"When Barbara Cooke turned 60 last April, she wanted a different kind of celebration.
"I'd reached an introspective age," she said. "I did a lot of thinking about what made me happy. I realized it was being able to help other people."
She calculated how far she could stretch her finances -- she's a testing coordinator at Gresham High School -- before inviting friends to her Northwest Portland home for what she billed as a surprise party -- for them.
After dinner, dessert and a rousing version of "Happy Birthday," Cooke walked among her friends and handed out 24 envelopes.
Each contained three $20 bills.
Cooke told her friends to take her $1,440 investment -- an investment in them, actually -- and make it grow. Like most people, she explained, she had a limited amount of money to give. On this night, she wanted to leverage it by tapping into other people's lives and hearts.
"I wanted them to take that money, use it to do more and then give it away," Cooke said. "Local, national or international. There were no strings or rules."
She wanted to give them plenty of time, too. So she told them they'd meet later in the year to see just how much they could each make $60 grow.
The results would surprise everyone.
Larry Rank remembers "doing the math" on Cooke's outlay after he and his wife, Marilyn Williams, opened their envelope.
"That was a bit of change," he said. "I know she's not a rich woman. She was putting her money where her heart is." These organizations all benefited from Barbara Cooke's birthday challenge:
In the weeks that followed, the party guests tried to figure out what to do.
"It was a challenge," Rank said. "We could have given the money to a church and been done with it. But Barbara made all of us reflective. What could we do with three $20 bills to make a difference?"
Rank and Williams settled on a plan and joined forces with another couple, Gary and Sandy Cann.
Williams' 41-year-old son was born deaf and attended Southeast Portland's Tucker-Maxon Oral School as a child. The school uses technology -- digital hearing aids and cochlear implants, for example -- to help children hear and speak. The two couples pooled their money and asked school officials what they needed. They were told the school could use a few more high-tech hearing devices.
"But each one costs $750," Rank said. "That's a long way from $120."
They had to get creative.
Williams and Rank had a spectacular garden, and both couples enjoy cooking. They bought flowerpots and filled them with plants from the garden. They invited friends to a backyard party, selling the plants to raise money and telling guests about Cooke's birthday challenge.
"We ended up selling enough plants to collect $2,200," Rank said. "The school was blown away. We got a letter from them that a donor had agreed to match our gift.
"That $120 turned into $4,400," he said. "The school bought two hearing devices and put the rest of the money into a scholarship fund to help students."
The experience, Rank said, changed him.
"We all can do more than we think we can," he said. "Goodness that lies just below the surface."
Joanne and Darrell Mecklem weren't sure what to do with their money. The idea of trying to make the money grow made Joanne uncomfortable.
"I'm not an asker," she said.
But she thought about her oldest son, who suffered a brain injury when he was 30. Now 47, he lives at the Patton Home, a North Portland residential care facility.
"I called the manager of the home and explained what Barbara had done," Mecklem said. "He told me that when a resident comes to the home, they get a new blanket, a set of linens and towels. It's a way to let people know they're getting a fresh start."
Mecklem wrote people she knew and explained the challenge.
"It was hard to ask people for money," Mecklem said. "But Barbara inspired each of us to reach out."
She raised $715, enough to buy 14 sets of linens.
Brian Cass, the Patton Home manager, was so moved that after he thanked Mecklem, he wrote Cooke to praise her for her idea.
"We're are on a very tight budget here," he said. "A lot of the clientele have nothing when they get here. With Joanne's gift, I was able to use the money I would have spent on linens to pay for Thanksgiving dinner for the people who live here."
As much as she appreciated the letter of thanks, Cooke didn't want to be the focus of the attention.
"It was not about me," she said.
Cooke said she was surprised by what people did with the money and why.
"One woman hand-made 200 cards," Cooke said. "A year ago, her cousin, who was a teacher in Nevada, was killed by her husband. She sold the cards and raised $600. She sent it to the teacher who replaced her cousin in the school. She asked the teacher to use the money to buy books for the class and put a plate in them in honor of her cousin."
Some people who attended the party reached out to other friends for advice.
"I was a public school teacher for 25 years," said Amy Plumb. "I went to my water aerobics class and asked if anyone had an idea to help a school. A woman said her daughter volunteers at the Community Transitional School, a place for homeless kids in the Portland area."
Plumb visited the school and talked with administrators and teachers.
"I used my $60 as seed money for a party at my house during the summer," she said. "I told everyone it was a fundraiser. Then I e-mailed everyone I knew. I'm not afraid to ask for money. I raised $1,400. What I learned is that everyone can do something, no matter how small or large."
For Cooke, her gift of $1,440 ended up being a spectacular investment in humanity.
Last month, the group tallied the total raised: $23,265.
"I felt true joy," Cooke said. "When you give, you receive."" oregonlive.com
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