CHARITY SPOTLIGHT
THE POWER OF PLAY BAGS OF FUN KC
WRITTEN BY JULIE BURTON / PHOTOS BY LOUISA WEINRICH
“It feels like a frog jumping on my brain.” That’s how six-year-old Gabby Krause described her brain tumor in 2004. Gabby passed away in September of 2004 after a 19-month battle with brain cancer in Denver, Colorado. In those 19 months, Gabby spent her chemotherapy days singing and dancing. She played with My Little Pony dolls through the never-ending needle pokes. And she always had one thing with her—a “bag of fun.” Inside Gabby’s bag of fun was her escape from her sickness—games and toys. She would share her bag with other patients at the hospital. Before Gabby passed away, she wished every child could have their own bag of fun. Bags of Fun is the signature project of the Gabby Krause Foundation started by Gabby’s mother, Tammy Krause, to honor her daughter’s final wish. The foundation’s mascot is a cheerful frog to remember Gab-
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SIMPLYkc MAGAZINE
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AUGUST 2019
by and to bring a little playfulness during such a dark time. Louisa Weinrich is the Director of Bags of Fun—Kansas City. The Kansas City chapter of Bags of Fun began in 2011. Weinrich’s daughter completed a high school service project in Denver, and convinced her mom to quit teaching and start the Kansas City branch of Bags of Fun. Eight years later, Kansas City has given more than 1,500 bags of fun to children. Each bag of fun is a brightly colored backpack filled with $400 worth of age-specific toys, games, and an electronic component such as a Kindle Fire or a DVD player. If a child has a specific interest or special need, Bags of Fun will try to meet that interest or need as best as they can. The toys and games are custom
picked for each child and provide practical entertainment for a hospital setting. Bags of Fun are delivered to every sick child whose health and happiness is both compromised and threatened. The Child Life Department or social workers at the local hospitals decide which kids receive a bag of fun. The child must meet the long-term, life-threatening criteria. It’s not exclusive to children with cancer. A child may be sick with something such as sickle cell anemia, chronic cystic fibrosis, or be receiving a heart or liver transplant. Once Bags of Fun receives a child’s name, they make contact with the parent or guardian and begin the process of choosing what to give the child. “Follow me around for a day and you won’t complain about your life,”