SCOOTR volunteer Shirley Gerhart helps decorate Santa's sleigh at the La Pine Christmas bazaar. Photos with Santa Claus and a motorcycle are a fundraiser for the group.

All the little girl wanted for Christmas was a blanket for her little brother. Or some PJs and underwear. Maybe a warm coat? And could Santa please leave something for Mom, too?

It’s requests like these, scrawled in a child’s handwriting, that have inspired countless hours from SCOOTR volunteers in south Deschutes County. For the past 12 years, needy kids in South Deschutes County have had a better Christmas, thanks to SCOOTR, a group based in La Pine.

But as of Friday, SCOOTR (an acronym for South Central Oregon Outreach and Toy Run) members are wondering where the money will come from to take care of all the Christmas wishes.

“After all our fundraising efforts this year, we’re about $5,000 short of what we need,” says Ann Gawith, SCOOTR secretary. “But we’re already making plans for which items we may need to cut.”

Every year, SCOOTR raises about $20,000 to provide more than 650 needy children with Christmas presents. Usually, SCOOTR has raised that amount by now, Gawith said, but the recent shortfall has come from a combination of reduced giving and more need.

“People are hit hard in this economy, and they just don’t have enough income to donate,” she said. “And because of lost jobs and other associated economic problems, there are more people who need help.”

SCOOTR was started in 1998 as a “motorcycle-oriented” organization, according to Gawith. SCOOTR founders Lynn and Denise Hatch, of La Pine, were originally part of the Bend area Toy Run, and decided to focus their fundraising efforts on their own community.

“Only a small portion of the monies and toys that were being raised at the Bend toy run were finding their way to south Deschutes County,” says Gawith. “The Hatches started SCOOTR and began their own fundraising efforts.”

SCOOTR’s turf starts at Sunriver, and goes south to Chemult and west to Christmas Valley.

Since the Hatches are motorcycle riders, SCOOTR events were originally geared toward the motorcycle community. SCOOTR fundraising efforts are focused around three major events each year, Gawith said, which generally bring in about $36,000.

Fundraising events

The first event is the Icebreaker Poker Run, Gawith said, held the third Saturday in May. Next is the Summer Eruption, held the third Saturday in July, a three-day motorcycle rally and camp-out. The rally is the club’s biggest fundraiser, closely followed by the 3-year-old Toy Run and Casino Night, held the weekend before Thanksgiving. Today, SCOOTR members are about half bikers and half non-riders.

“We’re proud to say that 95 percent of the money SCOOTR raises goes to the kids,” Gawith said. “We are all unpaid volunteers, and we keep our fundraising costs to a bare minimum.”

In 2009, SCOOTR records show the club donated more than $10,000 to various area youth groups. Some of these donations included working with the La Pine Lions Club to provide eye exams and corrective lenses to needy kids. SCOOTR also gave scholarships to disadvantaged youths attending a music conference, as well as donations to the La Pine School Sports Program, a teen girls Resolve Conference and Special Olympics. For many years, SCOOTR has helped send a child to the Muscular Dystrophy Association Summer Camp.

SCOOTR finds out about needy kids at Christmas when families apply for a La Pine Christmas Basket Association food basket through St. Vincent de Paul or the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. The food basket application includes a section to name the kids in the family, along with their needs, what toys they want, clothing sizes, etc.

“These names and descriptions are put out on various ‘Trees of Joy’ in area businesses,” Gawith said. “SCOOTR takes the names left on the trees after a certain cutoff date, and we go shopping.”

The children’s real names are not used, to preserve anonymity.

A team of 20 to 25 shoppers does all the buying in one weekend.

“We shop on Saturday at the La Pine Bi-Mart, and they open early for SCOOTR and bring in the entire staff to help us shop,” Gawith said. “Then we shop on Sunday for whatever items we couldn’t get at Bi-Mart, such as teen and baby clothes.”

Even during Christmastime, SCOOTR’s emphasis is on useful items.

“Our primary shopping focus is clothing,” Gawith said. “Really, some of the requests from the kids are for simple items like underwear or a warm coat, or even sheets and blankets.”

Other requests are for beds and reading lamps, musical instruments, art supplies and dance classes.

“We always go for clothes first and try to fill the other requests if we can. But it is Christmas and these are just kids, so we try to include a toy item as well,” Gawith said. “Even when they don’t ask, we find an age- and gender-appropriate item to put in their bag.”

That’s where the Toy Run comes into play.

“We rely on those donated toys to help fill the bags,” Gawith said. “That way our funds can be spent on clothes.”

SCOOTR also has an ongoing bicycle project, says Gerald Gawith, Ann’s husband and a longtime SCOOTR volunteer.

“We collect bicycles all year long, and SCOOTR members refurbish them to give away,” he said. “We receive many, probably close to 50, requests every year for bicycles, and we just could not afford to buy all new bikes. However, we usually receive 10 to 15 new bikes as donations.”

Despite all these efforts, the funding shortfall will make filling all the Christmas lists difficult, Ann Gawith said.

Boots, warm coats

“When you break it down, we only have about $25 to $30 to spend on each child. We will make sure every kid gets snowboots and a warm coat,” she said. “Then we’ll have to decide where to cut back.”

Regardless of how the last-minute fundraising goes, the Gawiths and the entire SCOOTR organization vow no child will be left out.

“Absolutely not!” said Gerald Gawith. “We’re hoping some civic organization or benefactor will come through with a big donation. But no kid will wake up on Christmas morning without something.”

The bottom line, and payback for all this effort, Gerald said, comes when the toys, clothing and other Christmas items are distributed.

“On distribution day, we hand out the bags, and the looks on the kids’ and parents’ faces are our reward,” he said. “Sometimes, when we wheel a bicycle out, the parents cry. There would have been absolutely no way for them to get these things for their kids. It makes all the effort and planning worthwhile.”

Find out more

If you are interested in making a donation, or to find out more about SCOOTR, contact Ann Gawith at 541-419-4845.