We’re all here because of one extraordinary man. Kirk Spencer was our husband, our father, our son, our brother and our friend. But more than just a man loved by his immediate friends and family, Kirk was someone who helped positively guide many young lives through his coaching and mentorship.
Throughout his young life, Kirk was an avid athlete, playing football and wrestling during his years at West Linn High School and later at the University of Oregon. When he returned to West Linn to marry his college sweetheart and raise their family, he returned to his school district, serving as a youth coach for both sports that taught him so much. He inspired and led many young men through pivotal moments in their lives – many of whom have since credited him with setting them on the right path and who now mentor young student athletes in his honor.
We lost Kirk in 2004 when he was struck by Sudden Cardiac Arrest. His healthy, strong, vibrant and giving heart was stopped in an instant – an event that might have been prevented had a defibrillator been available to him at the time. Because we cannot bring him back, we now work to help bring an end to the same tragedy befalling other families.
Today, the Kirk Spencer Foundation is focused on promoting the understanding of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and the need for Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) in the community.
In the years since its inception, the Kirk Spencer Foundation (KSF) has helped orchestrate the placement of AEDs in every public school within the West Linn/Wilsonville School District. In 2005, KSF also helped pass legislation (HB 3482 / The Kirk Spencer Memorial Act) that now requires all Oregon fitness facilities with 100 or more members to have an AED on site. The Foundation has great hopes for facilitating the purchase of AEDs for many more public facilities, including the Portland Public Schools.
Each year, the Foundation also grants scholarships to West Linn High School athletes who best demonstrate Kirk Spencer’s leadership, academic excellence and community spirit. The Kirk Spencer Scholarship has, to date, been awarded to eight exceptional athletes who have gone on to pursue higher learning at some of the nation’s top educational institutions.
Our Purpose:
Your donations to the KSF go toward our effort to educate the public about the importance of early defibrillation.
In addition to public education and facilitating the purchase of defibrillators for public places, your donation also will support the KSF West Linn High School Scholarship Fund – given to young men from WLHS who are involved in wresting and/or football and who demonstrate the invaluable qualities of character, confidence and leadership in all that they do.
A Message from Paige Spencer:
The experience of losing my soulmate and my precious baby’s daddy has been quite an eye opener for me. I used to tell Kirk that I hoped I would go before him because I could not bear to be without him. I never would have imagined that I would be facing the challenges that I face and fighting the fights I am determined to win. I have gained such strength and passion to help save others from this tragedy. There is no reason taht SCA needs to have such a high mortality rate. Most victims are not even given the chance to survive.
The Kirk Spencer Foundation was formed out of our own frustration. We want to try to make a difference for another family. We want to educate everyone about the importance of early defibrillation. We want to make sure that the general public is armed with the startling facts and hope that with that knowledge we can demand some changes within our own communities.
My heart and soul is being poured into this poured into this project. I owe it to Payton. I owe it to Kirk. I owe it to all of you who may sometime find the need for a defibrillator. You just never know. Don’t we owe it to all of those we love to make sure they are given every possible chance for survival?
What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is one of the leading causes of death among adults in North America. It can happen to anyone, at any time, without warning. It robs and it steals, tearing families apart.
SCA is an electrical malfunction of the heart. Instead of beating the heart is fibrillating, stopped, or extremely slow. The symptoms can be non-existent. A victim collapses and loses a pulse and stops breathing. There are no warning signs. Without defibrillation within the first 3-4 minutes the brain begins to die. Within 10 minutes the victim will die.
There is no cure for SCA. It kills almost a half million Americans each year. That translates to 1200 lives lost every day, 50 each hour, and one death every single minute. It claims more lives than breast cancer, AIDS, and lung cancer COMBINED! Early defibrillation is the ONLY effective treatment for SCA.
