Committee of One Hundred, Orange County Orlando 1-407-422 6105 At time of a LOD death, $5,000.00 to surviving spouse The Osceola County Hundred Club, Inc. Kissimmee Florida 1-497-846-4129 Sarasota County Hundred Club Sarasota 1-941-953 5383 The Hundred Club of South Palm Beach County Deerfield Beach 1-954-420-5599 ddhcpa1@bellsouth.net The 100 Club of St. Lucie County Port St. Lucie 1-772-340-3500 GEORGIA The 300 Club of Atlanta, Inc. Atlanta 1-404-240-6736 bill.lellyett@morgankeegan.com or Shana.dunlap@morgankeegan.com The 200 Club of the Coastal Empire Midway 1-912-880-3060 tak@elantechnology.com The Shield Club (Macon and Bibb Counties) Macon 1-478-750-9338 1-478-738-9214 The 100 Club of Rabun County P.O. BOX 18 Clayton 1-706-782-5934 ILLINOIS The 100 Club of Chicago--The Hundred Club of Cook County 1-312-346 3838 Ralph@100club.org The Hundred Club of DuPage County Naperville 1-630-375-7622 info@hundredclubofdupage.org The Hundred Club of East Central Illinois, Inc. Watseka 1-815-473-4404 The Hundred Club of Jo Daviess County Galena 1-815-777-9356 The Hundred Club of Kankakee County Kankakee 1-816-933-5529 The One Hundred Club of Lake County Libertyville 1-708-681 1700 The Hundred Club of Will County Joliet Illinois 1-815-725-9981 vportlock@aol.com INDIANA The Hundred Club of Indianapolis Indianapolis 1-317-787-3698 plc@lndy.net KENTUCKY The One Hundred Club of Eastern Kentucky, Inc Ashland 1-606 324 6905 Bluecoats of Louisville. Inc Louisville 1-502-454 5192 LOUISIANA The 100 Club of Lafayette Inc Lafayette 1-337-237-8586 glamson@cybermp.net MARYLAND The One Hundred Cub of Anne Arundel County, Inc. Pasadena 1-410-625-6110 charles.shaeffer@rbcdain.com MASSACHUSETTS The Hundred Club of Mass. Inc. Boston 1-617-536-4410 MICHIGAN The Hundred Club of Detroit Flint 1-810-237-5778 FirstHundredClub@AOL.com Hundred Club of Flint Metamora 1-810-599-3761 Ipeterman@centurytel.net The William S. Martens Hundred Club Fund of Grand Rapids Community Foundation Grand Rapids 1-616-454 1751 lblack@grfoundation.org The Hundred Club of Lansing Lansing 1-517-394-4614 carter.susan@safetycouncil.org The One Hundred Club of Saginaw Saginaw 1-989 792 7777 daveabbs@abbsadvisors.com Washtenaw One Hundred, Inc. Ann Arbor 1-734-741-0400 MINNESOTA Minnesota 100 Club St. Paul 1-651-487-2955 MISSOURI The Backstoppers Inc.--Police Officer, Firefighter Fund of St. Louis 10411 Clayton Rd., Ste. A5 backstoppers@backstoppers.org Greene County 100 Club Springfield 1-417-864-1782 The Masters (Missouri State Highway Patrol Benevolent Fund), Inc. Doug Libla Poplar Bluff 1-573-686-1619 themastermo@hotmail.com SAFE (Surviving Spouse and Family Endowment Fund) 3109 Main Street Ste. 201 Kansas City 1-816-969-6800 swilson@KC-Crime.org MONTANA The Hundred Club of Montana Helena 1-406-495-9096 ann@100clubmontana.org NEBRASKA 100 Club of Omaha Fund of the Metropolitan Police and Fire Foundation of Omaha Omaha 1-402-348 6346 NEW HAMPSHIRE The Hundred Club of New Hampshire Manchester 1-603-623-9000 michaelbucci@hotmail.com NEW JERSEY The 200 Club of Bergen County Hackensack 1-201-229-0600 BC200Club@Conversent.net 200 Club of Burlington County Moorestown 1-856 222-0100 Joseph Barton@PSEG.com Camden County Hero Scholarship Fund Berlin 1-856-768 9656 dawn@camdencountyhero.com Cape May & Atlantic Counties 200 Club Northfield capeatlantic200club.org 200 Club of Essex County P. O. Box 32249 Newark 1-973-621-4105 npoloso@aol.com 200 Club of Hudson County Bayonne 1-201-668-4925 200 Club of Hunterdon County, NJ. Inc. Clinton 1-908-730 