Little dude steps up in big way

COEUR d'ALENE — One local little dude has stepped up in a big way for a charitable event that helps families touched by cancer.

Leland Beckett-Cordova, 12, of Coeur d'Alene, is filling the "professional asker" shoes of his grandmother, Karen Hansen, who retired from her volunteer role with Bras on Dudes earlier this year to focus on other things.

The job she had steadfastly done for several years was acquiring silent auction prizes from local businesses and generating community support for the event.

"She’d been hinting at it for a while," said Holly Hansen, who is Karen's daughter and Leland's mom.

Through the Windermere Foundation, Bras on Dudes raises money for the Cancer Care Northwest Foundation during a fun night of gentlemen performing for a 21-and-older audience in creatively decorated and bedazzled bras.

The funds help local families impacted by cancer by providing them with financial support for basic necessities such as transportation, prescriptions, groceries and rent, as well as connecting them with counseling and other community resources. This year's Bras on Dudes will be at 6 p.m. Friday at the Coeur d'Alene Casino.

Gathering auction items for the event is a time-consuming job that requires an impenetrable shell, Holly Hansen said.

"You need to be very resilient," she said. "When people say no, it hurts."

A homeschooled seventh grader, Leland was home working in the office alongside his mom when his grandmother called to deliver the news.

"I got off the phone with her and I was radiating stress," Holly said. "Finding one person, or three people, I was worried that wasn’t going to happen."

Leland asked his mom if his grandmother was not going to help with Bras on Dudes anymore, to which Holly replied "no" and that the responsibility would now fall on her.

"Then he said, ‘Well, I can,'" Holly said.

After thinking about it, she agreed with her son.

"I thought, 'Why not?'" Holly said. "He’s pretty well-spoken, he has his own schedule. The only thing he can’t do is drive to pick up the items."

Leland has proven to be a chip off the old block. Since he took over for his grandma, he has secured several prizes and gift certificates from local businesses, specifically kid-friendly ones.

"I ask them for silent auction donations, I give them ideas, they can do a gift basket or a gift certificate," Leland said.

And not one person has said "no" to the budding businessman.

"The closest thing to a 'no' that I’ve had is when I call somebody and they’re in the middle of something, and I feel really bad I bothered them in the middle of something," he said.

Leland is motivated to help because he said he thinks about if it was his family dealing with cancer.

"I would hope that someone out there would do the same thing I am doing for other people,” he said.

He said helping makes him happy.

"It fills a spot in my heart," he said. "That’s what I feel."

Holly said philanthropy is important to their family, and Leland understands the impact he is making.

"It makes me really proud," she said. "He’s building a good foundation of something I hope he’ll continue to do for the rest of his life."

Although he was a toddler in his mom's arms at the first event 12 years ago, Leland has not witnessed the Bras on Dudes spectacle firsthand. He said he's not sure what to think about guys all dolled up in ladies undergarments as they raise money for a charitable cause.

"I know their motives, and I respect them," he said.

Ticket prices for Bras on Dudes begin at $50. Visit brasondudes.com for details.