BENDER'S ANGELS: VOLUNTEERS AID FAMILIES AROUND THE AREA

Tim Bender was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1990.

The Cape Girardeau man was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., when his doctor said additional tests were needed. But Bender said no.

"I told him, `I can have the rest of this checked out at home. We have good doctors there. It's time for me to get on with my life.' At the time, I didn't know how it was going to affect me. I just made up my mind that I was going to whatever I could."

In 1991, he and his wife, Brenda, entered their first fund-raising walk to benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

They asked their friends to join them, and Bender's Angels, a group of local volunteers who perform a number of acts to benefit families around the area, was born.

"The first year that we had it was called the Benders Bus, and then one of the group the next year passed away from cancer, and we became Bender's Angel's because we thought she would like that," he said. "We've just been working for multiple sclerosis and the American Cancer Society and other causes in the community."

Kathy Kraemer, a charter Angel, said the group "makes a difference one good deed at a time" in the community.

Among the group's activities:

-- Annual polker runs, fish fries, rallies and other fundraisers to benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society and American Cancer Society

-- Participation in the annual MS Walkathon. In 1196, more than 40 Angels helped raise funds, Kraemer said

-- Adopting families at Thanksgiving. Each year, the group makes and serves a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for a needy family

-- Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity

-- Providing Christmas in 1996 for the Kevin Lossing family, including a treadmill for Kevin, who recently underwent a heart transplant

This year the group is also putting together a cookbook, and the proceeds will go to charity, Kraemer said.

The "core group" of Angels numbers about 50, she said, but the ranks swell to about 100 who participate in the group's various activities.

"There's always someone in need," Kraemer said. "It doesn't matter if we know them or not."

Tim Bender is unable to work because of the MS, although he says he is able to get around fairly well, and the volunteer work keeps him busy.

"I keep doing it because I like to do it," he said. "It makes you feel good when you can help somebody and I have nothing but time, myself. Whenever I give time, that's just something that helps me out."

Kraemer said Tim Bender's attitude is inspirational for all of the Angels.

"If you see Timmy on the street and say, `How are you doing,' he says, `I've never had a bad day in my life,' and that helps all of us," she said.