Dunne residents fundraise for injured alum

By Lance Dwyer

What started out as a simple competition within the Dunne community has now evolved into a conscious act of generosity.

The Dunne Community Council began conducting a "penny war" between residents earlier this quarter. Each floor is pitted against the others, the object of the game being to have the most amount of money in coins, subtracted by the amount of money in dollar bills.

According to community council member Elise Levine, the penny war is part of an ongoing competition to win what is known as the Balderdash Cup.

"The initial purpose of the penny war was to stimulate floor competition in Dunne," said Levine, "but now the focus has shifted to raising as much money as possible to help Ross Dillon."

Ross Dillon is a Santa Clara graduate who suffered severe injuries from a bicycle accident on June 3, 2002. A car hit Dillon from behind at about 50 mph. Dillon was thrown up and over the hood of the car, striking his head on the windshield and shattering his helmet before being thrown over 150 feet. Dillon was 25 years old at the time.

Dillon survived, but he fell into a coma, having suffered many injuries including severe brain trauma, a cervical fracture, in addition to many abrasions and lacerations, including a fracture dislocation of his right elbow. Today, he remains in a coma although he has shown signs of improvement.

In hopes of offsetting the huge medical bills, the Dillon family established the Ross Dillon Hope Fund to allow for donations from the community.

Resident Director Catherine Justl said that the choice to donate the money raised from the penny war was an obvious one.

"I had been following the accident since last June and I thought donating the money in his benefit would be a perfect fit since he was an SCU graduate and he needs our help," said Justl.

In addition to the amount raised by the community, Faculty Director Art Liebscher, S.J., agreed to match it up to $400.

Such a generous act has become very common in the Dunne community, according to Justl.

"The people who live in Dunne are awesome. They've gone above and beyond when it comes to giving to other people," said Justl. "They've really stressed that they want to get the faculty involved in the community and that they want to give back to the community. They're just so incredible and giving," said Justl.

Previous community-oriented activities have included a trip for Habitat for Humanity, a visit to a homeless shelter, and several other fundraisers to benefit various hunger and community charities.

This strong concern for the community resulted in the founding of the Modern Perspectives Outreach (MPO). MPO was founded with the intentions of conducting service activities. Resident Minister Michael Colyer took the idea to the community council earlier this year, where it was enthusiastically welcomed.

"I think the identity of the Modern Perspectives RCL just calls for community service," said community council President Dan Evans.

Ariel Dillon, Ross' younger sister and current undergraduate at Santa Clara, said that she is appreciative of the efforts of the Dunne community, especially because she lived there last year.

"I really appreciate that Dunne has wanted to help my brother by raising money. His medical expenses are so large that every little bit of money helps," said Ross. Even more meaningful than the financial aspect of Dunne's efforts is the thought behind them. It is very special to my family whenever anyone wants to help my brother's cause. It helps so much just to know that people feel for us and care."

Ross has endured many additional complications recently that have exponentially increased his medical bills, including hydrocephalus, pneumonia and septic shock. He now resides in Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, a sub-acute care facility.

Kate Moore, a friend of the Dillon family, has established a web page to keep Ross' loved ones updated on his recovery as well as to give anyone the opportunity to donate to the Ross Dillon Hope Fund. According to Moore, the web page often receives over 10,000 hits per day from around the world. She said that she is overwhelmed by the support for Ross, specifically the efforts of the Dunne community.

"I think the Santa Clara community's efforts to raise money for the Dillon Hope Fund is a prime example of the inherent goodness and generosity in people. Many of us want to do good, but rarely find an opportunity as personal as when one among us is hurt. Since Ross is a graduate of Santa Clara and he is a very special young man, I imagine the students participating in the fundraising feel a connection to him. I certainly hope they do," said Moore.

Ariel Dillon said that any kind act of generosity would be extremely appreciated by the family and friends of Ross.

"People really don't understand how expensive the kind of care he requires is and even the best insurance policy doesn't cover everything. This is why it is so helpful when people help by making donations, even if very small," said Ariel.