Tammy Rudden Krause ’92 was balancing parenting four children and running her tutoring business in Centennial, Colorado, in early 2003 when her third-born child, Gabby, was diagnosed with brain cancer. “It felt like the ground was pulled out from under us,” Krause said. “It’s something no parent is ever prepared for — the mix of shock, fear and heartbreak.”

There was surgery to remove a baseball-sized tumor, several rounds of outpatient chemotherapy, a second surgery, a month of radiation, MRIs and more chemotherapy, including three stem cell transplants. “Chemotherapy sessions typically occurred three days a week, lasting four to six hours a day, in the outpatient clinic of Children’s Hospital Colorado,” Krause said.

She was determined to fill these long days with fun, joy and learning for Gabby, so she created what would be the first Bag of Fun. 

“I had a bag that I put together so that Gabby could keep up with her reading and her math,” said Krause, who majored in special education at TCU and taught full time before launching her tutoring business. “She was finishing preschool when she was diagnosed, and she was looking forward to starting kindergarten in the fall.”  

Gabby’s hospital bag was full of books to support early reading, math games and puzzles, as well as collaborative games she could play with her friends and siblings who visited her in the hospital.  

“It was Gabby who called it her ‘bag of fun,’ ” Krause said, “and she asked several times during her treatment why the other kids in the hospital didn’t have one.”

A wall in the Bags of Fun/The Gabby Krause Foundation headquarters in Centennial, Colorado, displays thank you cards from children who received a Bag Of Fun. Photo by Dawn Seltzer

A New Mission

After an 18-month battle with cancer, Gabby died in fall 2004 at age 6. Her wish was for her mother to create bags of fun just like hers and give them to children in the hospital. Krause launched the Gabby Krause Foundation in September of that year, and eight months later, she delivered the nonprofit’s first Bag of Fun to a patient at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

“We decided to honor Gabby’s wish and began custom-creating bags to distribute to children with cancer and other long-term or life-threatening illnesses,” Krause said.

Valued at about $450 apiece, each Bag of Fun contains 15 to 18 items that encourage manipulative and educational play, including a combination of solo games and those that patients can play cooperatively with a friend or family member.

“We pack each bag very intentionally based on the age, gender and the health condition of the recipient,” Krause said. “Everything is new and current. For instance, all the bags have a Kindle Fire in them. We meet with child life specialists at the hospitals semiannually; these are pediatric health care professionals who help children and their families cope with the challenges of illness and hospitalization. They help us ensure that our items are impactful for the kids.”

Local hospitals submit a list of qualifying recipients to Bags of Fun each week. At Children’s Hospital Colorado alone, the organization delivers 500 to 550 bags annually.

“Studies have shown that interactive play in a health care environment is very beneficial to the recovery of the child,” said Chris Goodale, manager of operations for the Family Resource Centers at Children’s Hospital Colorado. “I get to witness these children so excited to receive a backpack full of toys and activities, but I also know there is a deeper impact. I know the items provided are not only going to keep that child entertained and enjoying some sense of normalcy, but they will help the child reach therapeutic milestones faster.” 

Krause’s Chi Omega sister Louisa Weinrich ’89, a fellow College of Education graduate, launched Bags of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2011 after her daughters Morgan and Melanie completed a 10-day service project at the nonprofit’s Colorado headquarters.

A display at the nonprofit’s Colorado office shows the cleats worn by NFL player Jack Stoll, a kindergarten classmate of Gabby Krause, as part of the league’s My Cleats, My Clause campaign. Photo by Dawn Seltzer

“It was Melanie who told me, ‘Mom, you need to quit your job teaching and start Bags of Fun here in Kansas City,’ ” Weinrich said.  

Today, the Kansas City operation has Weinrich working 40-plus hours a week, assisted by two part-time staffers. Krause’s sister-in-law, Amy Krause, opened the Omaha, Nebraska, office in 2020. In the nonprofit’s 20-plus years, Tammy Krause said, they have delivered more than 18,000 bags. 

Even still, the women are casting an eye toward new, underserved areas of the country. “As we look to expand nationally,” Weinrich said, “we would love to break into the Dallas-Fort Worth area with the help of friends and connections we have there.”

Fundraising Full Time

While nothing is as rewarding as delivering a customized Bag of Fun directly to a child, Krause said most of her job is fundraising, donor relations and continual investment in the vital relationships that keep Bags of Fun growing.  

“I’m ensuring that our donors stay engaged in our program,” she said. “I’m always in some stage of event planning; as soon as one annual event concludes, I’m planning for the next year’s. I’m maintaining or building new relationships with the people who provide our backpacks, our toy stores, our vendor who creates our own logoed items.”

Inspirational items – including a photo of Gabby Krause – decorate the wall behind the desk of Tammy Rudden Krause ’92 at the Bags of Fun/The Gabby Krause Foundation headquarters. Photo by Dawn Seltzer

As a nonprofit, Bags of Fun relies entirely on charitable donations and funds raised through sponsored annual events, including a formal black-and-white gala in Kansas City, a game night gala in Omaha, and a golf classic and Bring Out the Bags family-friendly event in Colorado. Volunteers also host community fundraising events ranging from swim-a-thons to lemonade stands.

While working to help pediatric patients and their families, a few principles have crystallized for Krause.

Every day is a gift, so spend your days intentionally. After losing Gabby, I still had three other children that I had to get up for and care for every day. God gives you each of your days, and you can use a day for good or you can waste it. And so you get up every day and use your day as best you can.  

Identify needs around you. For anyone thinking about getting involved with a nonprofit or launching a nonprofit organization, I think the first step is investigating: “What is a real need in the community?” Beyond that, it’s about answering the following questions very practically: “How can I fulfill that need?” and “Are there people around me — who know more or have more experience — who can help me fill that need?”

Grief can be transformed into something meaningful and impactful. The loss of a child is a wound that never truly heals, but the work we do through Bags of Fun has been a source of comfort and purpose. It’s because of Gabby that this mission exists, but it’s not about Gabby — it’s about every child and every family we have the privilege to support. Every time I see a smile on a child’s face, and every time a parent gives me a hug and says, “Thank you. You’ve made a difference,” that helps restore me.

Small acts of kindness can create a lasting ripple effect. I was fortunate to have a mom who was a remarkable role model for philanthropy. She demonstrated the value of giving back to the community through her actions and instilled in me the belief that even small acts of kindness can make a big impact. I value the importance of collective action and how meaningful it is to work toward something bigger than oneself.