Two fundraisers in the north Chicago suburb of Vernon Hills are working to bring safe entertainment to kids in local hospitals and treatment centers.
The nonprofit Hope Always Foundation is working to deliver custom entertainment devices called Warrior Tablets to the young patients. The first event was to be held at 10 a.m. Sunday at The Painted Penguin at Hawthorn Mall with painting, slime-making, and other activities, while the second event was set for 5 p.m. Sunday at Lifesport Pickleball.
Emmy Award-winning voiceover actor Bobby Kesselman, who works as the stunt voice for characters on the Fox TV show “Family Guy,” started the Hope Always Foundation in honor of his sister, Becca, who died of cancer at the age of 18 when Kessleman himself was 16 and in high school.
When most girls were trying on prom dresses, Becca faced surgeries, seizures, radiation, and chemo. But Kesselman said his sister had unbelievable courage and never complained.
In fact, with there not being any teen cancer support groups at the time, Becca started one in her living room. Her mantra was “Hope Always,” Kesselman said.
“It’s been a very long time in trying to figure out many ways to honor her memory, and one of the things that always inspired me was the courage she showed during her cancer fight, and wanting to fight a way to pass that along,” Kesselman said, “and finally, the technology came around several years later, but I was able to put in the same fun, passion, and inspiration that she gave me in trying to give it to all the incredible pediatric patients in Chicago and around the country.”
The Hope Always Foundation is distributing Warrior Tablets to hospitals and the Ronald McDonald House, which supports families with sick children. The Warrior Tablets are customized entertainment devices that are remotely secured to ensure they don’t have search engines, YouTube, or social media.
“We are able to control them so that there is no social media, there is no advertising, and there is no tracking,” Kesselman said. “So the most important thing is we can give parents a really wonderful peace of mind as they’re also having to deal with the very difficult emotional roller coaster which they’re dealing with.”
The Warrior Tablets are filled with video books, educational content, classic and contemporary movies and TV shows, and relaxation content.
“A lot of research that we’ve found is the highest level of stress and anxiety comes when pediatric patients are about to go through either surgery or extensive care,” said Kesselman, “so what we want to do is really create a wonderful platform for them to be able to relax and enjoy themselves, and really overall, improve patient care for as many hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses as we can.”
Proceeds for the Hope Always Foundation fundraising events this weekend are supporting the mission to deliver Warrior Tablets to pediatric patients at hospitals such as Rush University Medical Center and Stroger Hospital of Cook County.
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