Alumni in Action - Don Sodo ’65

Don Sodo '65

Dumfries, VA
 

When Don Sodo ’65 looks back on his time at Saint Ignatius, he sees it as a turning point.

The oldest of five, Don grew up in a Polish-American family in Brecksville.  He attended St. Michael School in Independence before listening to advice from a cousin who encouraged him to also attend Saint Ignatius.  Tuition was $300 a year, and Don helped pay half of it himself with money from his paper route.

Don describes himself back then as a “Not the typical Saint Ignatius student, I was a bit nerdy.” At Ignatius, he was involved in intramurals, Chess Club and Debate.  But what stayed with him most was not one specific class, activity or person.  It was the steady presence of compassionate, generous, and spiritual people who helped form him beyond the steady influence of his blue collar parents.

“There was a consistency of good-hearted and spiritual people who helped me along the way at Ignatius,” Don said.

The Jesuit influence has followed him throughout his life.  After Ignatius, Don continued his Jesuit education at the University of Detroit.  Two of his friends from that time are Jesuits:  Fr. Carl Bonk, S.J. and Br. Rich Cure, S.J.  Don credits Fr. Bonk with helping him see a deeper side of spirituality.

“My Jesuit education experiences were a turning point, “ Don said.  “Critical thinking, compassion, and questioning authority at times.  See what you can do to make a difference for one or many people.”

After college and a degree in Management Science, Don realized he wanted to do something other than the business world.  He became a teacher and spent seven years in inner-city Catholic grade schools in and near Detroit.  Serving at-risk youth in need was rewarding, and it helped set the direction for the rest of his career.

After marrying Pat Smeekens in ’76, they moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked for Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen in direct mail fundraising, before becoming Vice President for Development at the Pan American Development Foundation. He then worked for a nonprofit focused on serving children with special education needs.

Eventually, Don became the President and CEO of America’s Charities, a national non-profit membership organization of over 100 charities, including groups like Make-A-Wish, Habitat for Humanity, and the NAACP.  Over 23 years, he led the organization’s growth to raising some $30 million annually for its member charities through payroll deduction giving programs within Federal, State, local government and corporate workplace campaigns.  Don retired from America’s Charities in 2009, but his service work did not stop.

Don and Pat had raised two adult sons, Mike and Tim, were blessed with grandchildren and developed a love of travel.  In 2013, Zimbabwe was among their destinations, on a tourist safari with friends.  One day in Victoria Falls, Don visited the local craft market on his own, meeting artisans selling their beautiful handmade wooden, stone and woven items.  One artisan, Alice Munemo, told him she had four children, but could only afford to send three of them to school.  Don quickly learned that public education was not free in Zimbabwe.  Families had to pay for tuition, clothing and supplies.  Don and Pat had brought extra clothes with them, so they bundled up some and gave them to Alice.  He also asked her to meet him the next day.  When she returned that morning, she gave him a simple, small piece of paper showing her family’s finances and their inability to pay for the education of their fourth child. 

Those brief encounters became the beginning of something much larger.  Simply speaking, Don and Pat saw a call to help others. The Sodo’s began helping the Munemo family, then a few more.

In 2016, on another trip to Victoria Falls, Don connected with Children in the Wilderness, a local charity helping poor families send their children to school.  Families are required to pay 10% of their child’s fees, while the Sodos and their friends pay the balance through CITW.

What started with a handful of families has now grown into a group of over 100 children benefiting from donations exceeding $20,000 annually from the Sodo Friends Scholarship Project in Victoria Falls.

CITW provides the Sodos with academic reports about sponsored children as well as letters of appreciation from students and their families.  The Sodos and friends continue to visit Victoria Falls, with their last visit in 2024.  Their fund has also seen two of its students graduate from college.

When Don talks about the scholarship project, he highlights the need, but also stresses the warmth and potential of the people he has met.  “You’ll see great animals in the parks there, but you’ll also see wonderful, hardworking people who simply need a helping hand.”

He talks about schools made simply from concrete blocks with few supplies and no technology, but nonetheless filled with colorful drawings, paintings, singing and dancing.  He remembers bright and curious children.  He remembers families who have little in material wealth, but are deeply connected to their community and their children’s future.

One man the Sodos met over the years, known first as “Bling Bling” made a lasting impression.  At first, Don saw him as a fast-talking hawker in the market, whose grandfather was the leader of a local tribal community.  Getting to visit the village of Tendayi (aka Bling Bling), he learned that Tendayi’s passion was totally wrapped up in supporting his impoverished tribal community.  

The Sodo’s funded a well-drilling venture for Tendayi’s tribe, but the well came up dry.  Nonetheless, Tenday persisted after restoring an old well and today his land includes acres of vegetable gardens and fruit trees nurtured by drip irrigation.  Not only are his tribe’s children in school now, but his community is well supplied with hearty crops from his big community garden.

For Don, these stories connect directly back to what he learned at Ignatius.  The phrase “Man for Others” is not simply something he remembers.  It is something he has tried to live.

His advice for today’s students is simple.  “Think about more than yourself, “ Don said.  “Remember that you are a part of a community no matter what you do.” 

Another  mantra has stayed with him throughout his life and career:  “We are responsible for the success and well-being of one another.” For Don Sodo ’65, that responsibility has shaped a career, a family life, a retirement and a mission that now reaches families half a world away.

Sodo Friends Scholarship Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1DQmm8xK8Q/?mibextid=wwXlfr