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Perfect Day for Pickleball!

It was a fantastic sunny day for Florida pickleballers! On February 10th, Lakewood Ranch Country Club (East) hosted the Casey Cares Serve Up Smiles Pickleball Tournament as women’s and men’s teams rallied on the court to play pickleball in support of the Casey Cares Foundation. The tournament was filled with friendly competition, giveaways, prizes, and the shared goal of making a difference in the lives of critically ill children.

Proceeds from the event, presented by Acentria Insurance, will benefit our programs that provide enjoyable activities to critically ill children and their families. Donation boxes were available to accept gift cards and new pajamas for the popular Kami’s Jammies and Hammy’s Heart initiatives. Hammy’s Heart offered grocery assistance to families burdened by medical bills, while Kami’s Jammies supplied sleepwear to kids and families undergoing treatment.

Casey Cares Foundation serves over 190 critically ill children and their families in Florida, making a significant impact on their lives. During the tournament, Dillon, a Casey Cares child diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, and his family had the opportunity to share their story and express the impact Casey Cares had on their lives.

Congrats to our winners!

  • Women’s Team: RaeAnn Fein and Amy King & Becca Thomas and Giovanna Ramos
  • Men’s Team: George Prince and Blaine Laverick & Denis Cooper and JB Sassano

We are grateful to all the participants who hit the courts and supported our kids! Your involvement made a significant impact, and we thank you for your dedication to serving the Casey Cares Foundation and the children and families it supports.

Thanks to all of our sponsors who helped make our inaugural tournament such a success!

Platinum Sponsors: Craig & Lee Ann Reich, Allison Archer & Steven Eichenbaum, Patti & Tim O’Neill, and Laura Stavola with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty

Court Sponsors: Blain & Kimberly Laverick and Phoenix National Disaster Response

Team Sponsors: Melba Jimenez with Michael Sanders & Company, Nancy Ebel with Hill’s Travel Service, Soleta, Novo Nordisk, Align Direct Primary Care, Smoothie King, Face Foundrie, Jetset Pickleball, Tony & Ellen Ramy, Sue & Steve Deramo, Keith & Amy King, Chris & Michele Caba, Yvette & David Varnadore, Paradise Aquatic Pool Services, Frederick Mahon Mortgage Team, Suncoast Buying & Selling Team, Conway Golf Performance, and Stock Development

Gherkin Sponsor: The Pickleball Club

Partners: Dwell, Joola, The Lume Kitchen, Card My Yard Lakewood Ranch, Total Wine & More,  Bradford Portraits, Jacksonville Jaguars, Wow Wow Lemonade Stand, Jennifer Jordan with LTM Balloons, Addict Pickleball, Healthy Bites Catering, Restore Hyper Wellness, N2U Salon 7 Spa, and BJ’s

Watch more about the event here thanks to 10 Tampa Bay! Plus, see more photos here!

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Birthday Week – Xavier

Happy birthday Xavier!

In PA, Xavier celebrated his 8th birthday and is Casey Cares’ 130th birthday this year!

Casey Cares knows that for a critically ill child, each birthday is a special milestone celebrating life. For the children in our programs, it not only marks another year, but it also demonstrates a great achievement. Casey Cares staff and volunteers work hard to send out each of our kids a special birthday package through our Birthday Blast program – we send over 1,000 a year! This simple act of kindness delivers joy and hope to our kids who are undergoing treatment.

Meet Xavier

Xavier was born with neurofibromatosis, a group of genetic disorders that cause tumors to form on nerve tissue, resulting in him having a trache and suction mach to take with him wherever he goes. Having joined Casey Cares in 2019, he has loved going to Disney on Ice, Sesame Place, Paw Patrol Live, and his watching his favorite wrestlers at his all-time favorite, WWE matches.

