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When Good Samaritan Society-Comforcare Administrator Clara Stitt put out a call for possible involvement in a fundraising opportunity for the facility, Dietary Manager Ian Klingfus had an idea.

Compare two of his greatest passions in life into a single fundraiser — smoking meat and working in long-term care.

On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Klingfus fired up his smoker for Smokin’ in the Snow, an effort to raise money for the facility’s Resident Care Fund, a fund that is used for an assortment of purposes at Comforcare.

It was the first time Klingfus had held the fundraiser, which included pulled pork and ribs. The cost was $15 per plate and also included cole slaw, potato salad, corn bread and a bottle of water.

“I wanted to serve everybody,” Klingfus said, admitting he was a little concern over whether or  not he had enough. “I was like, ‘here we go. This is real.’ I’m not going to be stuck with 20 pounds of pulled pork and three racks of ribs.

Serving an estimated 50-60 people from the front of Comforcare, the event raised just over $700 in total in its first year, but it also acts as part of a larger effort.

Klingfus’s event was part of a larger effort to raise money for the facility to the amount of $10,000. Through the Good Samaritan Foundational matching grant program, those locations that reach that $10,000 mark are eligible for a matching grant of $10,000 to enhance spaces.

All money raised goes toward the individual location so the money Good Samaritan in Austin raises, regardless of whether or not there is the matching grant, goes directly to the Austin facility.

Early in the process, the effort has raised around $1,000 with more plans for fundraising in the future. But for the time being, Smokin’ in the Snow has set the right tone.

“I brought it up to everybody that we had this opportunity to do the matching funds,” Stitt said. “Anybody who has an idea, just let me know. Ian just came to me with this idea. I thought it was really cool that he stepped up and did his part in fundraising.”

Klingfus started his smoking effort the day before when he cooked a 22-pound pork roast for about 12 hours. He followed that up by bringing his smoker to Comforcare the day of the cook for ribs that took about six hours.

But the effort didn’t put any stress on Klingfus because he was able to be a part of those two great loves, especially for the long-term care side of things.

Klingfus has held just two jobs in his life and both of them have been stints with long-term care facilities, first with Sacred Heart Care Center where his mother is the director of nursing. He has since moved over to Comforcare where he is the dietary manager.

“It just means a lot to me,” he said. “I’ve never worked anywhere else but long-term care. This is where they live and wake up every day. To give back to them means more than anything to me. Really, to see them happy and for something they want and working toward — that is great to me.”

The success of the event was just the icing on the cake.

“I just enjoyed it,” Klingfus said. “It was just a great day.”

For Stitt, it’s just one more example of what the staff are willing to do for the residents in their care as well as the community that came out.

“Giving your personal money to a charity is a big deal. It was just really, really awesome that people gave the required amount,” Stitt said. “We charged $15 a plate, but people went above and beyond that and it was really cool to see family members who had family members here years ago  and they came back.”

“I’m thankful for Ian to step up and do this on his own and the community for showing up and supporting a local person and Comforcare,” she added.