THE INTELLIGENCER ♦ A3 ♦ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2013

Turning points. B1

By LAURIE MASON SCHROEDERSTAFF WRITER

There are kids in your neighborhood asking Santa to bring them a bed for Christmas.

Not a cool bed shaped like a race car or one with a pretty pink princess canopy. They just want a mattress and sheets, a pillow and warm blanket. Something more comfortable than the sleeping bag they curl up in on the fl oor every night since they moved in with grandma, or the futon they

share with two siblings in the one-bedroom apartment their single mother can barely afford.

Beds are one of the most frequently requested items at Bucks for Kids, a Doylestown-based charity that provides non-essential “extras” to local foster chil-dren and other kids receiv-ing aid from the Bucks County Children and Youth social services agency.

The group needs new members so it can keep granting requests.

“A child today should have a bed,” said Frank S. Burstein, chairman of Bucks for Kids. “They need a place where they can be tucked in at night. It’s a comfort zone that you and I, most of us, take for granted.”

Founded in 1991 by Doylestown attorney Nancy Larkin Taylor, Bucks for Kids has given more than $200,000 to local children in the form of grants and scholarships. The nonprofi t also pays for soccer uniforms and school fi eld trip tickets, luxury items that are usually out of reach for foster kids.

Every request comes through a Children and Youth caseworker, who provides a detailed report on why the child needs the item. Older kids are some-times asked to work toward getting a portion of the money themselves, with the

Comfort for those without

Want to help?Bucks for Kids will host its sixth annual Breakfast with Santa fundraiser from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Sunday at Ap-plebee’s Restaurant in the Barn Plaza, Easton and Almshouse roads in Doylestown Town-ship. There’s a fi xed menu of pancakes, bacon and a beverage. Cost: $7 for adults and $5 for children under 12. Tickets are avail-able at the door or at www.bucksforkids.org. For more information about Bucks for Kids, to become a supporter or apply for a grant, email info@bucksforkids.org or call 215-340-5039.

By LAURIE MASON SCHROEDERSTAFF WRITER

Hundreds of soldiers are going to receive holiday cards and care pack-ages with Bucks County postmarks on them this year, thanks to one enthusi-astic courthouse employee.

Kendal Byers, 29, of Quakertown, works in the Recorder of Deeds offi ce on the second fl oor of the county courthouse in Doylestown. After reading a Facebook post a few months ago about the Ameri-can Red Cross’s Holiday Mail for

Heroes program, she sprang into action.

Byers purchased dozens of pack-ages of Christmas cards and decorated collection boxes with festive paper. A sign on each box invites court-house visitors to sign a card for a soldier. Byers is paying for the postage.

“I wanted to do some-thing nice for the people

who risk their lives for us,” she said. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to be so far away from your family during the holidays.”

Byers’ idea caught fi re in the courthouse. Boxes were placed in the Prothonotary, Sheriff ’s Depart-ment, and Register of Wills offi ce.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” said courthouse visitor Brenda Ott of New Hope.

Ott’s 4-year-old son, Liam, was eager to fi ll out a card Tuesday with crayons that Prothonotary employ-ees keep on hand for children. His mom signed his name over his colorful scribbles, adding a note of thanks before dropping it in the box.

From Bucks: Cards, love to military heroesFour-year-old Liam Ott of New Hope colors a card for a soldier at the Bucks County Courthouse. LAURIE MASON SCHROEDERSTAFF

By GWEN SHRIFTSTAFF WRITER

Patty Pizzo got to work at 7 a.m. Thanks-giving Day and popped 12 turkeys in the oven of her new kitchen at the Bucks County Emer-gency Homeless Shelter in Bristol Township.

Between 70 and 80 people, includ-ing about 30 children, were counting on her for their Thanksgiving feast, and this year, preparation of the meal went smoothly. For one thing, the oven didn’t die halfway through roast-ing the birds, as it did last year.

For another, she had the services of members of the Zubaida Foundation, who were following the words of the Prophet Muhammad.

He said “ ‘Whether it’s money, or food, or time, preferably all three, give what you can.’ That’s very much paraphrasing,” according to volunteer Noor Phillips.

“ ‘Whatever you can do, give the best. If you don’t have anything, just give a smile. The smile is a charity,’ ” said Syed Afzal, Zubaida’s outreach coordinator.

“In Islam, we are taught that every day is a day of thanks and giving,” added fellow volun-teer Hasid Abdur-Rahman.

Members of the foundation have helped prepare and serve food at the shelter for seven years, donating and cooking meals the second

Saturday of every month and working in the kitchen on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The foundation also oper-ates soup kitchens in Lansdale and Trenton and a food pantry in Yardley, among other charities.

