Steven Bradley Ward Foundation helping others in need
When people remember Steven Bradley Ward, it’s usually because of his smile.
“He had the biggest smile in Washington,” remembers Sara Grazulis, Steven’s older sister and a member of the Steven Bradley Ward Foundation board. Ward passed away in 2015 from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 34.
“When he passed away, people of all ages told me Stephen was their best friend. Right away, we knew as we were standing together as a family that we wanted to keep his legacy alive and we wanted to start a foundation in his memory,” she said.
That legacy is now a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to people who have experienced catastrophic loss or hardship due to a medical challenge or emergency, fire, natural disaster or death. For the past eight years, the group has also contributed locally to the Salvation Army, Washington City Mission, Common Ground Teen Center, Wreaths Across America, and the DARE Program of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department. For its good work in our community, The Steven Bradley Ward Foundation is this month’s recipient of the Driven By Hope Award sponsored by Washington Auto Mall.
Family and friends describe Steven as having a larger-than-life personality and being a friend to all. Grazulis says he was always helping people whenever needed. That’s how the idea arose to help provide financial assistance to others in their time of need.
“Just those really extreme moments where you don’t know what else to do or who to turn to, and it seems like there’s nowhere else to go,” she says. “We kind of sweep in and we help give you some money to bridge the gap.”
She remembers one of the foundation’s first big donations as being especially touching since they were able to financially help a young girl undergoing a heart transplant.
“A lot of the people that we help in the community have been great helpers themselves, and they’re in a situation, but they won’t ask for help,” Grazulis says. “We just kind of show up with a check. There are a good number of people in the Washington area who’ve gone through cancer treatment that we have helped, and we also help other groups do their fundraisers and run their events, too.”
For its own annual fundraiser, the foundation holds the Snowball each December. Last year’s event was at the American Legion Post 175 in Washington and helped kick off the holidays, celebrate Steven’s birthday and support the foundation with a silent auction, Chinese auction and Ugly holiday sweater competition.
“We’re always looking for eager helpers that want to help raise money or help out with our fundraising events, or even help out at other people’s fundraising events,” Grazulis says. “For the Snowball, we always do it in December when Steven passed, and it was also his birthday. It’s sort of a time for us to raise money for the foundation but also celebrate him.”
Grazulis said family comes by generosity naturally.
“We were raised that way. I mean, that’s kind of how we all are,” says Grazulis. “That’s just how we were always brought up. My parents definitely laid the groundwork for that, because they were always so involved in giving and just helping others that it wasn’t ever a question. It’s definitely something that has kept us all together. Out of a really tragic time it has turned into a positive.”
For more information on the Steven Bradley Ward Foundation or to donate, visit www.thesbwf.org.