|
|
||
Middle Peninsula millionaire lavishes inherited wealth on sick kids Date published: 7/23/2003
Jeffrey Arrowsmith refers to himself as an ordinary redneck who's never held a real job. The only thing extraordinary about him, he says, is that he happens to have inherited millions. But others who know the Urbanna man find him extraordinary for another reason. He's using his wealth to help sick children. "We were shocked, speechless and heartfelt that a perfect stranger would do something like this for our daughter," said Cindy Rakes of Spotsylvania County, whose 5-year-old daughter suffers from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Arrowsmith heard about Madeline "Mattie" Rakes from another family whose sick child he had helped. Soon, he was giving the Rakes family $35,000 to pay the medical expenses above their insurance coverage. "I was completely floored when he called," she said. "'Are you for real?'" she said she asked Arrowsmith. Rakes' little girl is not the only one Arrowsmith has helped. The first beneficiary of his generosity was 5-year-old Christopher Roberts, who lives near Richmond and suffers from a rare disease known as Pfeiffer Syndrome. The ailment inhibits Christopher's skull from growing normally. He had already undergone numerous surgeries, but was in need of yet another one when Arrowsmith heard of his plight earlier this year. He showed up and flew Christopher and the boy's father to Johns Hopkins Hospital with a check for $50,000. Then Arrowsmith was in Clinton, Md., at the checkout counter of a home-and-garden store a few weeks ago when a donation cup for 13-year-old cancer victim Jessica Hartsue caught his eye. When Melissa Perkins, the checkout clerk, informed him the teen was her daughter, Arrowsmith stuck out his hand and said, "Well, I'm the man you want to meet." Since then, he has provided $20,000 for Jessica's treatment. Arrowsmith wants to help more children and adults--anyone who is sick and doesn't have enough money to pay for treatment, or needs to be flown to a distance facility for care. He's trying to incorporate a nonprofit organization, and he's thinking about hiring a pilot and a secretary. "I do what I can when I find out about these people," he said during a recent telephone interview. He had just flown to Columbus, Ohio, to help raise money for the Children's Hospital there.
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
|
|
|||||||||||||