“Xavier’s favorite time was when we got us tickets to WWE wrestling events. All of us as a family watch wrestling and have so much fun especially Xavier. He loves when the wrestlers come to take pictures with him. If Xavier could, he would be at all WWE events!” says his mother Lisa.

She continues, “Casey Cares is amazing, because we can actually do things as a family a family of six. It’s hard to go to a lot of places when you cannot afford it but Casey Cares makes it happen and just to have these moments with Xavier and his siblings is a blessing and we cannot be more thankful to Casey Cares!”

The mother also acknowledges the that being a parent to a critically ill child “can be a challenge because mentally it does take a toll on oneself but we keep our faith strong and cherish every day we get to be with our son. Just being able to make memories together, and Casey Cares makes those memories real for our family. We spend a lot of time in and out of hospitals so you take things on a day to day basis and just [remember] to be thankful for each and every day.”

Lisa states, “As for the present time, we are waiting to go to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital which has the best airway clinic. Hopefully, the doctors can see if they can do anything for Xavier because where his tumors are located, they are near major blood vessels and organs.If they try to remove any of them, Xavier would have a fifty/fifty chance of survival and it’s scary so we keep our faith strong.”

For Xavier’s birthday, the family plans on having “a cake and pizza and to be home with the family, watching WWE like he says, and just enjoy his day,” Lisa concludes.

Want to support more programs and fun activities for critically ill children like Xavier? Donate here!

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Birthday Week – Lottie

Happy birthday Lottie!

In upper Ohio, Charlotte or “Lottie” celebrated her 5th birthday and is Casey Cares’ 140th birthday this year!

Casey Cares knows that for a critically ill child, each birthday is a special milestone celebrating life. For the children in our programs, it not only marks another year, but it also demonstrates a great achievement. Casey Cares staff and volunteers work hard to send out each of our kids a special birthday package through our Birthday Blast program – we send over 1,000 a year! This simple act of kindness delivers joy and hope to our kids who are undergoing treatment.

Frequent Seizures Leads to a Diagnosis

Eve, Lottie’s mother states, “Lottie was first diagnosed after a series of what we thought were fainting spells or seizures. These were in truth caused by pulmonary hypertension. The gravity of the disease did not fully hit us until she had a 15-minute cardiac arrest. An echo of the heart revealed an enlarged right ventricle with very high pressures. She was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and started on nitric. It was a very scary period of time where we didn’t understand the severity of the disease or rarity.”

Currently, Lottie and her family are awaiting news on her possible admittance in a drug trial for pulmonary hypertension.

Eve explains, “There are a limited number of spots throughout the entire world. Hopefully we can get Lottie as one of them, but it’s not up to our team, it’s up to the drug trial and whether she will qualify. If not, we will wait until the drug is approved for adults and hopefully use it as compassionate care which is how we currently have been approved for all of her other medicines. At this time, we have not heard any more information on the drug trial. It sounds like the spots for her age group are very competitive so I don’t know if we’ll get in.”

Fun For the Family

Joining Casey Cares in 2021, Lottie has attended activities such as Paw Patrol Live, cheered on the trucks at Monster Jam, watched the Nutcracker Ballet, gone to the Garden Bros Circus, and more.

“Our favorite activity that we’ve done with Casey Cares has got to be Disney on Ice or the Nutcracker. Both of these would not have been financially possible without the generosity of Casey Cares. To see all the kiddos faces just light up in wonder is just so fun. Core memories are made for sure. I love that our kids find it awe inspiring to watch and think that’s what I want to do when I grow up,” states Eve.

She continues, “I love how Casey Cares includes the family in all their events. I think siblings of a medically complex kid often get pushed to the side – or how it seems to them – and my kiddos love that they get to do these things too, whether it’s going to Monster Jam, getting family movie night box with jammies which was huge family favorite or Disney on Ice. I specifically remember unpacking our first pajama box and my older kiddos were especially excited to have been included.”