Besides the turkeys, Thursday’s meal required a dozen cans of yams, 18 cans of jellied cranberry sauce,

a mountain of stuffi ng and potatoes, what seemed to be an acre of green bean casserole, a deep pan of gravy, several trays of rolls and half a table piled with pumpkin, apple and coconut custard pies.

Everything fell under the supervision of Pizzo, who was in perpetual motion from stovetop to countertop to oven to sink for hours on end.

Thanks and giving at shelter’s new kitchen

By JAMES MCGINNISSTAFF WRITER

Nobody spends money like the U.S. government.

An estimated $3.7 trillion — including more than $1 trillion in contracts, grants and loans — could fl ow out of Washington next year.

Americans could track all that money on a single online database if proposed legislation is passed, though it could cost them nearly $400 million to set up.

On Nov. 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the pro-posed Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013 “hold-ing federal agencies accountable for the completeness and accu-racy” of spending data published on the Internet.

Under the proposal, agencies would have to publish the travel expenses for all federal employees attending conferences and meet-ings too.

Bucks County Congressman Mike Fitzpatick, R-8, has cam-paigned for such a bill. Fitzpatrick suspects billions in tax dollars could be saved through expos-ing and eliminating government waste.

The digital accountability act passed the House by a vote of 388 to 1, according to the offi cial record.

The lone dissenter, Congress-man Rush Holt, D-12, was con-cerned by proposed cutbacks in travel to conferences, meetings and other “crucial events.”

As just one example, the

Tracking federal spending online

By FREDA R. SAVANASTAFF WRITER

Seeing 10-year-old Samantha Kiwak today, it’s hard to believe she battled through double valve heart surgery at the unthinkable age of 7 days.

The beaming, energetic child, a fi fth-grader at J.M. Grasse Elementary School in Hilltown, bounds around her family’s home, laughing and playing with her 7-year-old sister Ava.

“I have a special heart,” said Samantha, something her parents have explained to her over the years.

When Samantha was born at Doylestown Hospi-tal, her mother and father, Abbe and Frank Kiwak, had no reason to suspect that, within hours, their infant daughter would be rushed by ambulance

to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

A girl with a special heartSamantha Kiwak was born with a life-threatening heart defect. She battled back, and now she and her family raise money to fight heart disease.

ART GEN TILE / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERSamantha Kiwak (left), 10, and her sister Ava, 7, made signs for this year’s American Heart Association’s Heart Walk. Their team raised $21,000.

BRYAN E. WOOLSTON / FOR THE INTELLIGENCERA volunteer from the Zubaida Foundation helps prepare and serve dinner to residents of the homeless shelter in Bristol Township on Thursday. It was the fi rst year the shelter’s new kitchen was used to cook a Thanksgiving dinner.

See CARDS, Page A4

See SHELTER, Page A4

See CHARITY, Page A4

See HEART, Page A4

See CONGRESS, Page A15

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A4 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2013THE INTELLIGENCER

LOCAL

“She weighed 7 pounds, 14-ounces and was 21 inches long,” said Abbe. “She was a beautiful, plump baby.”

But it was soon clear that something was terribly wrong with her tiny heart.

“A nurse came and told us she heard a murmur that she had only heard once before,” said Frank.

Six days later, Saman-tha “was going downhill,” said her dad. A CHOP surgeon returned from Japan to perform the deli-cate operation, one done successfully fewer than 10

times in the world on an infant so young.

“It was a roller coaster,” said Frank. “They couldn’t promise us anything.”

Samantha fought back through the surgery and then a collapsed lung. She was in intensive care for two months. Before she could go home, Abbe and Frank had to learn infant CPR and how to insert her feeding tube.

The young couple was often asked how they man-aged. “We have no choice,” Frank would explain. “You have to adapt.”

And, adapt they have. As they have for 11 years, the Kiwaks have par-ticipated in the American Heart Association’s annual Heart Walk.

This year, “Team

Samantha” was the “Top Community Team,” raising more than $21,000. Over the past 11 years, Abbe said, the group has raised some $65,000.

The battle is not over for the Kiwaks. Samantha will need another open heart surgery in the com-ing years, as she grows. For now, she returns to CHOP twice a year for stress tests, where she “blows out birthday candles” and rides a bike with her nose clipped shut to measure the strength of her young heart.

“I have very little limi-tations,” said a grinning Samantha. “I play a lot of sports.”Freda Savana:215-345-3061; email:fsavana@calkins.com; Twitter:@fredasavana

HeartContinued from Page A3

organization picking up the balance.

Foster parents in Bucks County receive an aver-age stipend of $20 a day. Lynne Rainey, Children and Youth’s director, said grandparents and older rela-tives are increasingly being asked to foster young family members.

“They are doing their best to take care of the children on fi xed incomes. There just isn’t enough money available through county or state funding to pay for the children to participate in activities,” Rainey said.

Taking part in activities is especially important for at-risk kids, Rainey said. Children who feel “differ-ent” from their peers are more likely to become iso-lated and drop out of school.

