'Supernatural' fans help shelter / LJWorld.com

Archive for Monday, September 3, 2007

September 3, 2007

Three Questions with ... Dana Stodgel

Dana Stodgel, of Champaign, Ill., talks about the $1,000 donation to the Lawrence Community Shelter. Enlarge video

An "extraordinary" donation from a group of "Supernatural" television viewers has brought more than $1,000 for a Lawrence homeless shelter from benefactors across the world.

Fans of the CW network series "Supernatural" raised the funds on the Internet, partially to benefit the Lawrence Community Shelter, 214 W. 10th St.

"I'd imagine that (shelter director) Loring (Henderson) was very happy to find out that we were real people," Dana Stodgel, a Fandom Rocks representative, quipped Sunday.

Stodgel, 30, drove to Lawrence on Saturday from her home in Champaign, Ill., where she is a project and Web site coordinator at the University of Illinois. She presented a check for $1,023.11 to shelter board members during the noon meal at the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen, 221 W. 10th St.

Stodgel, Rebecca Mawhinney of Canada and Brande Ruiz, of Grass Valley, Calif., organized the drive through the Web site www.fandom-rocks.com. They wanted the charitable effort to have a Lawrence connection, just like the show, which features a fictional family from here.

They split total donations of more than $2,000 between the shelter and SOS Children's Villages, an international charity.

Fans from 11 countries contributed, and the average donation was about $30, Stodgel said.

Henderson said the funding would be used mostly for job coaching of the shelter's clients.

"I see it not only as a donation, but as a public education and outreach effort. It's extraordinary," he said.

Stodgel said Lawrence was different than she had imagined, as she toured the shelter with her 9-year-old son, Jack. She said the shelter's operation impressed her.

"Fans are going to be very happy to know that our donation was chosen wisely," Stodgel said.

This apparently won't be the end of Fandom Rock's generosity for Lawrence, as a second drive has begun, and fans can vote on which Lawrence organization to benefit.