0678 STEPHENSON22@EARTHLINK.NET The 200 Club of Middlesex County Woodbridge 1-732-887-5770 middlesex200club@aol.com 200 Club of Monmouth County Spring Lake 1-732-449 3800 ginny@danskin-agency.com The 200 Club of Morris County Morristown 1-732-279-4258 info@200clubofmorriscounty.com 200 Club of Ocean County Pt. Pleasant Beach 1-732-244 5900 Passaic County 200 Club Totowa 1-973-754-6445 pc200trw@aol.com The 200 Club of Somerset County Somerville 1-906-526 2565 x-206 member_somersetcounty200club.org The Two Hundred Club of Union County Scotch Plains 1-908-322-2422 200 Club of Warren County Milford 1-908-995-9119 pagprolog@aol.com NEW YORK The 100 Club of Buffalo Buffalo 1-716-842-1042 somerset@bussnet.net Silver Shield Foundation New York 1-212-572-6334 moreinfo@silvershieldfoundation.org The Hundred Club of Westchester Inc. White Plains 1-914-948 6444 dforcina@westchester.org OHIO Bluecoats. Inc. (Cleveland) Cleveland 1-216-861 7788 BluecoatsRBC@aol.com The Hundred Club of Dayton Dayton 1-937-254-2917 Geauga Bluecoats, Incorporated Chagrin Falls 1-440-729-4488 The Hillcrest 100, Inc Mayfield Heights 1-440-829-9714 Lake County Blue Coats Inc Willoughby 1-440-953-1818 Bluecoats of Medina County, Inc. Medina 1-330-723-7934 BluecoatsRBC@aol.com Stark County Bluecoats Canton 1-330-498-9485 tim@putmanproperties.com State Troopers of Ohio Cleveland 1-216-267-7100, Ext. 216 GAOSR@OATEY.COM Bluecoats, Inc. of Summit County Clinton 1-330-882-5795 mosleymclj@aol.com Hero Scholarship Fund of Philadelphia Philadelphia 1-215-496-6678 hero1954@aol.com RHODE ISLAND 100 Club of Rhode Island, Inc. Providence 1-401-421 2500 TENNESSEE The 100 Club of Memphis Memphis 1-901-748-8889 sallybsource@aol.com The Hundred Club of Nashville Nashville 1-615-250-4234 The100ClubofNash@aol.com TEXAS The Hundred Club of Alvin Alvin 1-281-581-2968 jcsrvs@evl.net 100 Club of Aransas County Fulton 1-361-729-3988 kduplichan@sbcglobal.net 100 Club of Brazoria County Lake Jackson 1-979-297-5910 The 100 Club of Central Texas * Austin 1-512-345-3200 info@100clubcentex.com 100 Club of Central Texas Harker Heights 1-254-547-4890 maryann.glass@cumulusb.com 1988 The 100 Club of Comal County New Braunfels 1-830-626-5554 The Dallas Blue Foundation Dallas 1-214-369-2583 Hundred Club of Denton, TX Support Our Shields 1-SOS Denton 1-940-349-8160 jim.bryan@cityofdenton.com Hundred Club of Gillespie County Fredericksburg 1-830-997-5803 norm jean@austin.rr.com The 100 Club Mr. C. F. Kendall II Houston 1-713-952 0100 Rick@the100club.org Hill Country 100 Club Burnet 1-512-756-2411 gbible@tstar.net The 100 Club of Jefferson & Hardin Counties Beaumont 1-409-838-2802 merichard@hearstnp.com The 100 Club of Matagorda County Bay City 1-409-245-1708 aquainfo@sbcglobal.net 100 Club of Pearland Pearland 1-281-485-6790 tomhodges.l@netzero.com The Hundred Club of San Antonio San Antonio 1-210-340-0100 100club@100clubofsanantonio.org The Victoria 100 Club Victoria 1-361-578-1502 The Hundred Club of Wharton County, Inc. El Campo 1-979-543-1040 The Hundred Club of Wichita Falls Wichita Falls 1-940-767-9256 SOUTH CAROLINA The Hundred Club of South Carolina, Inc. Mt. Pleasant 1-843-559-5764 The 100 Club of Greater Greenville Mr. Philip J. Carlton Greenville 1-864-213-8000 The One Hundred Club Fund The Spartanburg County Foundation Spartanburg 1-803-582 0138 WISCONSIN Blue Coats Foundation, Inc. Milwaukee 1-414-962-3918 INFORMATION COURTESY 100 CLUB OF CHICAGO By John Lechliter, Editor in Chief |
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