Eve is also thankful that Casey Cares “puts the focus of creating these amazing memories for our family. I know that there’s a possibility that our time with Lottie might be short here on Earth, but there is some peace and knowing that if that happens our kiddos will have so many good memories too hang on to with her. We are hoping and praying that this may not be the case and she will live long fulfilling life, but we know no one’s time is guaranteed.”

Recognizing Challenges

“As a parent who has a child with health challenges,” Eve says, “our difficulties present in different ways. It’s important for us as parents to make sure Lottie feels as “normal” as possible. So, in order to do that we adapt what we can to make sure she feels like she’s had the same opportunities.”

“In similar retrospect we also have to be cognizant to make sure our other kids feel like they are loved just as much as Lottie. When you have a sick kid a lot of the attention goes to them because their needs in particular moments are higher, but reassuring and showing our love in other ways for other kids to make sure they don’t feel left out there’s also really important for us.”

Eve adds, “One of my personal difficulties I had and sometimes still struggle with is the grief of what I thought our life was going to look like when we had all healthy children versus the realities that come with a medically fragile kid. I love the idea of just getting up and going somewhere, but for us that requires more planning then do we have gas in the car or snacks for the trip- you have to have enough oxygen, you have to make sure all the meds are with you, do we have extra supplies for a site change if need be.”

“Other difficulties are things that I imagine most medical families struggle with – insurance, cost of meds, time away from work, travel to and from appointments, unexpected hospital stays and so on. As far as navigating and coping, I know we have been really blessed with amazing family and friends. Without our support system I don’t know how it would have managed so far. And I know above all I could not have done this without faith,” she says.

A PHighter

Today, Lottie is attending Pre-K this year with plans to head onto kindergarten in the fall.

“Lottie also had her first ballet recital, which she just loves. She’s super cute too watching with her big smile, tutu and oxygen backpack just twirling around. I think we realize that every year we get is just a gift,” Eve states.

“Lottie is stable for now and that’s a really big deal for us. It can be easy in our day-to-day routines to sometimes forget how sick she really is. She’s on a lot of medicine to keep her where she’s at. I don’t want to jinx it but we’ve not had a hospital stay for a few months and I’d like to keep it that way. She has overcome six cardiac arrests, a period on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation ECMO, multiple hospital stays and still manages to put a smile on all our faces- she is truly a PHighter which is pulmonary hypertension plus fighter,” Eve concludes.

Want to support more programs and fun activities for critically ill children like Lottie? Donate here!

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Birthday Week – Benji

Happy birthday Benji!

In upper New Jersey, Benjamin or “Benji” celebrated his 8th birthday and is Casey Cares’ 135th birthday this year!

Casey Cares knows that for a critically ill child, each birthday is a special milestone celebrating life. For the children in our programs, it not only marks another year, but it also demonstrates a great achievement. Casey Cares staff and volunteers work hard to send out each of our kids a special birthday package through our Birthday Blast program – we send over 1,000 a year! This simple act of kindness delivers joy and hope to our kids who are undergoing treatment.

Benji’s family discovered their son’s diagnosis at, of all places, a mall. Tamara, Benjamin’s mother states, “When Benji was 15 months old we were at the mall and we were talking to an older woman in a store. She asked some questions about Benji and then asked if he had MPS. We told him he did not and she mentioned that he had many of the characteristics of her brother who died of the disease.”

That night, Tamara, “looked up the disease and read many mom blogs and saw many of the symptoms that my son had, people with this disease did as well …enlarged head, failed hearing test, jaundice as a baby, noisy breathing, delayed milestones such as speech and walking. All of these symptoms alone did not necessarily mean anything but together they could.  After a discussion with my pediatrician and a genetic visit we learned that my son had MPS 1 Hurler’s syndrome – a rare genetic disease that without any treatment would limit him to a 5-to-7-year life expectancy.” 

Classifioed as a  lysosomal storage disease, Benji underwent bone marrow transplantation for MPS 1 and has had a unique journey post- transplant. 

