Jefferson Awards support Kirlin Fund

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Losing a child can harden a heart or make it more eager to afford affection.

Blessed with a loving nature, Joe Kirlin has partnered with perseverance in the 22 years since his youngest child’s death. The resident of the 200 block of Wolf Street ventured to Washington, D.C., last month, to receive a Jefferson Award for Public Service, the latest honor for his mission to assist wheelchair athletes.

A maintenance technician with Exelon Power/PECO Energy, Kirlin earned his jaunt through his company’s March move to present him with its Excellence Award for volunteerism. His employer also endowed him with a $20,000 grant for the Katie Kirlin Fund, the chief means through which he and wife Roseann Kirlin salute the memory of their daughter Katie, who, after two courageous years fighting cancer, died in 1989 at age 12.

The largest bequest in the foundation’s 21-year history will allow the Kirlins to buy at least 10 athletic wheelchairs for competitors at the Carousel House Recreation Center, a Fairmount Park haven offering educational, recreational and socialization services to disabled people throughout the Philadelphia area. The venue has come to serve as a sanctuary as they seek to encourage youths to counter their afflictions primarily through basketball, one of their daughter’s loves. The Kirlins finance Katie’s Komets, three junior teams that compete in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA).

“It is nice to keep Katie’s name alive in such a positive way,” Joe Kirlin said from his Whitman home.

Highly athletic, Katie enjoyed tennis and swimming and had hoped to play basketball for Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 2329 S. Third St. With perfect health, she seemed destined for sporting glory. She would earn it but not in the traditional sense. Severe back pain led the Kirlins to take Katie to doctors, who discovered a malignant tumor on her spinal cord. Its removal, however, could not prevent paralyzation.

Rehabilitation at Wilmington, Del.’s A.I. duPont Hospital forged her entry into wheelchair sports and culminated in her becoming a junior participant within the North American Wheelchair Basketball Association.

“When she started, she said ‘I’m still Katie. I just do things differently,’” Roseann Kirlin recalled.

One could have renamed ’88’s National Junior Wheelchair Games in Johnson City, Tenn., the Katie Kirlin Games, as the 10-year-old claimed gold medals in the 100-meter race and the 25-meter freestyle swimming event. Three silvers also found themselves around her neck.

As their home on the 2400 block of South American Street was poorly suited for Katie’s wheelchair, which friends had helped to purchase through a golf outing, the Kirlins chose Chews Landing, N.J., as a new location two months before the July games. Their acquaintances’ helped to craft the creation of Katie’s Klassic, an annual June golf gathering in Sicklerville, N.J., that has helped the Kirlins to amass $1.6 million to provide grants for wheelchair purchases and lodging and travel expenses for the Komets, which also fields swimming and track and field teams, among many endeavors.

Katie qualified for the ’89 games in California, but the development of another spinal tumor in June of that year precipitated a painful decline.

“She had a good year as a paraplegic,” her mother said of the youngster, who specialized in the 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-meter disciplines.

“We were not sure if she realized how competitive she was,” her father said. “Her drive just came out.”

Her ambition enabled her to hold off the end long enough to reach her 12th birthday on Aug. 30, but she passed Nov. 20. The receipt of $11,000 in donations from Katie’s funeral inspired a dream to send wheelchair competitors to national events. Having done parish work, the Kirlins upped their philanthropic identity by creating the fund in ’90.

“We were fearful of becoming involved in special causes,” Roseann Kirlin said, adding she felt interest would enjoy a limited run.

“We suspected people would move on quickly in search of fresher causes, newer causes,” Joe Kirlin added.

Returning to South Philadelphia following their loss, the Kirlins received evidence of the unfounded nature of their worries, as memories of Katie’s commitment and the fortitude of hundreds of wheelchair athletes have made the last 21 years proof of the fund’s “Courage is facing the odds” motto.

“We felt it was sad when we saw there were not enough funds for wheelchair athletes,” Joe Kirlin said. “We wanted to contribute.”

Their second-floor office contains so many photos, plaques and commendations, including the 2005 Bill Duncan Good Guy Award from the NWBA, the Kirlins soon may need to consider redecorating. Numerous photos of Katie, including images with former Eagles great Randall Cunningham and Flyers captain Rick Tocchet, reveal the appreciative nature with which she approached each day. A semi-shrine, the room helps the Kirlins to maintain strength and exude gratitude.

“I’m not sure I would have become involved in work like this if Katie had not had her difficulties,” Roseann Kirlin said.

According to her parents, Katie took her accomplishments and setbacks in stride, so her mother believes she would be embarrassed for receiving renown yet would display pride in knowing other wheelchair athletes have thrived throughout the years.

Members of the Komets range in age from 7 to 20. The basketball program allows any child with a long-term physical condition to participate, with 40 children comprising the Saturday practices and games. Thanks to the Kirlins and Stuart Greenberg, a program director for the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Department, Carousel House hosts the Katie Kirlin Junior Wheelchair Basketball Tournament each January. Need-based scholarships for East Coast residents solidify the American Institute for Public Service’s justification in honoring Joe Kirlin as a Jefferson Awards Champion.

Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis helped to found the Institute in 1972 to honor community and public service. Five years ago, it created the Champions division to reward outstanding employee volunteers. A colleague nominated Joe Kirlin for Exelon’s Excellence Award, and his winning it guaranteed him the second recognition.

The Kirlins spent June 20 to 22 in the nation’s capital. One of 25 Champion honorees, Joe Kirlin gave a one-minute speech to thank the organizers for recognizing his project.

“I was so nervous, I almost passed out,” he said with a laugh.

“I don’t think we realized the scope immediately,” his wife of 44 years said of the Jefferson Awards, whose national division has esteemed such figures as late tennis icon Arthur Ashe, former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter and television titan Oprah Winfrey.

With the tournaments behind them and with last month’s excursion adding items to their office, the Kirlins, who will retire next year, will turn their attention to Aug. 27’s Bikeless Bike Tour at Keenan’s Irish Pub in North Wildwood, N.J. Tonight, they will be special guests at the South Philly Review’s third annual Pizza Olympics at Penns Landing Caterers, 1301 S. Columbus Blvd. All raffle proceeds from the event will benefit the Katie Kirlin Fund.

Retirement will offer more moments to plan how to help wheelchair athletes to be as tireless as Kate. “She has her hand in so much,” Roseann Kirlin said. “She is guiding us and helping us.”

For more information on Katie and the fund, visit www.katiekirlinfund.org.

Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.

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