Sunday, January 31, 1999

Kindness pours in for uninsured family

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BY MARK CURNUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mike Sparkman and his family attend a revival at Victory Baptist Church. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        More than three dozen people have come forward with cash, clothing and food donations for an uninsured Norwood family.

        Mike Sparkman and his family were profiled in The Cincinnati Enquirer Jan. 17. (STORY)

        The gifts have done more than help them pay some bills. They've given the family hope.

        “It has uplifted my life,” said Kathy Sparkman, Mr. Sparkman's wife. “We appreciate everything everyone has done for us.”

        Mr. Sparkman, 40, has worked more than 10 years for a waterproofing company that doesn't offer health insurance. His wife is a diabetic, and his daughters suffer from asthma and environmental allergies.

        The family has received more than $1,000 cash so far; $330 of it went to repair the water pump on their car, a 1984 Cadillac with 184,000 miles. Other money went to pay their rent and a couple of past-due medical bills.

        A Warren County medical management company donated $250.

        On the night the story was published, Mr. Sparkman received a call at home from Carl H. Lindner, the Cincinnati financier and chairman of Chiquita Brands International and American Financial Group.

        Mr. Lindner has given Mr. Sparkman $10,000 in American Financial Group preferred stock. The stock yields more than 8 percent, and the Sparkmans will use the gift to send their daughters, 7 and 8, to college.

        American Financial lawyers and a lawyer from the Legal Aid Society, who previously had represented Mrs. Sparkman, are working out details so the gift will not jeopardize the family's public aid eligibility.

        “I was shocked,” Mr. Sparkman said. “I think it's great. I didn't expect that. He's a good man.”

        Mr. Lindner was moved by Mr. Sparkman's efforts to support his family. He helped Mr. Sparkman “because this was an unfortunate situation for a man and his family who was really trying and needed some help,” Mr. Lindner said in a statement.

        There is a sentimental connection, too.

        “They happen to live two blocks from where I started in business,” Mr. Lindner said of another of his companies, United Dairy Farmers convenience stores.

        The Enquirer story detailed how the lack of insurance affects the Sparkmans' health, financial situation and outlook. Mr. Sparkman had said he couldn't foresee his daughters going to college.

        The Sparkmans also received four calls about a Franciscan Health Partnership program that assists low-income people with medical coverage and prescription medicine.

        Mr. Sparkman has scheduled an enrollment meeting at Franciscan's Mount Airy campus. He also learned about a program through the Norwood Health Department that will allow him to get dental care. He has 12 cavities but couldn't afford to have them filled.

       

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