Tamara states, “Unlike many kids who are off immune suppressants and starting immunizations and such Benji struggles with very bad Graft vs Host disease and auto immune hemolytic anemia. As a result, it took us 5 years to get off immune suppressants and to start to revaccinate him.  It was a much longer journey than most of our friends and that made the struggle even harder.  We would be happy for friends who would hit new milestones but sad that we still were not there.  Despite all of Benji’s medical struggles he is the happiest, strongest and most empathetic person I know. In school he brings a smile to all the staff and students whether it is him singing down the halls, showing off casts from his latest surgery or drawing pictures to give away. He has a light within him that shines brightly.”

Having joined Casey Cares in 2021, Benjamin has loved receiving packages from us.

“Due to Benji’s immune suppression journey he spent 5 years not being allowed to go to events that kids love to go to like Paw Patrol Live, Disney on Ice, etc.  In the last two years he has been able to participate in these events. Given the price tag of these and the fact that we have three young boys trying to get them to these events would be very expensive,” says Tamara.

She continues, “The fact that we are able to take him to these events now due to the generosity of Case Cares donors is amazing.  We are able to make memories and expose the boys to things they have not necessarily been exposed to. Occasionally we get special gift boxes in the mail. Benji loves getting mail directed to him. Whether it is a birthday present before his birthday or a pajama party care package, getting meaningful mail is something he and I appreciate.”

Tamara recounts, “About 2 years ago, Benji was in the hospital yet again struggling with a complication due to his Bone Marrow transplant. We had tickets to Paw Patrol Live and I was able to take his brothers. Having that quality time with his brothers, doing something fun and enjoyable was really important.  There are many times his brothers feel like Benji gets a lot of special time with mom and dad and has good things come to him to make up for all the negative hospital experiences.” 

Thus, Tamara appreciates that Casey Cares allows “the boys be able to get a special time with mom in a way that they might not have was really meaningful and important. It gave me a chance to focus on them when unfortunately, many times Benji’s medical needs are the priority. The first time I was able to take the boys to Disney On Ice all together was magical. They loved the music and lights and just being there together. I loved watching their faces and knowing that for so long this was something Benji could not safely be a part of but now he can.” 

The mother notes the difficulties of being a parent to a critically ill child.

“One of the initial struggles we faced was trying to get all the specialist appointments we needed scheduled in a timely manner as well as trying to decide where to go for treatment.  Obviously, we wanted the best treatment possible for Benji especially since one of the treatment options (and the one we chose to do) was a bone marrow transplant.”

She adds, “When we first got our diagnosis we were struggling with all the emotions one does with new diagnosis…fear, anger, frustration, doubt, sadness, confusion, plus I was only about 4 months postpartum with my second child.  There was a whole lot of information thrown at us that we needed to digest without really having the time to digest it. We literally had to make life and death type decisions without having had time to really digest and understand the information thrown at us.  My husband and I leaned on each other as well as reached out the National MPS Society in order to get support to help us on our journey.”

Today, Benjamin is getting ready for a great birthday party, even with both of his hands in casts due to a recent carpal tunnel surgery.

“Despite this, he is excited for his police themed family party complete with a rice crispy cake and his friends party a week later after casts are off.  This is only the second year it has been safe for him to have a party with friends and he loves being able to celebrate with them!” Tamara concludes.

Want to support more programs and fun activities for critically ill children like Benji? Donate here!

CPS Unicorn World Tessa Agnoli 5

Birthday Week – Tessa

Happy birthday Tessa!

In upper Maryland, Tessa celebrated her 6th birthday and is Casey Cares’ 150th birthday this year!

Casey Cares knows that for a critically ill child, each birthday is a special milestone celebrating life. For the children in our programs, it not only marks another year, but it also demonstrates a great achievement. Casey Cares staff and volunteers work hard to send out each of our kids a special birthday package through our Birthday Blast program – we send over 1,000 a year! This simple act of kindness delivers joy and hope to our kids who are undergoing treatment.

