The Heart Behind The B.A.B.Y. Foundation - Our Volunteers
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
The people who say yes — and why that yes matters.
Our Volunteers | Board Members | Recepient Families
If you sat quietly in a B.A.B.Y. Foundation board meeting, you would feel it before you understood it.
The reverence.
The care.
The way every application is read slowly — not as paperwork, but as someone’s child.
Because for many of the volunteers around that table, this mission is not abstract.
It’s personal.
They are parents who have watched monitors blink in the dark. They are families who have spread medical bills across kitchen tables long after bedtime. They are people who know exactly what it feels like to search for help and wonder if it’s okay to ask.
And that shared understanding shapes everything.
When You’ve Been the Family in Crisis
Nick O’Donnell still remembers February of 2023.
His daughter Emrie was born in Loveland. Within hours, she was diagnosed with bilateral pneumothorax and flown to Children’s Hospital. Nine days in the NICU. Nine days of uncertainty.
Nine days that resulted in overwhelming medical bills before she was even ten days old.
“Our pediatrician recommended The B.A.B.Y. Foundation due to the significant amount of medical bills we had gotten from just the first 10 days of her life,” Nick shares. “B.A.B.Y. stepped in and awarded us the lifetime max to cover all the unexpected medical costs. This brought such a light to our family in an extremely challenging time.”
That light didn’t fade when the crisis ended.
“It encouraged us to help give back to other families experiencing the trauma of receiving a diagnosis or costly medical bills. I love how passionate all the volunteers are about supporting such a great cause that our family has been directly impacted by.”
Annabelle Rusco was a recipient herself and now serves along side her family for The B.A.B.Y. Foundation. After a draining season of healthcare bills and ongoing procedures, her family applied for support in 2018.
“The experience gave me so much gratitude and became the force of why I wanted to give back. I saw how much hope and relief a single act of kindness could provide for us, so I wanted to extend the legacy forward.”
Extend the legacy forward.
That phrase echoes often among our volunteers.
When You Understand the Pile-Up
Kristen Wolf doesn’t need a spreadsheet to remember how quickly costs stack up.
“All of our children have been recipients of The B.A.B.Y. Foundation,” she says. “We know firsthand how fast the doctor appointments, therapy sessions, MRIs, scans and bills can pile up.”
There’s no exaggeration in that list. It’s lived experience.
“It’s our families honor to be able to help bring hope and relief to families who have children who are in medical crisis.”
Hope and relief.
Two words that mean everything when you’re in the middle of it.
Breann Lind has watched that stress unfold in the lives of people she loves.
“The B.A.B.Y. Foundation has supported many of my close friends and people I consider family. When you witness firsthand the sacrifice, exhaustion, and love they pour into caring for their children, you realize how heavy that season can be. Being part of this work is one of the most meaningful ways I can give back — offering hope and relief to families walking a similar road.”
When you see the sacrifice up close, service stops being optional.
It becomes necessary.
When Giving Back Is Also Healing
For Ginger Dodge, volunteering is also an act of remembrance.
“I was the parent of a special needs son who faced significant medical challenges. We lost him on April 1, 2025, and my work here is a way to honor his memory by supporting others going through the same high medical expenses and emotional weight that my family did.”
There is a sacred tenderness in her words.
“I understand the exhaustion, the advocacy, and the need for a community that truly ‘gets it.’”
This board doesn’t just understand paperwork.
They understand grief. They understand fatigue. They understand the quiet bravery of parents who keep showing up.
A Team That Feels Like Family
Lyndsey Long joined the board after her daughter was a recipient.
“I wanted to find a way to give back for all the support we received. Little did I know how much it would help me in my personal growth.”
She smiles when she talks about the team.
“We are kind of like a family outside of our own personal families. Always there for each other.”
That sense of belonging threads through every story.
Josie Ringlein says she was inspired because she “wanted to help families breathe a little easier by easing some of their financial burdens during difficult times.”
“It’s incredibly meaningful to contribute to an organization that provides such impactful support. I’m passionate about helping raise funds and awareness for this amazing foundation.”
Lindsay Wicke describes it simply: “I love volunteer work and serving others. As Past-President, leading a team that relieved financial burden for sick children and their families was the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Vanessa Bouchard was drawn to “the impact in the community and an opportunity to connect families to the services they need and deserve.”
Trista Gangestad, current President, and her daughter is a recipient; remembers attending the Gala as a recipient family.
“I was so moved by the difference this organization was making in our community. I knew I could put my skills to good use volunteering with B.A.B.Y.”
Different beginnings. Same calling.
What It Really Means to Volunteer Here
Behind every grant approved is a group of people who read each application carefully.
Who sit with stories of diagnoses, hospital stays, and mounting bills.
Who discuss, pray, weigh, and steward every dollar thoughtfully.
Christina Rusco describes her favorite part this way: “Hearing the families’ stories and being able to approve them and know that we are giving them peace of mind and knowing that they can focus on their children instead of their bills. It’s a very emotional process.”
Emotional, yes.
But also powerful.
Because approving support means a parent can exhale.
It means someone can stay home from work one more day.
It means therapy continues.
It means the focus shifts back where it belongs — to the child.
Tina Bunn, the foundation's treasurer, says, "Every month during our board meeting, we hear stories of children with devastating illnesses. The fact that we can make a difference in these families' lives is incredible. The stories of gratitude we receive from these families fills my heart every month."
Why They Stay
They stay because they’ve been the family in need.
They stay because they’ve witnessed the sacrifice.
They stay because they believe Northern Colorado families deserve support close to home.
They stay because they know that when insurance falls short, their community can step in.
And they stay because saying yes once changed their lives — and now they get to be part of changing someone else’s.
If You Feel the Nudge
You don’t need to have walked through a medical crisis to serve.
You don’t need a perfect résumé.
You need heart.
You need integrity.
You need the willingness to carry stories carefully.
If you believe families facing a child’s medical crisis should not have to carry financial fear alone…
If you believe community matters…
If you want to be part of something that truly changes lives…
There is a seat at our table.
Because behind every grant is a group of people who once needed hope — and now choose to give it.
You can learn more about volunteering or explore assistance at www.thebabyfoundation.org.
If you have questions about The B.A.B.Y. Foundation, start here: www.thebabyfoundation.org/faq or contact us here: www.thebabyfoundation.org/contact-us
Because when a child is fighting for their health, no family should have to fight alone.