The exit interview Ron Loveridge is ending his - Riverside Magazine

Trials, the European cross-country
event considered the Olympics
of motorcycle racing.
Partly because of his success south
of the border, Smith is making a name
for himself in another arena: the world
of philanthropy.
“My dad had the feeling that his fame
and fortune came about because of
winning the Baja 1000 as many times
as he did,” said Alexander Smith, son
of the renowned racer. “He felt that
since Baja had given him so much it
was important to give something back
to Baja.”
That something began in 1995,
in the form of support for the El Oasis
orphanage in Valle Trinidad. At that
time, the orphanage, located in the
mountains away from any major city,
was a desolate place, serving only a
handful of children with two or three
buildings, according to Alexander. With
initial help from the Smith family and
friends, and subsequently the
motorsports community and the
Malcolm Smith Motorsports Foundation
Inc., El Oasis has grown and thrived.
Thirteen houses are now situated
in a neighborhood-like setting, and
53 children reside there, living in the
houses with a married couple —
a “mother and father” — who
Steve and Cathy Kienle
Eighteen years ago, Steve and Cathy
Kienle made a decision that has changed
the lives of a generation of children.
“We started thinking that we know
a lot of people, and we should be doing
something for the community,”
Cathy said.
That something materialized as
the Walter’s Children’s Charity Classic,
an annual golf tournament that to date
has raised more than $3.4 million
benefiting Loma Linda University
Children’s Hospital.
It is named after Walter’s Automotive,
the Mercedes-Benz dealership in
Riverside that Steve’s father, Walter
Kienle, opened nearly half a century ago.
Steve is the general manager; Cathy
The El Oasis orphanage is home to more than 50 children in northern Baja California,
and Malcolm Smith and his family visit regularly.
oversee each one.
The foundation and it various
fundraisers have provided continual
support for El Oasis in dozens of areas.
Among these are donating clothing, toys
and school supplies; planting 400 trees;
pouring concrete foundations; building
a new education center; installing
2.5 miles of underground irrigation;
purchasing and setting up 100 bunk
beds; and providing hundreds
of thousands of dollars for the general
operating fund.
The efforts also are aimed at helping
the children not just at the orphanage,
but to brighter futures as well. The
foundation pays for all university tuition
and educational expenses for every child
at El Oasis who has the grades
to move on to college.
“There are five or six kids in college
now,” Alexander said. “Our first child
to go to university — a girl — will
graduate this year.”
And, in a joint effort with Loma Linda
University Medical Center, a 13-year-old
girl from El Oasis with severe scoliosis
recently underwent surgery at the
hospital. Alexander said the doctor
donated his services and the foundation
worked about a year to coordinate the
effort and obtain the necessary visas.
Malcolm Smith Motorsports
Foundation, Inc.
7599 Indiana Ave., Riverside
malcolmsmithmotorsportsfoundation.org
PHOTO By RACHEL LUnA
Steve and Cathy Kienle hold a poster of their charity inside their Walter’s Mercedes-Benz
dealership in Riverside.
december 2012 - january 2013 | riversidethemag.com | 17