Economists tell us that we are nearing a recession and gas prices are expected to hit about $4 per gallon by summer. Foreclosures hit an all-time high in March and unemployment hit its highest mark since 9/11.

With all that going on, there is no way anyone would participate in fundraising, right? After all, we've been conditioned to think that at the end of the day, it's all about us.

My impression has changed drastically, however, after attending what I thought would be a tiny fundraising event for a local child who has an inoperable brain tumor.

This past Sunday, instead of hitting our normal spot for breakfast (Sorry girls) at Suzie Qs, my family and I drove over to the Mars VFW for some good, old-fashioned, Western Pennsylvania style fundraising. That means there was going to be tons of spaghetti, music, 50/50 raffles, Chinese auctions and a ton of gossiping about the happenings in town.

I wasn't disappointed, as there had to have been several thousand who participated in the event.

The event benefited a 7-year-old girl from Saxonburg named Erica Busin. And while I have never met Erica personally, her story touched me in a way that is almost beyond words.

I was literally sitting in the chair having a blood test conducted by Erica's mother when she received a call from a friend wondering how Erica was doing. I heard her quietly explain that the previous night they had received word that there was nothing the doctors could do.

She came back into the room and remained composed, but the thickness in the air hurt more than the needle sticking in my arm, so we talked briefly. We both shed some tears, and when she finished taking my blood, I went to my car and prayed. I prayed for a girl I never met. I prayed for the woman that just dug a needle out of my arm. I prayed for a family that was going through something worse than anything I had ever known, and I prayed for my own family, thanking God for the wonderful blessings He had bestowed upon me.

So it was with no hesitation that I brought the rest of the Ola family to this spaghetti fundraiser, where my daughter plowed through a plate and a half of homemade pasta sauce (thank you, Mr. Ford for something that would stain her perfect dress!). My son walked around making friends, and my wife and I sat with my parents and reflected.

There are times to take action, and there are times to absorb. That fundraiser was about both. Volunteers taking action and the rest of us absorbing the surroundings — the music, the laughter, the tears, the camaraderie.

If you've never watched your daughter get more spaghetti sauce on her dress than in her belly or watched your son shake hands with a famous radio disc-jockey, you have another chance to contribute.

There is going to be a second fundraiser for Erica on April 27 from noon to 6 p.m. at the Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Once again, all of the proceeds are going to Erica's family so that mom can stop drawing blood from guys like me and really focus on what life is about, which is about finding calmness or helping to create calm for others who have storms in their own lives. These fundraisers do both, and for $8, how can you go wrong?

Oh, and by the way. I did a little search on the Internet to see how much Americans give each year. According to USA Today, it was $295 billion. That's a lot of pasta.

Christian Ola, a community columnist for the Butler Eagle, resides in Mars with his wife, son and daughter and can be reached at christianolac@aol.com.