Charity First Hand

2008 Primary Bear Charity Challenge
By Liz Carey
Wednesday January 16, 2008

Jim Kappler wants to see the charitable side of the presidential candidates — and whether or not they color inside the lines. Mr. Kappler, an Anderson resident, has asked each of the presidential candidates to take five minutes for charity.
His goal? To have them color a drawing of a teddy bear, autograph it and send it back to him. He, in turn, will auction off the political artworks on e-Bay and use the proceeds to help needy people here in the Upstate by sending the money to the Brighter Christmas Fund. He said he wants the South Carolina primary to be more than the first primary in the South. He wants it to be the “First in Generosity and Charity.” “There is something truly appealing about the mental image of a person who might become the President of the United States of America, the leader of the Free World, and the most powerful person on Earth, sitting down with a box of colors and coloring a Teddy Bear,” Mr. Kappler said in an e-mail earlier this week. “In doing this charitable act, all of the Presidential Primary candidates who participate in the 2008 Primary Bear Charity Challenge will improve the quality of life for many in Anderson County, South Carolina, regardless of the election results.”

So far, he said, he has received favorable responses from the offices of Democratic hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Republican candidate Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas.

Kimberly Fulton, state scheduler in South Carolina for Hillary Clinton’s campaign, said Mr. Kappler’s idea was the first request of its kind, to her knowledge.
“I told him that I would try to make that happen,” she said. “No one else has asked her to do anything like this, at least not in this office.”

Kassie Dulin, spokesperson for the South Carolina headquarters of the Mike Huckabee campaign, said she had received the e-mail from Mr. Kappler Sunday afternoon, and would try to find time for the candidate to break out a box of crayons.
“We get all kinds of requests in the office,” she said. “It’s always interesting to see what the day will bring.”

Both candidates are expected to be back in the area before their primaries. The Republican primary will be held Saturday. The Democratic primary is slated for Jan. 26. Mr. Kappler said this is about more than a charitable project.
“This is kind of a test of these people’s ability to lead, and their character,” he said. “If they can’t put something up on e-Bay at a moment’s notice, what would they do in a crisis situation? And if a candidate isn’t willing to take five minutes out of their day that could help someone else, what does that say about their character?”

And you thought politics was all about elephants and donkeys.

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2008/jan/16/2008-primary-bear-charity-challenge/