What a Difference Three Years Can Make
For the last three years, we have had the distinct honor to work on the Grimm Gala, a benefit for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. This event was the brainchild of Sasha Roiz, who plays Captain Renard on the popular, and filmed-in-Portland television series Grimm. He and the cast of the show fell in love with the hospital and wanted to find something they could do to provide support to the families living under difficult circumstances there. They asked Comcast to be a partner to help bring the Gala to life, Comcast immediately said yes.
As Sasha said at the final Grimm Gala:
“This cast has fallen in love with Portland. And hard. We made this our home instantly. We felt truly blessed to be working and to be based in Portland. So, it felt natural to give back to a city that has given us so much. Doernbecher was a perfect fit. We had heard about the incredible work that was being done on the hill, the sense of compassion and community that the hospital embodies.
After a year in Portland, in our second season, we began making regular visits to the hospital. On our visits, we witnessed firsthand the devotion of the staff at Doernbecher. We met patients and families who were happy to get a visit and a distraction from their otherwise difficult reality. But we also met families who were from far away. In fact, as many as 50 percent of Doernbecher’s patients are from outside the Portland metropolitan area.
For most families, there is no telling how long their child will be at the hospital or how many more times they’ll need to return for treatment. Many families are forced to stay for days, weeks sometimes months. And coverage is practically non-existent for all the unexpected costs associated with tending to your sick child; expenses like accommodations, clothes, groceries, gas money, car repairs, babysitters to name a few. All these factors can break a family’s bank not to mention their spirit. We saw
families camped out for long stretches in their child’s rooms, others sleeping in cars and caravans in the hospital’s parking lot. Life doesn’t stop because your child is ill. Jobs don’t wait, bills don’t wait, siblings need to be looked after and go to school. For most families, this burden is simply too much to bear.
We saw an opportunity to address a need that was not being fully addressed. It inspired us to create ‘The Grimmster Endowment,’ an endowment specifically designated to assist families with all the uncompensated expenses associated with tending to their sick child. We chose to start an endowment because it would yield funds every year towards our cause. It will live on, long after Grimm has gone, as our way of thanking our adopted city.”
See the video that showcases the great connection between the hospital and the cast that was featured at this year’s event HERE.
After three years, and $1.5 million raised through the event, we want to send out some huge thank yous. Thank you to Comcast for having us and for your sponsorship support that allowed donor dollars to go directly to work at Doernbecher. Thank you Doernbecher for all you do to save and change lives every day. Thank you to Sasha and the cast and production crew of Grimm for an amazing three years. You inspired us and reminded us of the importance of taking care of the most fragile in our midst. It’s always great to see what passion and an idea can bring into the world to create impact far beyond expectations. And now there is an endowment that will help take care of those still to come. #grimmgives, always.
