KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bags of Fun is in the Nonprofit Spotlight for their work supporting mental health for kids. FOX4’s Kathy Quinn checks out how this local charity is fillings bags to help sick kids, and how you can help.

Who do we serve?  We currently serve any pediatric patient from KC no matter where they are being treated and any patient being treated in KC no matter where they are from as long as they meet the “long term, life threatening” criteria.  When we started in 2011 we just filled bags of fun for kids with a cancer diagnosis but now there are over 15 diagnoses that count.

What is your mission statement? Our mission is to bring the therapeutic power of play to children and their families fighting life threatening conditions.  We do this by our signature program:  delivering bags of fun to them while in treatment. A bag of fun is a brightly colored, high-end backpack filled to the brim with 12-15 items picked especially for each child based on their interests and developmental needs.  There is an electronic component in each bag of fun with a few tag along items.  Everything is charged and has batteries if needed so play can begin immediately.  Each bag of fun has a value of $400.

What is currently impacting your operation? We were hugely impacted during covid and got through that, but now we find it is harder than ever to rely on fundraising and grants for our program.  Many of our grantors have stopped granting and people are giving less from their pockets.  Also, the price and availability of toys and electronics has increased drastically.  Thankfully we have been able to continue to offer our program and continue to put the same amount of quality and educational items inside.

How can the community help? Our KC community can help by volunteering at our events, with office tasks, and supporting our events financially.  

Our biggest fundraiser The Black and White Gala (with Michelle Bogowith as emcee) is coming up on September 17th at the Gallery Event Space and we would like to sell out!  Seats are $150 and tables $1500.  The event is a night of FUN with open bar, dinner and dancing to The Stolen Winnebagos, great prizes for playing Heads or Tails, as well as the chance to WIN several trips of a lifetime through AmFund…These trips are deluxe accomodations and roundtrip airfare for two with no black out dates and three years to use.  

Anyone can sponsor a bag of fun and then gets to come into our office and stuff and possibly deliver their sponsored bag of fun.  All of that info is on our website www.bagsoffunkansascity.org  100% of donations are tax deductible and go directly to our program.