Photo of Linda Smith by Joseph Donato (Cashman Photo)

Linda Smith

A Mother’s Love Has No Limits

BY JOAN S. PECK

Every city is gifted with people who stand out for what they contribute to their community. Linda Smith goes far beyond most for her accomplishments as a mother, wife, philanthropist, author, fundraiser, public speaker, disability advocate, and storyteller.

Perhaps best known as Chief Fundraiser and Public Ambassador for Opportunity Village for 38 years, Linda is recognized for having raised more than $1 billion for its non-profit organization. However, there is so much more to Linda Smith than her well-earned fundraising accomplishments. Reading her story may shock you and perhaps shame you, as it takes you on her journey of just how unkind and unfair we humans can be when dealing with others who are different. Some of us refuse to be daunted by the many obstacles holding us back from getting what we are after, and Linda Smith is at the top of the list for never giving up.
Interestingly, as Linda’s story deepens, it sets the stage for her many achievements.

Let’s begin….

Linda was born in England in the early 1950s. When she was 11, Linda, her 15-year-old sister Jean, and her 10-year-old brother Terry fled from their abusive father with their mother and landed in Canada. The trouble didn’t end there because twice their father found them, creating problems and abuse, even putting Jean in the hospital. Although the authorities jailed him, he was soon released and returned to his family. Only when the family reported that he was trying to kill them for the third time did the police arrive to discover him marching toward the house with a gun. He was arrested and deported.

Eventually, the family went their different ways. Linda’s younger brother went to live with his father; her older sister landed a job as an ice dancer with the Ice Follies at 17 and went on to become a successful dancer and actress in several movies in Hollywood and Canada; her mother, always a dancer, continued to teach dance at her own studio for hours away from home, leaving Linda to her own devices most of the time. Bullied at high school, Linda retaliated by punching one of the girls and was suspended from school for three months. That provided the opportunity and time for Linda to seek work and earn more money outside of the many jobs she had done to save money. Linda got a job working at a gym and never returned to high school. She had always danced and soon became a model and dancer at sixteen, and then an actress, moving in an intoxicating circle, traveling on a somewhat regular basis from Toronto to Hollywood between modeling and dancing assignments.

As a lead dancer in “It’s Happening,” her weekly television show, Linda became enamored with Glenn Smith, recently named Canadian Entertainer of the Year. Glenn was a child prodigy mastering every instrument and played many in his shows. In the early 1980s, he and his longtime friends Gladys Knight and the Pips released a song titled “Forever Yesterday,” written and produced by Glenn, who joined them in performing the vocals.

Glenn’s fame expanded, and he performed on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and the Merv Griffin Show. Wayne Newton, a dear friend, played to sold-out crowds with Glenn often as his opening act.

Glenn was already established in Las Vegas when he and Linda married. Their wedding was celebrated and even filmed by Canadian television. Linda began living in “Sin City” with Glenn, where their life was glamorous, befriending and spending time with many local celebrities and, at times, involved in local charities.

Linda and Glenn wanted to expand their family, and three years later, in her eighth month of pregnancy, Linda flew back on a junket plane to Canada to give birth. Later, Glenn would soon join her after finishing his gig at the Flamingo Hotel. The plane had barely lifted for its five-hour journey when Linda went into labor. After a grueling trip of motion sickness and labor pain, an ambulance waited at the Toronto airport to transport her to the hospital to birth her child.
On May 15, 1970, her son was born and quietly scurried away. This being Linda’s first birth, she was confused about why the baby hadn’t been brought to her but soon fell into an exhausted sleep. The following day, the two other mothers who shared a room with her left for home with their babies. When the room had emptied, the doctor and two expressionless nurses entered and stood still before her, appraising her.

The doctor stepped forward and asked in a cold, matter-of-fact manner, “Do you know anything about mental retardation? A chromosome mutation is a structural abnormality in one or more chromosomes. Trisomy 21. It’s the presence of three chromosomes instead of the two matched pairs. Trisomy 21 is also known as Down Syndrome.”

The doctor continued, “Have you heard the term Down Syndrome? It is more commonly referred to as mongolism. Your baby has many problems, including a serious heart defect. He has respiratory problems and other related issues. His health is extremely compromised. The good news is that we don’t expect him to survive.”

