Happy Valentine's Day

Today was the the big Valentine's Day donation to RMH pediatric unit.

We had a large crowd of parents and RMH employees there for the assembly of all the bears into the boxes.

Little (and big) hands hard at work!

Here's the proud kids in front of their donation. Look at that! Three Playstation 3's, video games, and 50 Build A Bears.

We alllllll gathered in the pediatric unit for interviews with the local news and press conference. Representatives from RMH introduced Sarah, Hunter, Connor, and Jack and thanked them on behalf of the recipients of the bears and the peds department. The three older kids got the opportunity to talk about the project and where their inspiration came from.

Three patients came into the room, and the kids were able to give them each their own bear. This was the highlight of the donation! Seeing the excited looks on the kids' faces was the best feeling. As an adult, watching the faces of the Connor, Hunter, Sarah, and Jack was a "moment". You could tell they were overcome by their emotions of seeing what these kids are going through. I won't post pictures from that part, out of privacy for the patients....but I think this look on Hunter's face tells what everyone was feeling.

They got to deliver the rest of the bears to all the patients (it was a full unit).

One last photo with representatives from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.

We'd like to thank Spectrum School students Connor, Hunter, and Sarah....you guys are great kids, hard workers, and we look forward to partnering with you soon. Thanks to their teacher, Shannon, for providing them with support, enthusiasm, and encouragement. A HUGE thank you to the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois and their In Youth We Trust program. More importantly, thank you to RMH pediatric unit for accepting our donation so graciously! We may have been the ones bringing the gifts, but we definitely came home feeling like we had been given the greatest gift of all!

RR star

http://www.rrstar.com/updates/x1631825519/Students-plan-Valentine-s-delivery-to-pediatric-patients

Spectrum Students and In Youth We Trust

We have partnered with an amazing group of middle schoolers at Spectrum School for our latest donation! The students put in a lot of hard work applying for a grant through the In Youth We Trust program, through the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois. http://www.cfnil.org/Grants/Youth.asp

All their hardwork paid off, as they were chosen to receive a $2500 grant. With that money, they are donating three playstation 3 video game systems, video games, and 50 Build A Bears to Rockford Memorial pediatric department on Valentine's Day.

We were lucky to take part in the "building" of all those teddy bears this past weekend. We had so much fun with Connor, Hunter, Sarah, and Shannon! Here's some pictures from the day.

Here the kids are, getting ready to get started.

Jack got to go first, and share his "expertise".

The assembly line to dress all the bears in doctor's scrubs.

Finished!!!!

We are all set to make the donation on Valentine's Day. Check out the local news this Sunday night, as word of this very special donation has gotten out!!!

Toy Drive

The toy drive was a huge success! Jack and I got there very early and were able to do a live tv interview. This was such an amazing marketing opportunity for the charity. I should be getting a video clip of it soon, and will post it when I get it! For those of you that saw it on tv, I hope you got a kick out of seeing Jack cruising around on a hospital-bed-turned-Santa's-sleigh with Aaron Wilson.

Jack and I were asked to give a speech to the ambassadors of the hospital and the other donors to the toy drive. It seemed a little daunting at first, to be giving a speech to 100+ people, but Jack was up for the challenge. Who was I to stop him? :) We were asked to share Jack's story of what he's been through and what it is like to be a family with a child in the hospital. We also got to share the story of the charity, how it started, and what we do. The repsonse we received was fabulous. People were truly touched by Jack's resilience and inspired by his desire to give back to others.

Here's a video of the speech. It's about 5 minutes long, Jack's part is shortly after 3:30.

Holiday Toy Drive

This Wednesday we are participating in the Rockford Memorial Holiday Toy Drive! We are THRILLED to be donating all of this to the deserving kids that will be spending their holidays in the hospital.

As a family that has been through a hospital stay, our hearts go out to those that are spending their holidays inpatient. It lifts our spirits to know that we can help those families out and hopefully provide them with some happiness during their tough times!

Jack and I have been asked to speak at the toy drive. We're thrilled for the opportunity to share Jack's story and introduce our charity. Wish us luck! We will be doing a short interview with Aaron Wilson at 6:43 that morning. If you have a chance, turn your tv on!

Busy, Busy!

Lots of updating to do! We had a spectacular fundraiser at the Holiday Bazaar. We raised over $500!!!! All of that money is going to the Rockford Memorial Holiday toy drive on December 16th. We are looking forward to delivering carloads of toys to all those kids. At the Holiday Bazaar, Jack was recognized by the Foreston Cardinals Boys Basketball team. They had heard his story and felt inspired to work a little harder because of him. What an honor for a 6 year old boy!!! They gave him a basketball, which they all signed, and he sleeps with it every night. They also gave him a tshirt with his name on it that he's going to proudly wear to one of their basketball games!


We received a letter from Rush University Children's hospital the other day thanking us for our donation of 30 bears. They are using the bears in their pre-surgical program to introduce the kids that are having surgery to doctors wearing scrubs. We were SO excited to hear this, as a family that's been through the pre-surgical program we know how important it is to ease those fears ahead of time.

We also got a surprise nine donation of Build A Bear stuffed animals from a mom's group from Chicago! They heard of our charity and wanted to help. So, they went to Build A Bear and had a blast making bears for us to donate. Thank you so much to Debbie Johansen for giving us this idea.....now is there any mom's groups out there that want to match their donation? Let me know if you're interested.

I got to meet this week with 3 middle schoolers from Spectrum School. They applied and received a $2500 grant through In Youth We Trust program through the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois. The kids had applied for money to buy three video game systems, video games, and fifty teddy bears. All of these will be donated to the local hospital that they chose, RMH. And they aren't stopping there. They want to continue spreading the word of Little Hands Make A Big Difference, so they will be doing some advertising and marketing for us. They have ideas for more fundraisers they want to do...bake sales, candy grams....the sky is the limit with these kids! We are so proud of them and SO happy to have them on our team! Great job guys!

BIG HUGE NEWS!

Come and support us this Saturday, from 10-3. Leaf River Complex, 605 Main street. We're selling raffle tickets for $1 or 6/$5. Many vendors have donated fabulous items to be raffled and ALL money raised will go to support the Rockford Memorial Children's Christmas toy drive.

I am about to burst with excitment today. I received a call today from Spectrum school with the news that the amazing middle-schooler-grant-writers were awarded a grant for $2500!!!! We will be working with them to buy items to donate. I believe the plan is to donate video game systems and video games to the pediatric floors, so that the kids in the hospital can play them while they are inpatient. How amazing is that?!?!? Connor, Sarah, and Hunter...we are so proud of you and can not thank you enough. If only kids like you could rule the world...