A Heart Warrior

Tessa spent most of her first year of life in the hospital, having been born with LTGA, VSD, ASD, Pulmonary Atresia, Aortic Stenosis and a Hypoplastic Right Coronary Artery. Her longest hospital stay was 338 days and she was listed as Status 1A on the transplant list in July 2018. Tessa later received a heart from a donor in February 2019, making it home in May 2019.

The family learned about their daughter’s heart “at our 20-week anatomy scan. We went through a few different diagnoses, but they were able to truly see all that was wrong after birth. We were told that she was the only person they had seen with her specific heart anatomy. Transplant was never even mentioned until she was 4 months old and went into heart failure. We had not prepared ourselves for that,” says Courtney, Tessa’s mother.

Unicorns + Elsa = Fun!

Having joined Casey Cares programs only a few months after he birth, Tessa has loved going to the Maryland Zoo and the National Aquarium along with getting birthday presents and pajamas.

But to pick her favorite wouldn’t be difficult – unicorns all the way! As Tessa’s mother, Courtney, states, “The girls have loved every activity so far, Unicorn World was a big hit. Unicorns are everything in this house!”

Courtney lists Disney On Ice in 2021 as her personal favorite.

“We were just starting to come back out into the world after really isolating Tessa due to Covid. But the most amazing part was watching the joy in Tessa’s face,” she says.

“Tessa had never really experienced anything like it. At that time, Tessa was also working on communication and wasn’t speaking a lot. I looked over while Elsa was singing ‘Let it Go’ and Tess was singing right along. My husband and I looked at each other so surprised and happy, we had no idea she could do that! It made me want to cry!”

Courtney reflects about her daughters, “Having three girls is so interesting! One day they are best friends and the next they don’t want to play together. They have a very sweet bond! Our oldest, Noelle, looks out for Tessa at school and is her protector. Tessa and our youngest, Juliette, are besties and they love to play and like to take pictures of themselves hugging!”

Courtney finds that, “Everything about Casey Cares is amazing! There is a lot of support just within the community. We often see other families that we’ve met along our journey and it’s nice to reconnect.”

“A moment that stands out is really while Tessa was in the hospital waiting for her heart transplant. She was there for 11 months, but we really loved having the opportunity to do fun activities and events with our older daughter who was 3 at the time. She loved the lunch cruise with Disney Princesses! It was a really stressful and emotional time, and just having these events to look forward to meant everything to our family.”

The mother notes the difficulties of being a parent to a critically ill child.

“We face a lot of challenges with having a medically fragile child. We try to keep life as normal as we possibly can, especially because we have two other children. We often have to cancel plans at the last minute due to health issues or aren’t able to afford something fun because money has gone to prescriptions or hospital parking.’

She continues, “We cope by trying to stay as positive as we can. We lean on our support system. We’ve also met so many other amazing families through the hospital and other organizations who help us get through because they know exactly what it feels like. We also know that even though our life has a lot of ups and downs, we are extremely fortunate that Tessa is here with us.”

Today, Tessa is reaching new milestones all of the time.

“She is an absolute miracle. Her doctors have told us many times, that with everything she’s been through, she shouldn’t be here. But with her strong, feisty spirit, she was determined!” she states.

Courtney continues, “Tessa just started walking independently a few weeks ago, she talks nonstop and she is just a joy to all who know her! She is currently in Kindergarten and working on catching up on her skills. She has made friends and her classmates love her!”

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Put On Your PJs! We’re Kicking Off #CaseyCaresBiggestPJParty!

It’s that time of year again when we come together to make a difference in the lives of critically ill children! Casey Cares is proud to announce the start of our 9th Annual #CaseyCaresBiggestPajamaParty! Throughout March and April, we will be collecting pajamas to bring comfort and joy to children in hospitals and those recovering at home.