Those words stunned Linda.

He also warned, “If you take him home, you will be alienated from your friends and society.”

Devastated at the thought of losing their son, Linda and Glenn were in limbo, trying to decide what was best. Christopher’s health improved miraculously, but they were still warned, “It’s best to give Christopher to the state. It is the right thing to do. He will need constant 24-hour care.”

But Chris had already entered their hearts, and Linda and Glenn took the baby home. The more they read and learned about children with disabilities like Christopher’s, the more they wanted to change how those children were treated.

Shortly after Christopher was born, Linda and Glenn participated in a concert in Ontario, Canada, to raise money for a daycare program for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The show essentially was the first Concert of Love, a star-studded extravaganza produced by the couple that was Opportunity’s Village’s signature fundraiser in Las Vegas for many years. That concert taught Linda about the ways of philanthropy. “The reason people give is that they are asked.”

After crossing the border together from Canada into the United States many times, Linda and Glen were stunned when, a few days before Christmas, on their way to a gig in Syracuse, New York, the border guard took one look at 18-month-old Christopher and turned him away for not having a green card. Linda and Glenn had begun the process of U.S. citizenship and were working on getting his immigration status approved. They could not persuade the guard that they should be allowed across the border, and shocked, they learned their son could not enter the United States.

As far back as 1859, early immigration statutes for Canada and the United States targeted classes of people based on their perceived mental health and were denied entrance. “Lunatics,” “the insane,” and the “feeble-minded” were not welcomed. That put Christopher in a unique category. He would need special dispensation.

“Section 212(a) of the Immigration and naturalization act states that people exempt from entering the United States as permanent residents are, number one – criminals; number two – retarded people.”

When Linda and Glenn tried to have their son cross over at another location, charges were read. Christopher was recorded by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Department as an “undesirable alien.” Therefore, Christopher was not allowed out of Canada, where he was born. Containing an immigration lawyer, he said, “People exempt from entering Canada as permanent residents are number one: morons, imbeciles, lunatics and idiots, and their families; number two, criminals.”

Once Linda and Glenn reached Syracuse after leaving Christopher behind with family, Linda began a frantic search to find someone to help them. She dialed The Syracuse Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) and spoke to Susan Morse, the Public Relations Director. Susan kicked into gear and made the story of Christopher’s crossing international news. NBC, CBS, ABC, and The Syracuse Post Standard newspapers came knocking on their door. Douglas Biklen from The Center of Human Policy at Syracuse University stepped in to find a solution to the problem. Eventually, Vice President Hubert Humphrey agreed to be Christopher’s sponsor after President Nixon turned them down. That meant for the next five years Humphrey lived, Christopher could renew his green card every six months.

A month after Humphrey died in 1978, they received notice that Christopher, now eight, had to leave the country. Until the laws were changed, it was unlikely he would be allowed to enter the United States without a sponsor. That day, they realized they could never take him back to visit his Canadian family, nor could they take him to England to visit his British family. They were now harboring an illegal alien in the United States.

Christopher’s denial to enter the United States began Linda’s fierce determination to start a campaign to change some laws and practices for people with disabilities and to help legalize Christopher living in the USA before he turned 18 when he could no longer be considered a child and needed to pass the mandatory requirement of citizenship, which he wouldn’t mentally be able to do.

Living permanently in Las Vegas, Christopher attended the Variety School for the Disabled for the first time at five years old. To thank the country that paid their wages and provided an education for their son, Linda and Glenn continued to perform in and produce a fundraiser they started in Canada when Chris was first born, called “The Concert of Love.”

Linda was introduced by Joylin Vandenberg, one of its founders, to a small, struggling organization, Opportunity Village, which helped disabled adults and had evolved into an employment training center. It was founded in 1954 and funded by seven families. “They didn’t have fundraising events or a fundraising staff position.”

Linda had volunteered for Opportunity Village as part of a celebrity wives’ organization when she was pregnant with Chris. After his birth, seven years later, the volunteer position turned into a staff position and, for Linda, a new career.

“Fundraising was not my career path. My life as a fundraiser unwittingly began with Chris’s birth and an idea born out of desperation.”

Linda began to learn about the business and the art of raising money. In her book, “Unwanted,” Linda shares stories of meeting with her contributors for the first time. In her next book, “Confessions of a Sin City Fundraiser,” she has even more hilarious and fascinating stories to read.

