Our Mission

To deliver a Bag of Fun to every child fighting a long-term or life-threatening condition.

Our Vision

We exist to bring joy, laughter and relief to every child whose health and happiness is threatened and/or compromised.

Our Core Values

Compassion

We foster genuine care and respect by understanding and responding to the needs of our community.

Integrity

We continually build relationships based on trust through accountability, transparency and honesty.

Quality

We provide intentional, impactful and unique experiences for our community of recipients, donors and volunteers.

It was Gabby’s wish that every child at the hospital could have their very own Bag of Fun.

Our Founder

Gabby Krause

What began as a mother’s wish to offer a playful respite for her daughter fighting brain cancer has now become a movement to reclaim the innocence and playfulness of childhood for those that are threatened by the realities of their medical conditions. Bags of Fun are an essential tool that brings the power of play into the hospitals. For the child it brings instant excitement and a distraction from their pain, illness and anxiety. For parents, it is gratitude at a time when being thankful and hopeful is not often possible. Since inception of the program in 2004, Bags of Fun has fulfilled every request from the participating hospitals. It is our annual goal to be able to fund 100% of the requests and to not have to deny any requests.

Bags of Fun is independent of the hospitals and each Bag of Fun is funded by the Gabby Krause Foundation. Our organization is distinctive in that it focuses on unique play as a means of recovery for kids in the fight of their lives. This is a theme that we truly work and live by. All of our events focus on play…play for the family, play for kids that aren’t able to play, play for the adults. Through Gabby’s legacy of playing through her fight, we have created a program that every donor can connect to and at the same time, we connect to every donor. As Plato taught us, “You learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

We hope that you will consider supporting our cause and join us in celebrating 19 years of unique play as a means to bring joy, laughter and relief to children in the fight of their lives.

BAGS OF FUN HISTORY - Delivering joy, laughter and relief to every child fighting a life-threatening disease or condition. SEPTEMBER 2004: Gabby Krause Foundation Established. MAY 2005: First BAG OF FUN Delivered in Colorado. AUGUST 2007: Expanded to kidney patients in Colorado. JANUARY 2011: Expanded to Kansas & Missouri. JANUARY 2012: Expanded to Epilepsy patients in Colorado. JANUARY 2015: Expanded to Nuero Rehab, Cardiac Surgery & GI patients in Colorado. OCTOBER 2019: 10,000th BAG OF FUN Delivered Nationwide. JANUARY 2020: Expanded to Nebraska. MAY 2020: Expanded to include Mental Health Bags in Colorado. JUNE 2022 - Gabby's Dream Fund Established. July 2023: Omaha expands to include Madonna Rehab Hospitals. September 2024: 20 years of Bringing Joy Laughter and Relief to kids in Colorado. 20 years of Bags of Fun.