This year, we are hoping to reach our goal of 17,000 new pajamas donated through the party. Thanks to your generosity, we sent out over 25,000 pajamas last year to children in hospitals and those recovering at home!

You can get your school, company, place of worship, club, or sports team to participate in the pj drive and show your support for critically ill children today! Email [email protected] to participate or visit our Biggest PJ Party page for more information! Don’t forget to get your own pajamas for Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day on April 16th!

This year, we were lucky to have St. Margaret School and St. Mary’s Elementary School kick off the pajama collecting for Catholic School Week!

St. Margaret School in Bel Air, Maryland has a “wear your pajamas to school day” and have tied it in with collecting pajamas under the banner, “Casey Cares, and so do we!” Since 2015, they have collected hundreds of pjs each year, closing in on an incredible donation of almost 3,000 pajamas to date. Similarly, St. Mary’s Elementary School in Annapolis participated for the fifth time this year, collecting over 200 pairs across 30 homerooms.

We can’t say thank you enough to everyone who has participated in helping us collect pajamas so far, and to those who plan on getting involved!

The impact of sending these pajamas to sick children cannot be overstated. It provides them with the extra comfort and joy they need, particularly during their frequent visits and overnight stays at hospitals. Giving them something cozy to wear instead of a hospital gown continues to raise their spirits in a super special way!

You can help us spread the word! Email the details to a neighboring school and challenge them to a collection contest or enlist your family and neighborhood to gost a pajama drive. We need all the assistance we can get to fulfill the requests of our families and hospitals all along the East Coast and parts of the Midwest!  

CPS Unicorn World Isabella Torres Montano (6)

Unleashing the Magic at Unicorn World

Casey Cares understands that when a child falls ill, the impact is felt not only by the child but also by their loved ones and entire families. We recognize the emotional, financial, and mental struggles that accompany such challenging times. That’s why our mission is to provide uplifting activities for critically ill children, their siblings, and their families.

With the generous support of our donor, Unicorn World Event, Casey Cares is able to turn this mission into a reality for dozens of children and their families this past weeekend. At Unicorn World, kids met life-size unicorns, journeyed through an enchanted forest, made unicorn crafts, listened to story-time, played on bounce houses and ball pits, rides, and face-painting. Read below to understand the impact of this event from four of our families.

Emilia, age 4, is in a maintenance phase for leukemia until September 2024 which includes taking chemo tablets every single night. She and her younger sister Lynnea are also the world’s biggest unicorn fans! 

Her mother, Kathrin, told us, “Our girls were so happy and had the best time at the Unicorn World today. It just means so much to us seeing our girls so happy and not thinking about Emilia’s treatment for a moment. I asked Emilia what her favorite part of Unicorn World was and she answered “everything!!”

Daniel, age 5, continues to recover from a liver transplant. Mom Lizzie, said, “Thank you for the tickets to Unicorn World! My hisband Ryan and I took our two kids, Rhodes and Daniel. Daniel loooooves unicorns, and we surprised him big-time with this event. The kids had a blast!”

It’s hard to say who loved Unicorn World more – 2-year-old West, born with tetralogy of fallot, or his older siblings! He loved playing giant tic-tac-toe and riding on a mini unicorn together! 

Tessa, age 5, born with very complex congenital heart defect where she spent most of her first year of life in the hospital. After 8 surgeries, Tessa received a new heart thanks to donor. Her mother expressed, “Unicorn World was so fun, the girls had a blast. You can see pure joy on Tessa’s face in the bounce house!”

Thank you again to Unicorn World Event for giving little moments and lasting memories to critically ill children and their families! Casey Cares always appreciates in-kind donations of tickets to fun events for the kids in our programs! Please email them to Summer at [email protected]. 

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In the Rink of Joy with the Washington Caps

Thanks to the generosity of the Washington Capitals and our incredible donor Natalie Arteen, Casey Cares families had the amazing opportunity to witness the hockey team in action from a private suite!

