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The weather outside may be frightful, but a special breakfast at The Cottage is always delightful!

As your family gears up for a season of giving, join The Cottage Wellesley for a Breakfast with Santa benefitting The B Fund.

In addition to a delicious meal and a visit from Santa, your family will have the opportunity to use your time, talents and treasures to decorate beautiful holiday cards for children staying in local hospitals. And even better – 100% of the proceeds from children’s meals benefit The B Fund! We hope to see you there!

WHAT:

The Cottage’s 6th Annual Breakfast with Santa. Join us for:

• A breakfast buffet (100% of the proceeds from children’s meals benefit The B Fund!)
• A visit from Santa
• Holiday card-making with The B Fund!

WHEN:

Saturday, December 9. There will be TWO seatings: 8AM and 9:30AM

WHERE:

The Cottage Wellesley

190 Linden St.

Wellesley, MA 02482

QUESTIONS:

info@thebfund.org

Seats are filling up quickly, so reserve your tickets now! 

Now that kids are back in school, many high school students are focused on college. In the increasingly competitive application process, students are bombarded with advice that seems to center around one buzzword: impact. What was your legacy? How did you make a difference to your family, your school, or your community?

To the average teenager, this seems like a daunting question. Many, unfortunately, have interpreted “impact” to be a list of metrics to determine success: test scores, AP credits, leadership experiences, internships, etc… But even after stressful, sleepless nights spent attempting to improve these outcomes, many students are still left feeling that their efforts are not enough.

At The B Fund, we teach children of all ages to use their time, talents, and treasures to make a difference in their community. Our activities are built around a unique curriculum that encourages kids to measure their “impact” from a different perspective: hours spent selling lemonade, handmade cards decorated for children in the hospital, or pieces of Halloween candy counted and sorted to help children in need. These “metrics” are centered on acts of giving and kindness, not competition. We believe in teaching our children to see the value in all acts of kindness, large or small, from a young age.

A recent study from Harvard is inclined to agree! Making Caring Common, a project from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, released a set of suggestions to focus the college admissions process more on the common good and less on long brag sheets. Some of these suggestions really resonated with us, and we hope that more colleges follow suit in recognizing kindness and compassion in their admissions processes!

• Value the different ways students make contributions to their families and communities.

At The B Fund, we know that every child is different; not all children will have the same amount of time, the same talents, or the same treasures to give, and that’s ok! No act of kindness is too  small.

Therefore, we offer our families a variety of different activities that can be selected to best fit their schedules, interests, and abilities. Whether a child is making cards for children in the hospital or baking cookies for a bake sale, our hope is that children from all backgrounds can engage in meaningful philanthropy.

• Stress the importance of authenticity.

Studies have shown that involvement in acts of giving is beneficial to children’s confidence and integrity. Our curriculum encourages participants to not only give of their time and treasures, but also their unique talents. Through our activities, children can not only give back to others, but also learn more about themselves and nurture their abilities in a meaningful way!

• Engage in meaningful community service.

Summarizing the Harvard report, Lisa Heffernan and Jennifer Wallace of The Washington Post write, “The report highlights a common misconception that volunteering for certain high-profile causes or traveling to exotic countries will make an application stand out. It will, but for the wrong reasons: namely that it looks inauthentic.”

At The B Fund, our mission is to help children become lifelong philanthropists; therefore, The B Fund curriculum is centered on activities that are sustainable, engaging, and reflective. Children should come away from our events and activities aware not only of the needs of their community, but the ways in which their acts, no matter how small, can make the world a better place.

Are your children stressed about applying to college? Read more about Harvard’s study here.

Ella is 6 years old. Like most girls her age, she loves to jump rope, play dress-up, and pretend that she is a Disney princess. One thing that sets Ella apart, however, is her involvement with philanthropy. This September, you will find Ella rallying her friends and family members to join her jump-rope contest to fundraise for critically ill children and their families.

Since she was a toddler, Ella and her family have been founding members of The B Fund, a non-profit organization that empowers participants of all ages to use their time, talents, and treasures to benefit critically ill children and their families. Ella’s parents knew that it was essential to raise kind, empathetic children, and The B Fund helps involve their entire family in acts of giving that do just this. Through Lemon-AID Stands, Halloween Candy Drives, Yard Sales, and much more, their family is able to spend quality time together while giving back to families in need.

When Ella approached her parents this summer asking if she could use her favorite pastime, jumping rope, to raise money for The B Fund, they were amazed at the compassion and initiative that their young daughter was demonstrating. They could see that their efforts to introduce her to philanthropy through The B Fund had clearly left an impression! They reached out to The B Fund’s founder, Kathleen VanDernoot, who loved the idea and created a campaign, Jump for Joy, to support Ella.

“When Ella approached me about creating a jump-a-thon, I wanted to ensure that she learned and grew from this activity,” Ella’s mom, Penelope, said, “Working with The B Fund, we were able to create a campaign that challenged her and allowed her to see the impact of her acts of kindness.”

WHAT: The B Fund’s Jump For Joy is a month-long jump rope challenge where individuals pledge to jump rope to raise awareness and support for critically ill children and their families. Founded by Ella, a 6-year-old member of The B Fund, Jump for Joy combines two of Ella’s favorite activities: jump rope and raising awareness for The B Fund. All proceeds are donated locally, to provide financial and emotional support for families caring for critically ill children.

WHEN: The challenge will run through the entire month of September.

HOW: Participation is simple! All you’ll need is a jump rope and your time! Simply make a pledge for the month of September, then jump rope and update your donors. Participants can get involved anywhere, with anyone! To read more and create your very own fundraising page, check out Ella’s page here.

Join us! Whether you are participating by yourself or on a team, together our efforts will make a difference in the lives of critically ill children and their families. Please reach out to info@thebfund.org with any questions or concerns.

On July 18, 2017, over 50 individuals joined The B Fund at The Street Chestnut Hill for its Kid-Friendly Fun Summer Series event. These kid-centered events take place each Tuesday and feature a variety of fun activities. This week, activities included Zumba from BTone Fitness and card-making and Lemon-AID from The B Fund!

The B Fund loves any opportunity to get kids involved in acts of giving, no matter how small, so when The Street was kind enough to invite us to join their Kid-Friendly Fun series, we decided that this was the perfect way for kids to cool off with some fresh Lemon-AID as they colored their handmade treasures for children in the hospital.

The event engaged over 50 participants of all ages, who submitted 52 cards for critically ill children to help brighten these brave kids’ days and let them know that other children are thinking of them.

Shake Shack was generous enough to donate lemonade for this activity, and although it was complimentary for attendees, supporters were generous enough to donate anyway. The proceeds from this event will help provide support to critically ill children and their families, paying for services such as Be Bags, meal vouchers, and parking passes.

The empathy and enthusiasm from these participants, ranging from ages 2 and up, was truly inspiring. Children attending the event asked a lot of great questions about where the cards were going, and when they finished the cards, many noted that they hoped their card could make another child happy during a difficult time. Several children even asked if they could continue making more cards because they loved the activity so much!

We would like to thank The Street, event participants, and the the adults and children who volunteered their time and talents to help serve lemonade and assist in card-making. Their contributions are truly appreciated!

Did you miss out on the fun? Good news! We will be back at The Street in September! On September 7th, we will host another Lemon-AID Stand at The Street’s acoustic night, and on September 12th, we will participate in another Kid-Friendly Fun event with card-making! Contact us at info@thebfund.org to learn more and get involved!