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Acts of Kindness Lead to Hope and Help
By Meredy Fullen "The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as
we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker
tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor.
"But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are
scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along;
people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talent,
someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the
time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate
(charity)...all of which has a potential to turn a life
around." - Leo Buscaglia (1924-1998), author,
lecturer, founder of Felice Foundation
Some people are born to do charitable works, while others are
led to it by a series of circumstances or life-changing events. For
Tony Barr, who has continued in his fathers pursuit of a life that
offers equality, fairness, and balance to all people, it seems that
both would be appropriate assumptions.
Nearly 35 years ago, in 1970, William G. Barr, a wealthy land
developer and state legislator, became the victim of a hate crime.
Barr often found himself on the receiving end of crimes aimed at
individuals opposing segregation after he built an interracial
apartment complex in Joliet, Illinois. In fact, one day he nearly
paid with his life for his convictions and his commitment to
equality when he was the victim of a car bombing that caused the
loss of his right leg above the knee. Barr survived that attempt on
his life, but after becoming an amputee, he found himself charged
with launching new battles, both personal and political.
Just two years after Barr suffered the loss of his leg, fate
would deal a ridiculously ironic hand to his son Tony as well. In
1972, standing on the platform of a railway station, Tony was
inadvertently pulled into the path of a passing train, which
severed a portion of his left foot. Like his father, Tony became an
amputee.
Search for Quality Care
Disappointed with the choices of medical and prosthetic care
available to them at that time, Bill Barr set out to find the
quality of care of which he, his son, and all amputees are worthy.
This search led them through a series of medical and O&P
personnel. In their search, they also learned of a little-known
surgical procedure for amputations called the Ertl procedure, named
for the surgeon who first introduced it. Little did they know at
the time that this would become a platform and a cause upon which
the success of their future foundation would be built.
The elder Barr again placed himself in the center of
controversy, lobbying for improvement, education, state licensure,
and regulation in the O&P industry. He founded a nonprofit
organization called the Institute for the Advancement of
Prosthetics (IAP) in Lansing, Michigan, which focused on patient
care and prosthetic research. The center was later sold to Hanger
Orthopedic Group, Bethesda, Maryland, in 1992. The Barrs used the
money from the sale to fund the Barr Foundation.
Three years later, in the hopes of gaining a stronger voice and
expanding outreach, the Barr Foundation regrouped with a new
alliance, emerging with a new name and a new mission. The
Barr/United Amputee Assistance Fund (BUAAF) was founded in 1995
with grant money from the original Barr Foundation.
Tirelessly Helping
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Tony Barr, Wayne Koniuk, CP, and David Werner, director of HealthWrights (center) with Project PROJIMO staff in Mexico. |
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Since 1995, the Barr Foundation has tirelessly
worked to continue raising its ability to help amputees through
donations of in-kind services from practitioners, product donations
from manufacturers, and financial support from anyone who is able
to give. Because of these donations, the Barr Foundation has
provided assistance for over 800 amputees in 43 states and ten
countries, helping them to become 'Whole Again', as the foundations
motto emphasizes. Tony Barr says, "The concept of 'Whole Again', [
also the title of the book co-authored by his father] is not merely
providing an artificial limb, but also providing a method through
which the person becomes self-sufficient and a productive member of
his/her community once again." He further explains, "Honoring the
donors' intent and our responsibility to account for all donations
is a major focus of the Barr Foundation. The Barr Foundation
insists that any success generated from donations be measured by
the complete rehabilitation of the individual and the [enhanced]
social and economic roles that people with impairments can have in
the future."
While the numbers of amputees assisted through the "Where Hope
Meets Help" campaign are too numerous to mention, Tony Barr
certainly recognizes the need to do more.
"Through individual, benefactor, and corporate financial tax
exempt donations and sponsorships, as well as 'in-kind donations',
we are able to provide amputees, who otherwise have NO other
financial resources, proper prosthetic rehabilitation for less than
$2,000 in the US and less than $200 for each amputee in third-world
and developing countries. We have been blessed to have been
financially able to provide prosthetic rehabilitation to 100 to 150
indigent amputees each year both domestically and abroad. However,
with the proper funding we could easily help so many more," says
Tony.
Kindness Vital in Todays World
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Sponsor Jon Batzdorff, CPO, and Barr Foundation recipient Inga Lizdeyte are joined by John Crane and Kristine Knox of Otto Bock HealthCare Orthopedic Lab in Santa Rosa, Cailfornia. |
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At the same time, Tony realizes that with today's
economic pressures, random acts of kindness and charitable works
often take a back seat to budgetary concerns for large corporations
as well as individuals. In recognizing this fact, Tony comments,
"There are many deserving public and private charities located
worldwide that are performing fine work. However, I can't think of
a better way for manufacturers, corporations, and individuals to
not only help people regain their mobility and opportunity to
provide for themselves and their families, but also to help give
them the dignity of becoming 'Whole Again'! In his song, "Three
Wooden Crosses," country western signer Randy Travis probably said
it best: "...It's not what you take when you leave this world
behind you, it's what you leave behind when you go!"
"In the midst of global crises such as pollution, wars, and
famine, kindness may too easily be dismissed as a 'soft issue', or
a luxury to be addressed after the urgent problems are solved. But
kindness is the greatest need in all those areas - kindness toward
the environment, toward other nations, toward the needs of people
who are suffering. Until we reflect basic kindness in everything we
do, our political gestures will be fleeting and fragile. Simple
kindness may be the most vital key to the riddle of how human
beings can live with each other in peace." - Bo Lozoff, author
and co-founder of Kindness Foundation. 
Table Of Contents - January 2005
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