“There is already a stigma attached to being homeless or being in fos-ter care. Any way we can help a child feel good about themselves is important. For kids who have already been through so much, it’s a mes-sage that there are people out there who care about them.”

The Bucks for Kids Board of Directors meets monthly to vote on the requests that caseworkers bring them. This month, the panel cut checks for bed-room furniture for two sepa-rate families and approved requests for a class ring, dance lessons and football registration fees.

While most of the chil-dren who request items are in elementary or high school, some foster chil-dren continue to seek help from Bucks for Kids while in college. The group recently sent money to a former foster child who received a lacrosse scholar-ship to attend a university in Arizona, but couldn’t play because she couldn’t afford the required medical

insurance.Board member Chris

Postiglione, a former Cen-tral Bucks school nurse, said many Bucks County residents don’t realized how many families in their community struggle with poverty. She recalled asking a young student who came to her offi ce with a stom-achache what she’d eaten for breakfast and getting a heartbreaking answer.

“She said that her family didn’t have a refrigerator. Something that we all take for granted, opening the refrigerator and grabbing some milk, she couldn’t do that,” Postiglione said.

Bucks for Kids is staffed by volunteers and funded solely through donations. Since it doesn’t have a headquarters and its only expenses are a yearly audit, bookkeeping fees and some paper products, more than 95 percent of the money that’s raised goes directly to local children.

Taylor said the charity is thriving, but needs new blood to grow. The group is seeking people with mar-keting, public relations and grant writing experience to join.

“We need more board members. If we’re going to have a future we have to get the younger generation involved.”

Want to help?Bucks for Kids will host

it’s sixth annual Breakfast with Santa fundraiser Dec. 1 at Applebee’s Restaurant at the Barn Plaza, Easton and Almshouse roads in Doylestown. Fixed menu of pancakes, bacon and a bev-erage is $7 for adults, $5 for children under 12. It runs from 7:30 to 10 am. Tickets available at the door or at www.bucksforkids.org.

For more informa-tion about Bucks for Kids, becoming a supporter or applying for a grant, email info@bucksforkids.org or call 215-340-5039.Laurie Mason Schroeder: 215-694-7489; email: lmason@calkins.com; Twitter: @BucksCourts

CharityContinued from Page A3

Pizzo, Afzal and Abdur-Rahman pulled the meat from the turkeys, fi lling the kitchen with the canonical Thanksgiving smell of roast fowl, as Afzal’s son Zishan sliced cranberry jelly and placed it in small dishes. Across the kitchen, Phillips wrangled wedges of pie that, like everything else in the meal, had been donated by supporters of the shelter.

“We receive more tur-keys than you can imagine,” said Pizzo, who plans to roast and serve the remain-ing birds on Thursdays throughout the winter. “It’s one less meat that I don’t have to order.”

The cook and her assis-tants worked rapidly, getting pans of hot turkey, potatoes, gravy, green beans, stuffi ng, cranberry sauce and rolls on the serving counter with 10 minutes to spare before the 4 p.m. dinner.

“I think we’re in busi-ness then, right?” said Pizzo.

Afzal cranked open the metal hatch that separates the cafeteria-style buffet from the dining room. The hungry lined up for the feast. Like the charitable followers of the prophet, they were smiling.Gwen Shrift is a feature writer at Calkins Media. Phone: 215-949-4204. Email: gshrift@calkins.com

ShelterContinued from Page A3

“It’s so generous, pass-ing the holiday spirit along,” she said.

Byers also started a care package drive, collecting toiletries, socks and pack-aged snacks. She plans to ship the cards and care packages Dec. 2. Since the courthouse is closed on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, Wednesday and Monday are the last days she’ll accept donations.

Byer’s boss, Recorder of Deeds Joseph J. Szafran,

is proud of her work. The offi ce issues discount cards for veterans, so a lot of military people stop by.

“Kendal is a very car-ing person,” he said. “She’s always so nice to our veter-ans. This was all her idea and I’m proud of her.”

County offi cials too are proud of Byers, said county spokesman Chris-topher Edwards.

“It’s amazing some of the initiative our work-force takes. We have employees who run in charity races all year, and lots of people raise money for good causes. It’s a lot of fun to learn about these projects and see what

causes our employees sup-port on their own time.”

Byers’ grandfather was an Army veteran, and her nephew is stationed with the Army in Afghani-stan. She also has several friends overseas in various branches of the military.

A mother of two, Byers said her heart goes out to the soldiers who won’t see their children during the holidays.

“It’s really just a little thing, just a way to say that someone back home cares. If a card can put a smile on someone’s face, then it’s all worth it.”Laurie Mason Schroeder: 215-694-7489; email: lmason@calkins.com; Twitter: @BucksCourts

CardsContinued from Page A3

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