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All in the Bag: Happy Hope Foundation

February 22, 2023

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

 

On Tuesday, February 14th, across the United States, seven different Butler offices gathered together to form the most cheerful assembly group. Butler employees stuck stickers on glossy bags and handed them down the line to be filled with yellow chapstick, a bubble bottle adorned with a heart, a bracelet with encouraging words, all the while others remained coloring pictures with the message “You are Special” emblazoned on them.

Butler Managing Partner, Scott Katz, met Message of Hope Founder, Emi Burke, during the Annual Loss Executive Association (LEA) meeting. While talking, Burke shared her story about being a parent of an ill child who required ongoing treatments and hospitalization. She experienced the need for hope and an escape for children like her son and saw an opportunity to bring joy through fun activity bags.

“Emi was very uplifting and impressive—in the course of dealing with a personal crisis with her son, instead of choosing to step away and give up, rather, she found purpose and chose to help other people,” said Katz.

Katz was inspired and saw an opportunity for Butler. Service is what the firm is about: Service to each other, Service to clients, and Service to the community. Getting involved in the Message of Hope’s mission to deliver a boost of happiness to hospitalized children was an initiative our staff was eager to get behind.

Together the Butler family was able to ship hundreds of Happy Hope bags that will bring a smile to severely ill children across the country. These activity bags are more than a diversion; they bring a sense of joy to a young, worried mind, restoring a child’s spirit.

Not only did this project impact the lives of these children but it also brought unity to our staff and families in a meaningful way.

The Happy Hope Packages were delivered to the following locations:

Tampa General – Children’s Medical Center

Duke Children’s Hospital, Charlotte

Ronald McDonald House of Dallas

Shriner’s Hospital for Children Philadelphia

Comer Children’s Hospital, Chicago

Ronald McDonald House of Miami

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare