ST. LOUIS • It was 1998, about this time of year, when Linda Hansen was reading the 100 Neediest Cases in the newspaper. One case in particular jumped out at her.

A 14-year-old girl who lived in a children's home, with no family.

She had been burned.

"It broke my heart," she said. "I said to my husband, who was drinking coffee and reading the newspaper: 'Honey, can we adopt this case?' And he said: 'Yes, dear,' reading and not really listening to me. A few days later, there was another burn survivor among the cases. Four days later, a third one. It began as innocent as that."

Hansen now has an agreement with those who run the 100 Neediest Cases program, featured annually in the Post-Dispatch: Any cases that agencies submit involving a burn survivor go to her.

Specifically, the cases go to the Burns Recovered Support Group, a nonprofit group that she and her husband run. She is executive director; he is the president of the board.

Since 2000, Hansen and her organization have adopted 99 cases, including six this year.

POOR ARE AFFECTED

She says it's a natural extension of the nonprofit's goal to lend support to burn survivors in a variety of ways. Although its members spend a good chunk of time visiting burn survivors in hospitals, they also hold monthly support group meetings and run a camp for children who have been burned.

"Illness doesn't care who you are, but the vast majority of those who are burn injured are low-income," Hansen, 66, said.

Families who cannot pay their gas bill may use the oven or space heaters to warm the house, she said. Or they use candles for light because the electricity has been turned off. And 20 to 25 percent of burns in Missouri are from meth labs, she said. Sometimes there are bars on the windows and they cannot escape the fire, added Gary Hansen.

The passion to help burn survivors began shortly after May 9, 1991. That's when Gary, now 61, was badly burned in a car fire in Maryland Heights. For 19 days, it was touch-and-go. Lucky to be alive, Gary ultimately realized his future had to be helping burn survivors.

"The way I looked at it, I probably should not be here. My life was given back to me," said Gary, business manager for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. He and his wife got involved with the nonprofit, which had been operating since 1987, and took over leadership in 1995.

PICTURES OF RECOVERY

As a burn survivor, Gary uses his experience to talk with children, most of them boys, who have been identified through school officials or parents as having a fascination with fire.

"I convince them that they don't want to go this route," Gary said. "I use pictures of my recovery, starting with me on a respirator, to send a message that this is a serious situation. It's not to scare them to death but get them to think about choices in their life."

For Linda, shopping for the 100 Neediest Cases has become a tradition she embraces, doing most of it herself. She watches the sale ads, then heads to the stores with a color-coded sheet to remind her how many of each item she needs.

"If there are three little girls in the same family, you can't buy them the same coat," Linda said. "But if I have five women in five different families, I can get five of the same sweater or coat, based on sizes needed."

Linda goes well beyond the wish list provided by the 100 Neediest Cases program, coordinated by the United Way of Greater St. Louis. Every family gets a new set of towels, sheets and blankets, as well as toiletries and home care items such as laundry detergent. Each child gets at least one toy. And she buys food staples for every family.

While 100 cases are featured in the Post-Dispatch each year, nearly 7,000 other cases await adoption, and an additional 6,000 will receive cash collected through the campaign. Last year, $1.4 million was raised. The goal this year is down slightly, to $1.3 million.

Vanessa Wayne, director of 100 Neediest Cases, said last week that donations were about 10 percent ahead of last year. Of the first 60 cases published in the Post-Dispatch, 46 have been adopted, she said.

Linda Hansen said Friday that her shopping was completed, including a TV for one family and a bicycle for a 6-year-old boy.

All the shopping comes out of the nonprofit's $280,000 budget.

"I truly believe I have the best job in the world," Linda Hansen said. "Every single day I have the opportunity to feel like I helped somebody and make a difference. I'd like to believe that's what everybody is trying to do."