“We have a good community. We know a lot of good people. I wish the whole Earth could be just one big community. Imagine if all the good people worked together.” – Braeden Quinn
Not long ago I introduced you to an inspiring young Delawarean that is finding time to give back to his community between school, sports and being a ten year old kid.
I began working with Braeden after his grandmother saw an article about Gals That Give’s monthly girl’s night out for charity events in The News Journal. He reached out to us on Twitter, asking if we could help him plan an upcoming event. Impressed with Braeden’s mission to help others at such a young age, it was without question that the gals were all on board to help!
To my surprise, our task was not to plan a full scale fundraising event with fancy decorations, auction items or gidgets and gadgets galore. We were planning a fun party where Braeden could invite his biggest supporters and simply thank them for their help throughout his first year of 3B’s. What an A-W-E-S-O-M-E concept.
But seriously, our world today needs more positivity, selflessness and thank yous! To me, each brown bag that Braeden delivers contains more than water and healthy snacks. It sends hope, optimism and a proof that people do care. Something that we all need to be reminded of once in a while.
3B NonProfit Thanks Delaware
The celebration was a huge success! We were honored to be part of such a fun and thoughtful event. There were games like foursquare and cornhole, a moonbounce obstacle course, photobooth, door prizes, music from WSTW, t-shirts, cool sunglasses that fold up to fit in your pocket and delicious food. Who knew the Bear-Glasgow YMCA had so much awesome space for fun events and parties.
Braeden even gave a great speech and gave out awards to people like his buddy Senator Bryan Townsend, Senator Bethany Hall Long, super supporters from his family like his grandparents, Ministry of Caring, The Food Bank of Delaware, YMCA of Delaware, Gals That Give & APO Zeta Sigma at University of Delaware. Delaware Senator Tom Carper, Jeffery Gentry of The News Journal, Tanya Steel of Epicurious were also thanked but were unable to be make the event.
I was part of a planning committee that consisted of Braeden, his mom Christy, Terry Mullan of the YMCA and Kim Turner and Caitlin Custer from The Food Bank of Delaware. He invited us up on stage and said the nicest things about each of us! Braeden’s thoughtful and unexpected words gave me goosebumps – thank you, Braeden!! I just have to say that it is easy to bubbly and happy when you are helping someone like you make a difference in the world! You inspire us all, Braeden. Keep up the awesome work.
Sponsors of the 3B Thank You event were: YMCA of Delaware, The Food Bank of Delaware, 93.7 WSTW, Big Fish Grill, UDairy Creamery, Custom Ink, Gals That Give, Holman Moving Systems and the Transportation Union Systems Local Lodge 584.
Keep up the amazing work Braeden! Looking forward to next year.
Find out more about 3B: Brae’s Brown Bags
Braeden Mannering is a ten year old on a mission to help those in need with healthy snacks. He’s a food insecurity advocate and introduced Michelle Obama with a fantastic speech at the 2014 Kids’ State Dinner in July 2014. Follow Braeden’s adventures to do good on Facebook, Twitter or read his blog.