For more than 20 years, Roger Drevlow of Bismarck has been on the helping side of the helping hand.

In his job as a Thrivent Financial partner, he was part of the fraternal organization's "giving back" to the communities it serves.

As a fraternal not-for-profit, Thrivent pays no taxes on the premiums it collects, said Thrivent financial associate Benjamin Brandt. In return, the organization gives back to its communities in supplemental funds - helping out groups such as Habitat for Humanity, the God's Child Project, individuals and churches.

The fundraiser that Thrivent is sponsoring this Sunday is special, because it's for Drevlow, one of its own.

Drevlow, 54, suffered a massive stroke on March 6 in Minot, said his wife, Joanne, who is the principal at Martin Luther School in Bismarck.

After about a month of hospitalization in Bismarck, he was transferred to SCCI Hospital in Mandan for rehabilitation. While he was there, he began to have chest pains, and on April 25 underwent a triple bypass, she said.

Drevlow is now in rehabilitation at St. Alexius Medical Center, where he is making progress, though slowly, she said.

"When we started this out, they said at first he might not make it, then he would be in a nursing home," Joanne Drevlow said. "He's gone way beyond that. We're so pleased that he can stand up and be transferred to a wheelchair."

Drevlow's left leg is paralyzed, so he is learning to walk with a walker, she said. There's a possibility he may get to come home in a couple of weeks, she said.

When he does come home, he will need 24-hour care, she said.

Joanne Drevlow is dividing her time now between her work at the school and trying to get their house handicapped-accessible. Changes include removing a bedroom wall for wheelchair access, creating a handicapped shower, making the downstairs bathroom accessible and building an exterior ramp.

People from Messiah Lutheran in Mandan and the group Laborers for Christ are already working on some of the changes, Joanne Drevlow said.

The couple's six grown children have been coming and going as they are able, Joanne Drevlow said. One son and one daughter will be coming home for the summer to help out, she said.

"We don't know what the future is," she said.

"Roger has been with us in our business and with Aid Association for Lutherans and Lutheran Brotherhood (Thrivent predecessor organizations) for 20-plus years," said Thrivent financial associate Dennis Vernon.

"He's the greatest guy since sliced bread. When you think of the person you know as the best Christian, multiply that times two - that's Roger Drevlow. He's a phenomenal person," Vernon said.

The Sunday fundraiser at Bismarck's Zion Lutheran was spearheaded by about 10 of Thrivent's financial associates from Bismarck and western North Dakota.

"We felt the need to do this for Roger," Vernon said.

Drevlow has sponsored many fundraisers throughout the years, Joanne Drevlow said. "He's done this kind of thing for lots of people.

"I'm just overwhelmed with people's willingness to come forward and help,"she said. She has been posting notes about her husband on the CaringBridge Web site (www.caringbridge.org/visit/rogerdrevlow); so far, almost 9,000 visitors have checked in, she said.

"Because he was a partner in Thrivent, he knew people all over the country," she said. "We can't say how wonderful Thrivent has been. His supervisor from Denver has been here three times."

Vernon said Drevlow often recalled what his father, a pastor, would say - "Roger, it's not about you."

This time, Vernon said, "we've all told him, 'Roger, this time it is about you.'"

The family will encounter many expenses, such as redoing the house, that aren't covered, he said. "This is going to be a whole new life for them.

"Roger has given so much to us," Vernon said. "We felt we needed to give back."

The benefit breakfast will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Zion Lutheran Church, 413 E. Ave. D, Bismarck. Supplemental funds will be provided by Thrivent Financial's Burleigh, Morton and Oliver-Mercer chapters. Checks payable to Thrivent Financial may be mailed to Attn: Jen Bjerke, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, 4007 State St., Suite 11, Bismarck, N.D. 58503.