A Bag of Fun is a backpack filled to the brim with toys and games that are hand-picked for each child, taking into consideration their developmental age, gender, treatment plan, and interests.
Each Bag of Fun has:
- 2 – 3 games/toys that can be played with others, encouraging socialization
- 2 – 3 games/toys that are manipulative, enhancing fine and gross motor skills
- 2 – 3 games/toys that are educational, encouraging cognitive thinking
- 2 – 3 games/toys that can be played while alone, encouraging individual expression
- 2 – 3 games/toys that are just plain silly, encouraging laughter
- 1 item that is soothing and/or cuddly, giving comfort
- 1 electronic device, such as a kindle fire or kindle kids
- An amazon gift card so play can begin immediately
- Each bag is valued at $475
![Tammy Krause is wearing a white sweater and jeans and is standing in front of a table full of bags. She is holding the pink, blue, and gray unevenly striped backpack and is smiling at us. There are lots of other bags on the table as well with toys next to or in them. The large Bags of Fun logo on a purple wall is behind them.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img8.jpg)
![A gray backpack with the Bags of Fun logo on the small front pocket of the backpack. The backpack has the main gray color with a section that runs down the middle of it with a more purplish gray tone and a cross hatch texture. There is a brown stuffed animal monkey with a black strip, almost like a blindfold, on its eyes. It is sticking out of the top of the large section and a Fire HD 8 case is sticking out of the top of the smaller front section. The backpack is sitting in the grass and their is a blurred background with the trunk of a tree behind it.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img9-1.jpg)
![There are two backpacks in the foreground. One is black with illustrations of sloths, tropical palm trees, birds, snakes, frogs and other animals on it. There is a black water bottle in the side bottle holder and a toy red, black, and gray grapple claw sticking out of the top of the large main pocket. There is also a gray backpack next to it but all the pockets are closed. It also has a black water bottle in the side bottle holder. In the background there is a pink and light blue unevenly striped backpack. The backpacks are on a brown wood table with a purple wall behind them.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img3.jpg)
![We again see 3 bags. In the middle is the black one illustrated with animals on it and on either side are the unevenly striped pink, light blue, gray, and white bags. There are toys coming out of the bags and blurred in the background. The Fire HD 8 is coming out of one bag and the Unicorn Flingers out of another. They all have white or black bags of fun water bottles in their side bottle holders.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img10.jpg)
![We see all the same backpacks as the previous image but it is at a more top side angle and we can see a fourth pink and blue striped backpack. There is also more of the purple wall showing and you can see a little of the large bags of fun logo on the wall.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img4.jpg)
![A very similar image as the previous one but we have more of a straight on side angle of the backpacks. They are also lined up in a row and we see a stuffed animal frog on the table and one in the back behind the backpacks but elevated a little so it is level with the top of the backpacks.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img5.jpg)
![A close up image of the pink, light pink, blue, and gray unevenly striped backpack. The pockets are open and we see a PYO Vase coming out of the top of the large pocket. There are toys coming out of the two smaller pockets but it is hard to make out what they are. There is a white Bags of Fun water bottle in the side bottle holder. There is also a solid black backpack next to the pink one. We can only see half of it but there is a toy box in the front small pocket and a white Bags of Fun water bottle on the side. In the back we also see part of a sold gray backpack and the purple wall behind the backpacks.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img6.jpg)
![There is a stack of toys in the foreground. This includes a Creatto light up 3d puzzle of a yellow duck in a green box, some yellow and red dominos, a MindWare box, a book, and a box that says Klutz on it. There are a couple other toys bit they are blurred and hard to make out. The background is blurred but it looks like there is a pink backpack behind the toys.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img1.jpg)
![There is a large stack of toys sitting on a big wooden table. Some of the toys are blurred out but we can see a deck of Bags of Fun playing cards, the Fire HD 8 orange box, a stuffed green frog with beads that come out of its mouth, a Speks box, two pencils tied together with a red ribbon, a Rook, and other toys and games.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img11.jpg)
![There are a stack of toys. This includes green Noise Putty, Unicorn Flingers, a couple books, and some sort of a pink cat case or bag with what appears to be makeup in it. The Cat face is winking. There are other toys but they are blurred and hard to make out. There are a lot of pinks and greens in the photo.](https://bagsoffunomaha.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/bag-img2.jpg)
The Effects of Play Therapy and Bags of Fun.
Quality study conducted by Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
- 78% agree that the Bag of Fun helped motivate him/her to continue through treatment.
- 98% felt that the Bag of Fun helped parents feel less isolated because others are thinking of them and their children.
- 88% agreed that playing with their child reinforced that he/she is a child first, not just a patient.
- 91% agreed that engaging in play with their child provided a distraction for the parent as a caregiver from the stress of the illness.
- 87% of participants believed that playing with items in the bag helped their child cope and maintain some normalcy during treatments.
- 83% agree that the Bag of Fun distracted their child from negative side effects of hospitalization/treatment, like pain, nausea, fear and anxiety.