Slain Girl’s Family Offers Gift Fund to Troubled Youths

The family of Sara Nan Hodges, a 7-year-old Newhall girl who was allegedly strangled by a teen-age neighbor, plans to donate to a program for children with behavioral problems the $30,000 received from sympathizers, rejecting friends’ proposals that the money be used for family members.

Family friends who set up a trust fund initially to cover the slain girl’s funeral expenses said that when far more money came in than was needed, they tried to persuade the girl’s family to use it to get their own home.

The girl’s mother, Linda Hodges, and sister, Tisha Gates, 16, have been living with a friend and her three children in a small house for about eight weeks.

But Linda Hodges refused to use the money for her own welfare, said Barbara Giardiana, the fund’s trustee.

“Linda from Day 1 refused to take any of these dollars. She kept saying that she wanted the funds to go to help kids somewhere,” Giardiana said. “She said, ‘How can I take dollars from the death of my daughter?’ ”

Special Children’s Center

The fund, which is increasing daily, will be given to the Santa Clarita Special Children’s Center of Newhall, Giardiana said. The center treats children with physical or emotional disorders, many of whom have been abused or sexually molested.

Linda Hodges said she is comforted by the thought that Sara’s death will enable her to donate a significant sum of money to what she considers a very worthy cause.

“I never had an extra $200 to send to anyone,” she said, adding that she has been overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers, some of whom have donated up to $1,500.

“It has restored my faith in humanity,” she said. “I keep thinking--look how many more good people there are than bad.”

Curtis Cooper, 14, is accused of strangling Sara Nan Hodges and stuffing her body behind a water bed, where it was discovered by his landlady. Cooper has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“I wanted to help a whole gamut of troubled kids because of the connection with this case,” Hodges said.

The center offers a preschool for children who had problems in regular schools, physical therapy for disabled infants, day-care programs, and counseling to help children and teen-agers, she said.

Services Offered

All center services are offered to families regardless of their ability to pay. Los Angeles County cuts in funds for child-abuse treatment programs last year took $56,000 out of the agency’s $600,000 budget. Rather than cut any programs, the center operated at a deficit, said Executive Director Liz Seipel.

The Hodges’ donation will be used to start an endowment, which Seipel hopes eventually will provide a reliable source of income for the center.

“Maybe we can help these children before they become crazy,” Hodges said. “We can turn the bad into the good.”

Seipel said the center’s philosophy is preventive, and is aimed at detecting and treating emotional problems in young children. “We try to keep small problems from growing with the child and getting to be big problems,” she said.

“If you have a preschooler who is having tantrums or isn’t liked or can’t keep friends or is basically not nice to be around, that’s not going to go away,” Seipel said. “The problem is going to grow and, as the child becomes bigger, the problem is going to become bigger.”

Hodges called the growth of the trust fund a miracle. Though she is not religious, she said she believes that “Sara must have had a hand in it.”

“She will be remembered by so many more people that she will be able to help,” Hodges said.