Russell, Pa., resident Pat Spicer painted this tiger while undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

On Saturday, Feb. 29, from 5-7 p.m., Rick Rupprecht will present one of his spaghetti dinners, complete with cupcakes, to help cover the medical expenses of his friend, Russell, Pa., resident Pat Spicer.

Spicer and Rupprecht became acquainted over their years of volunteering and later Spicer’s more than two decades as an employee at Audubon Community Nature Center, where the dinner will be held.

Cindy Miller of Ashville made a lap quilt that is one of the evening’s prizes. Other prizes are some of Spicer’s own artwork, including the painting of a tiger she worked on while she was undergoing chemotherapy. Spicer noted that while her painting hobby usually focuses on nature, the tiger’s portrait took her a little bit out of her comfort zone, and the need to concentrate was a good distraction from her treatment.

Before she became an employee, Spicer volunteered for the Audubon Community Nature Center for many years — coordinating the annual Snowflake Festival and the nature film series at Lincoln School, and helping re-start the photography club, among other activities. Last June she had to take a leave from her work to cope with her cancer and only recently returned.

When it occurred to Rupprecht that his friend must have uncovered medical expenses, he offered to put on a spaghetti dinner for her as a fundraiser. They decided the right location for the event would be at the Audubon, the place that means so much to both of them.

A lover of the outdoors, Spicer has enjoyed the regular Sunday activities of the Russell, Pa.-based Allegheny Outdoor Club: hiking, biking, cross country skiing, and kayaking (AlleghenyOutdoorClub.org). She has led hikes in numerous national parks in the west and bike trips across the state of New York and from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

Spicer and her Audubon colleague, Kim Turner, have a get-together of artists at 5 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month at Audubon where everyone brings their own materials and does quilting, woodcarving, felting, painting, and more. She observed that artists can be isolated, and she welcomes anyone interested to come and meet with them and “have a lot of fun!”

Rupprecht spent his career as a math teacher at Jamestown Community College, but he has always found many ways to serve, fundraising for a variety of community organizations and volunteering extensively at the Audubon.

From originally baking tons of chocolate chip cookies to now holding spaghetti dinners, Rupprecht has raised thousands of dollars for Roswell Park Cancer Institute, AMBUCS, Jamestown Skeet Club, and others.

At the Audubon, Rupprecht has volunteered for everything from leading field trips to view elk and find rattlesnakes to guiding Discovery Walks for school kids, as well as serving pancake breakfasts featuring his own maple syrup and dinners with his own venison at his home in Ashville.

The requested donation for the spaghetti dinner fundraiser is $15 per person. Reservations can be made by calling 569-2345, and walk-ins are welcome. Credit cards cannot be accepted; payment can be made by cash or check payable to Pat Spicer.

The Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren, Pa.