Kirkwoods honored for their philanthropy efforts in Clark County

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Born into poor families 16 days apart, Al and Sandee Kirkwood were destined to find each other at Washington State University when the college grouped students based on their birthdays.

“We must have met on that first day and we didn’t even know it,” Sandee recalls.

The 75-year-old Ridgefield couple married two years later, graduated, raised three children and now have eight grandchildren. 

While Al enjoyed a profitable 39-year career with Kiewit Construction, Sandee worked as a speech therapist and managed their successful horse racing business in Southern California. She also served on several community boards. During that time, she convinced Al to donate money to single mothers struggling to make ends meet. 

“Sandee and I do things 50-50 on everything. I think she has done more for philanthropy than I have,” Al said. “While I was travelling around the world in construction, she volunteered to help deprived kids with speech therapy. And from way back then, I remember her telling me. ‘We need to do more, Al. These kids need clothes, they need medical help, they need food.’”

One of the defining projects by the Kirkwoods was donating $300,000 to help build duplexes for single mothers and children living at Share.

“It was just before Thanksgiving and we packed the cupboards with food and put a turkey in the refrigerator,” Sandee said. “This mother and her three daughters came in. They fell on their knees and said, ‘There is a God and we thank him tremendously.’

“We bought them clothes and all sorts of stuff that they probably didn’t need,” she added. “But it was fun because they were so grateful.”

The Kirkwoods make annual donations to Doernbechers Children’s Hospital because they help their 5-year-old granddaughter who was born with half a heart. They also funded the construction of the Teen Turf Club for the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Washington, the Innovative Services Northwest Building and a new Clark County Food Bank pantry for the Fruit Valley neighborhood in Vancouver.

All of these efforts didn’t go unnoticed. On June 5, The Community Foundation of Southwest Washington presented the Kirkwoods with the 2018 Philanthropists of the Year award at the Downtown Vancouver Hilton.

“It was a surprise to us and we are very grateful. They only give out one of those a year,” Al said. “It just gives us an appreciation for all the hard work we have done. And it inspires us to do more. We’re already thinking about what we can do next.”



Right now, the Kirkwoods are focusing on the Fruit Valley pantry and hoping it becomes a vehicle to build more food distribution centers for families in need.

Community Kitchen, at 1910 W. Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver, is open to residents in the 98660 zip code from Noon to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m. to Noon Saturdays. Instead of just getting a box of food once or twice a month, people can visit this pantry three times a week and fill a cart with the foods they choose. The only limits are on frozen items, particularly meat.

“All of the food is donated through a variety of sources. Some of our best food is from the grocery store recovery program,” said Emily Kaleel, Clark County Food Bank program manager. “We go out to 25 grocery stores every week and bring back a bunch of food. And that’s really good food because it’s at or near expiration.”

The Kirkwoods contributed a quarter of a million dollars to help the Clark County Food Bank purchase this 1,600-square foot space and cover the rent costs for the first five years. Community Kitchen opened March 21, 2018.

“This would not exist without Al and Sandee,” Kaleel said. “From start to finish, they envisioned it and they made it happen.”

The impact has been immediate.

“Emily told us these families get 90 percent of their food here,” Al said. “That warms our heart.”

The Kirkwoods will continue to give as long as they live, and have passed that message down to their children and grandchildren. Luck brought them together 57 years ago. They will never take that for granted.

“God has truly blessed us. You can never out give God,” Sandee said.

“Our advice is just to give. It’s inspiring to see other lives change. It’s inspiring to see their smile,” she added. “The reward is you receive a lot more than you give.”