As Ben approached his 10th birthday, he wasn’t just thinking about cake, presents, and parties. Ben, who’s been involved with The B Fund since its founding, wanted to use his birthday as an opportunity to give back. With the help of his teacher and classmates, Ben created 50 Be Bags for critically ill children and their families.
As The B Fund kicked off its Be Bag Drive this spring, Ben decided to use this opportunity to chair a drive. Be Bags are carefully crafted activity bags that provide children in hospitals with a special diversion as they await treatment. Since The B Fund’s founding, The B Fund has created over 650 of these bags.
Ben’s participation has been crucial to The B Fund’s success in creating and delivering these bags, and as he grows older, he has been eager to take on more of a leadership role to assist these families. In fact, he is well on his way toward earning our “Be Involved” Badge as a result of his incredible efforts!
When Ben approached his teacher about his project, she was happy to help. Ben and his teacher brainstormed ways to get more of his classmates involved, and his mother reached out to other parents. Ben’s optimism and enthusiasm was infectious; his classmates and their families were happy to contribute, both for Ben’s sake and for the families The B Fund serves!
As the drive went on, more and more families were engaged in donating items for these bags. Ben’s initial goal was to create 25 Be Bags, and as his birthday approached, he felt confident that his classmates had contributed enough items to reach this goal.
On Ben’s birthday, his whole class got together to assemble the bags. In just 30 minutes, Ben’s class created their Be Bags and decorated handmade cards. Ben was elated to see that he not only met his goal of 25 Be Bags, but surpassed it: the class actually created 50 Be Bags altogether!
Ben demonstrates The B Fund’s mission to educate and empower participants to use their time, talents, and treasures to benefit critically ill children and their families. Not only did he devote his special day to helping others, but he involved his entire class in creating these Be Bags! Ben’s leadership and kindness are inspiring, and we hope that some of his classmates see his work and realize just how fun and easy it is to help others! To learn more about Be Bags or getting involved, email us at info@thebfund.org