At seven, Christopher became the adoring, older, doting brother to Jason. He became enamored of his sibling from the moment Jason arrived home. Christopher, an excellent swimmer, taught Jason, by example, how not to drown in the pool. At eighteen months, Jason could paddle, tread water, and occasionally dive in the pool’s deep end for a toy. He was amazing and, like his dad, a musical prodigy, playing piano by age three and taking part then and in every Concert of Love fundraiser. Today, Jason is a fascinating mix of disability advocate and fundraiser like his mom and a talented musician and singer like his dad.

On November 6, 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act was signed into law by President Reagan. This law was designed to deal with illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1982. If they could prove they had resided in the U.S. continuously and had paid taxes or were willing to pay a fine and any back taxes owed, they and their families would be welcomed as new citizens.

By chance, at an event she almost missed attending, Linda sat next to Bob Anderson, the Head of USA Immigration and Naturalization, the only seat available in a room of 2,000. Responding to a question, she had shouted to be heard, “It’s crazy. I am harboring an illegal alien in my home, and it’s my own son. I don’t care anymore. Let them try to deport me. I won’t go down with a fight!”

Bob Anderson wanted to hear her entire story. Instead of turning her in, after listening to her fight to have Christopher legalized, Anderson wanted to help and became her champion. Linda sent 17 ½ years of files and paperwork, and Christopher’s name was put at the top of the list to become a legal resident. On February 14, 1988, Christopher stepped on stage at the Concert of Love two months and one day before his 18th birthday to receive the American flag during his naturalization ceremony.

Linda’s 38 years of successful fundraising has brought $1 billion to Opportunity Village and $1.5 billion collectively to other non-profits and fundraising events. As astonishing as that is, even more so, Linda has been integral in getting two government legislature/bills passed—one to change how people with disabilities are treated and another how abused children are protected.

1. In 1980, while performing in Oklahoma City, the couple had a chance meeting with Senator Finis Smith, who, upon hearing their story, put into law the Christopher Smith Act, doing away with the need for a person with a condition like Down syndrome to have a medical team lined up before being allowed entry to the United States.
2. Linda had second thoughts about testifying for the Nevada Child Protection Act at an upcoming legislative session in Carson City, Nevada. Still, she overcame her hesitancy when she thought of her father, who had been acquitted at the last court date. Linda told the truth about her father—a child molester, a wife beater, and a con man. When called to speak, Linda surprised many legislators who were her friends as they wondered why Linda Smith, a disability activist, was there with a story about child abuse. After telling her sad tale, The Nevada Child Protection Bill passed unanimously in 1989, and Linda was credited with changing laws that would protect Nevada children.

It was a sad day when, at the age of 48, Christopher died in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of how his life brought to the attention of others a different perspective and better treatment of those with disabilities. Linda says, through all the hardships of raising Christopher, “I can’t imagine a life without Chris in it. I took an unforeseen detour, and it became the most unexpected, glorious journey. I am so glad to have taken it.”

Today, Linda is happily married to a wonderful man, John, whom she met because of Christopher. Although she left Opportunity Village in 2016, she is still in the business of fundraising, but now, as a fundraising coach, consultant, and speaker in support of non-profits in need.

Did you know that Linda secured the Golden Knights hockey team before they arrived in Las Vegas, netting $700k in annual revenue through a $1 per seat ticket sales in one season?

Linda created the Christopher Smith Endowment, a $5 million social recreation and arts endowment named after Linda’s son. It is a non-profit dedicated to the well-being and support of caregivers.

Linda’s story leaves the reader almost breathless from all Linda has accomplished. Linda Smith is a well-earned “Legacy” in her own right, and Chic Compass is proud to feature her in the Legacy edition of our magazine. Thank you, Linda, for all you have done and continue to do.

AWARDS

Active in various professional associations, Linda was named “Fundraising Executive of the Year” by the National Society of Fundraising Executives. She received the prestigious “Woman of Achievement” Award from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. The Nevada System of Higher Education conferred the “Distinguished Nevadan” award for exceptional service to the State and Nation. She recently received the “Best Buddies International Super Hero” Award and the “Key to the City of Las Vegas” in November of 2016.