Sometimes life tests us in ways we never see coming, presenting a moment so powerful that it reveals not only who we are, but who we’re meant to become.
For Casey Baynes, Founder and Executive Director of the Casey Cares Foundation, that moment came nearly 27 years ago in a Baltimore hospital room. What began as a simple act of kindness for one sick child became the spark for an organization that has now served more than 250,000 critically ill children and their family members across the country.
The remarkable part is that Baynes never set out to build a nonprofit. At the time, she was working in her family’s trucking and warehousing business, a career path rooted in more than 160 years of family history. She enjoyed working alongside her father and brother but felt something was missing. Looking for a way to give back, she began volunteering at local hospitals.
“Our goal was never just to provide a special experience,” Baynes says. “It was to let families know, ‘We’ve got you. We’re here for you.'”
During one hospital visit, she met a young patient whose greatest wish was to meet a race car driver in person. Growing up in a sports-loving family, Baynes thought she might be able to make that happen. After a few phone calls, a race car driver arrived at the child’s hospital room in full racing gear, creating a moment of pure excitement and joy.
As Baynes stepped back to let the family enjoy the moment, she heard a young boy in a nearby hospital bed say something she would never forget.
“I wish I had cancer. Maybe I’d get cool stuff too.”
Those words stopped her in her tracks.
Walking around the divider curtain, she saw a mother standing protectively beside her son. In that instant, Baynes understood something that would shape the rest of her life. The boy did not want cancer. What he wanted was to know that someone cared about him, that someone saw his struggle and was willing to stand beside him through it.
That realization became the foundation of Casey Cares. “Our goal was never just to provide a special experience,” Baynes says. “It was to let families know, ‘We’ve got you. We’re here for you.'”
What started with one family quickly spread to another, then another. Hospital social workers began sharing information about the organization, families told other families, and the need became impossible to ignore. Today, nearly three decades later, Casey Cares supports thousands of critically ill children nationwide through programs designed to provide ongoing comfort, connection, and joy.
More Than a Wish
People often assume Casey Cares is about granting special experiences, but Baynes says the heart of the organization is its commitment to staying with families long after a single event ends. During nearly three decades of service, Casey Cares has learned that critically ill children and their loved ones need more than a moment of joy. They need encouragement, connection, and support throughout a journey that can stretch for months or even years.
That’s why Casey Cares focuses on the entire family. When a child receives a serious diagnosis, the effects ripple through every relationship. Parents carry the weight of fear and uncertainty. Siblings struggle to understand why their best friend is suddenly spending more time in a hospital than at home. Everyday routines disappear, replaced by medical appointments, treatments, and long hours of waiting.
The organization’s programs are designed to ease those burdens in ways both large and small. Families may receive tickets to a sporting event, a day at an aquarium, a movie-and-pizza night at home, birthday celebrations, support groups, or opportunities to connect with other families facing similar challenges. The common thread is simple: meeting families where they are and providing exactly what they need in the moment.
The Power of Small Gestures
While celebrity meet-and-greets often draw attention, Baynes says some of the most meaningful moments are surprisingly ordinary.
A child admitted unexpectedly to the hospital may receive a new pair of soft pajamas. A parent who wasn’t planning to spend the night might receive a matching pair. A family unable to leave home because of a compromised immune system could receive everything needed for a movie night together.
“It’s not about the money,” Baynes explains. “It’s about giving families a little bit of hope.”
One of the organization’s most beloved programs grew out of a simple conversation with a mother whose daughter was undergoing chemotherapy. The teenager’s sixteenth birthday was approaching, a milestone many young girls spend years dreaming about and planning for. Instead of looking forward to celebrations with friends, however, she was facing one of the most difficult weeks of her life. Her hair had begun falling out, and classmates were whispering about her appearance.
“We got our little mama bear on,” Baynes recalls. She and one of Casey Cares’ earliest volunteers immediately called a local florist and arranged for two dozen red roses to be delivered to the girl’s school.
A few weeks later, the girl’s mother called with an update. The flowers had done far more than brighten her daughter’s birthday. They changed the way her classmates saw her. The whispers gave way to acceptance, kindness, and inclusion. What could have been a heartbreaking Sweet 16 became a powerful reminder that she was valued, supported, and never alone.
That small act eventually grew into Casey Cares’ Birthday Blast program, which now celebrates every child enrolled in the organization.
When the Mission Became Personal
Years after founding the organization, Baynes found herself experiencing the journey from a parent’s perspective. Her daughter, Mackenzie, was diagnosed with a critical illness at age 12 and underwent aggressive experimental treatment.
The experience deepened her understanding of the quiet struggles Casey Cares families face every day. She witnessed firsthand the helplessness parents feel, the uncertainty siblings carry, and the way an entire household is reshaped by a child’s diagnosis. More than anything, it confirmed that caring for a critically ill child means caring for the entire family.
…Casey Cares becomes a source of hope, compassion, and human connection during some of life’s most difficult circumstances.
“No one wants to be a Casey Cares family,” she says. “It means you’re facing one of the hardest situations imaginable.”
But for families suddenly thrust into that world, Casey Cares becomes a source of hope, compassion, and human connection during some of life’s most difficult circumstances. And after nearly three decades of walking beside critically ill children and their loved ones, countless families are grateful that when those moments arrive, Casey Cares is there.
A Community That Makes It Possible
Despite supporting families across the country, Casey Cares operates with a relatively small staff and an extraordinary network of volunteers.
Some volunteers help organize activities and care packages. Others call families, coordinate events, or prepare birthday celebrations. Community members regularly donate their time to projects as simple as rolling pajamas for delivery to hospitalized children.
That support allows Casey Cares to create an impact every day. According to Baynes, the organization now provides an activity, celebration, or meaningful touchpoint for a family approximately every 12 minutes.
Seeing the foundation’s name in Giant Food stores helps normalize asking for support and encourages families to connect with resources earlier in their journey.
The Giant Food Community Bag Program helps families discover support sooner, giving Casey Cares more opportunities to provide comfort, connection, and meaningful experiences along the way. While the funding generated through the program directly supports Casey Cares’ services, Baynes says the awareness it creates may be just as important.
Many families hesitate to seek help because they believe another family needs it more. Others don’t realize organizations like Casey Cares exist. Seeing the foundation’s name in Giant Food stores helps normalize asking for support and encourages families to connect with resources earlier in their journey.
“One of our biggest regrets is when we get a child into our programs and they’re already in hospice,” Baynes says. “Families often tell us they didn’t think Casey Cares was for them.” By increasing visibility in communities, the Giant Food Community Bag Program helps families discover support sooner, allowing Casey Cares to provide comfort, connection, and meaningful experiences throughout more of their journey.
That Moment That Changed Everything
Nearly 27 years ago, Casey Baynes walked into a hospital room hoping to brighten one little boy’s day. Instead, she walked out with a mission.
Since then, that single moment has grown into an organization that has touched hundreds of thousands of lives, providing comfort, connection, and joy to families facing the unimaginable. Whether through a birthday surprise, a movie night, a new pair of pajamas, or a dream come true, every act of kindness carries the same message:
“We got you. We’re here for you.”
For the families Casey Cares serves, those simple words may be the most powerful gift of all. And because one young volunteer chose to listen, and the caring communities these families call home continue to step forward, one moment of compassion grew into a world of change for countless critically ill children and their families, reminding them that they never have to face life’s hardest battles alone.
Casey Baynes, Founder & Executive Director, Casey Cares Foundation
Published August 19, 2026