For Addyson, who faces challenges with Autonomic Dysfunction and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and her brother Ethen, attending the Capitals game in person was an absolute highlight as they are avid fans of the team. Their mother Michelle said, “Thank you Casey Cares for a great night out at the Caps game. The kids had a blast and we met other amazing Casey Cares families. It was a great night and suite life was awesome. Gonna be hard to top a Caps game now in the regular seats after suite life and a private bathroom!”

Sawyer, who has been part of the Casey Cares family for over three years and has bravely undergone numerous treatments for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, loved attending with his younger brother Hudson. Having endured numerous chemotherapy infusions, lumbar punctures, blood transfusions, and countless pills for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Sawyer has now reached a significant milestone of being treatment-free for a year!⁠ The family stated, “Thank you again so much for this opportunity!! We had a great time tonight and this will definitely be one we remember!”

It was an even more exciting night as the Capitals emerged victorious with a 2-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

Thank you to the Washington Capitals and Natalie Arteen for supporting our palliative programs and raising the spirits of our kids! Have tickets to a sporting event or want to donate a private suite to our families? Email our Program Director Summer for more information!

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MLK Day – A Day of Service

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland employees demonstrated their unwavering dedication to making a positive impact in the community. We were honored to host them at our office as they generously volunteered their time for an afternoon of service.

Led by one of our Board members, Seth Gibson and employees boxed an impressive total of 730 packages, each containing new shirts for critically ill children in our programs! Additionally, they rolled an incredible 620 cozy pajamas, providing comfort to kids in hospitals and those recovering from treatments at home.

Gibson states that he is “so thankful to work for a company that actively seeks opportunities to give back to the community. And I always love the opportunity to work with Casey Cares!”

As Dr. King once said, “make a career out of humanity.” Are you looking for a great place to volunteer while supporting critically ill kids? Click here to see how you can help!

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2023 Comes To a Close!

As we bid farewell to 2023, we can’t help but share the amazing milestones we’ve reached together! 

This year has marked record-breaking particpation for our Clay Sporting Tournament, over 500 runners and walkers joining us for our 5K at the Maryland Zoo, our highest number of sponsorships for our Rock ‘N’ Roll Bash thanks to board member Mike DiMayo, more than 25,000 new pajamas donated to critically ill kids and hospitals, celebrated 1,000+ birthdays, and shifted to more in-person activities among other special events!

We provided 33,938 activities to 56,512 participants in 2023! That works out to one activity every 16 minutes! Thanks to donations, you have had a huge impact on critically ill children and their family members across the Mid-Atlantic region, parts of the Midwest, Florida, and D.C.

We extend a thank you to:

  • Every single donor who supported us. Words cannot describe how grateful and happy we are for your monetary donations, pjs/toys/gift card donations, volunteerism, program and fundraiser participation, post engagement, and more! All that we do happens because of you! We will continue to show the immense impact you have on over 1,600 families with critically ill children in 8 states and D.C.⁠
  • Our wonderful board members who have made our nonprofit possible and put on spectacular events!⁠
  • Our sponsors who readily give and bring joy to critically ill kids through their support!⁠
  • Our volunteers and interns who help roll and send pajamas, schedule programs, create care packages, pack birthday boxes, and more. You are the best!⁠
  • Our founder, Casey Baynes and Casey Cares staff for the time, dedication, and massive care you put into your work every single day!⁠
  • Our families; we will continue to support you and your child in any way we can! You are the strongest people we know!⁠
  • Anyone we may not have mentioned! ⁠

We are so glad to have been able to share countless stories, little moments, lasting memories, difficult experiences, pajamas and toy donations, the sweetest pictures, and more with you! you can make a positive impact year-round by donating to Casey Cares – tap here to donate! Here’s to 2024 – we cannot wait to see what’s in store!