When people stare at Jimmy Clark, he politely asks them if they’d like to ask him any questions.
Clark, 24, will forever bear scars he received as a 4-year-old when he started a fire by playing with matches.
His sister, Jenny, now 22, was also severely burned.
Both nearly died in the Dec. 27, 1986, blaze at their Lakewood home, but both refuse to be defined by the fire or the scars.
Jimmy, who works in landscaping and recently became engaged, started a new holiday tradition this year – giving presents to kids as a way of enriching the community and engaging people in his message.
“I figured we’d spread the cheer,” Jimmy said.
Donning red and white holiday caps, the Clarks, Jimmy’s fiancée, Erika Katzenmeier, and other elves dropped off about $1,000 in toys at the Jeffco Action Center in Lakewood one afternoon before Christmas.
They raised the money by word of mouth through family, friends and neighbors.
The toys went to needy children to brighten the holidays not only for the kids, but for parents who are struggling to provide, said Mag Strittmatter, executive director of the center.
“This is incredible,” Strittmatter said as boxes of toys arrived. “This is about selflessness.”
One of the Clarks’ helpers was Lt. Dale Breen of the West Metro Fire Protection District.
As a brand new firefighter, Breen pulled Jimmy from the burning home. Cradling the boy in his arms Breen raced to an ambulance.
“I don’t like recalling it,” said Breen, who has kept in touch with the Clarks. “What they’ve been through, you can imagine.”
Breen handed a small child a toy. The boy smiled and stretched out his arms. Breen smiled back.
“It’s a beautiful outcome,” Breen said. (Jimmy and Jenny) “have turned out to be so great.”
Jenny, who works at a Castle Rock restaurant, hurried between a room full of children and parents and a back room where the toys were stashed. She carefully chose gifts based on the age and sex of a waiting child.
“Some of the kids don’t have family like we have,” she said. “Giving them toys will bring some happiness.”
Most of the gifts wound up on shelves of the center’s “Santa Shop” to be picked up by parents and presented to kids on Christmas Day.
Barbara Clark, the pair’s grandmother, and her late husband, Jim, raised Jimmy and Jenny after the fire. Their mother hadn’t been part of the children’s lives, and their father gave them up after the fire.
“It’s been a joy,” Barbara said. “It kept me mentally and emotionally sharp.”
At the center, Jimmy approached Vic Mark, 45, and asked the single mother if she needed a gift for her 7-year-old child.
“He plays basketball,” Mark told Jimmy.
Like Santa Claus, Jimmy, smiling, produced a basketball and handed it to Mark.
“It’s going to be a beautiful Christmas,” Mark said. “This is going to make his Christmas.”
Jimmy wants people to see that burn victims are people with the same dreams and aspirations as others, he said.
When adults ask Jimmy about his scars, he tells them he was burned over 65 percent of his body and tells them what happened.
When children ask about his appearance, Jimmy has a specific message for them: “This is the reason why you don’t play with matches.”
Jimmy and Jenny don’t have any memories of the fire. Still, it has played an undeniable role in their lives.
“I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it hadn’t happened,” Jimmy said. “It has made me a much stronger individual.”
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
