In 2000, Geri Pope Bidwell began the laborious process of raising the $5.3 million needed to build a youth center in Camas in memory of her three young sons who were tragically killed in a small plane crash with their father just a few months earlier.

Donations poured in from all facets of the Camas-Washougal communities and beyond. In October 2002, the Jack, Will and Rob Youth Center opened to the public, and in 2003 the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Portland Metropolitan Area assumed its daily operation.

Nearly a decade after those first fundraising dollars came trickling in, members of Pope Bidwell's family continue to give to help ensure the facility created in memory of the three Warren brothers will be available to children in Camas and Washougal for years to come.

The Community Foundation for Southwest Washington announced on Monday that a $1 million donation to the local club was made by Portland businessman Henry "Hank" Swigert and the Swigert Foundation. The monies will be used to create an endowment -- the Jack, Will and Rob Kids' Fund.

When fully funded at $2 million, it will provide a permanent source of support for approximately one-third of the club's annual operating needs, which according to Rose Rezai, resource development manager for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Portland Metropolitan Area, range from $350,000 to $450,000.

"It helps secure the longevity and the future of the club, so the kids can have a place to count on," Rezai said. "To have that stability, to know that certain amount will be there for years to come, that is important."

Swigert, Pope Bidwell's uncle, said he hopes the endowment will make the youth center sustainable.

Read the rest of the story in the Feb. 2 issue of the Post-Record