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MB at Camp HIS KIDS 2000
MBAF donates to Little Bit
Mary Beth is our inspiration.
MBAF buys washers and dryers!
MBAF supports Camp HIS KIDS!
"Life is short laugh hard!"
Mary Beth and Cardinal Rigali
The Ricken family in 2000.

THANK YOU TO

EVERYONE WHO MADE TRIVIA NIGHT ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 SUCH A GREAT SUCCESS!

WE WERE ABLE TO RAISE OVER $4,000 TO BENEFIT LOCAL CHILDREN!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE LAUER FAMILY FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE EVENT.

Mary Beth's Angels Foundation was created in January 2001 by the Ricken family to live out the dream of their daughter and sister, Mary Beth Ricken. Mary Beth's Angels Foundation has the mission to promote a positive environment for underprivileged children, concentrating on the specific areas of need in our community including hunger, cleanliness, education, and healthcare. Mary Beth's Angels Foundation is a publicly supported and registered 501(c)(3) charity designed as a volunteer-based organization which allows administrative costs to be minimal. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the creation of Mary Beth's Angels Foundation in 2011, we continue to be blessed by the love and generous support of our friends and family. We cannot thank our supporters enough for their generosity and dedication to the cause over the past ten years. In Mary Beth's words, "Life is short, laugh hard!"

Our Story

OUR STORY

Mary Beth's Angels Foundation was created for the benefit of children in mid-January 2001 to live out the lifelong dream of the most courageous and faith-filled person we know, Mary Beth Ricken. Mary Beth did not realize her dream of helping children because cancer took her life on January 23, 2001 during her freshman year at St. Joseph's Academy at the age of 15. She fought her battle with grace and dignity over the course of her 15-month illness and accepted the role God planned for her without every complaining about her condition.MB had a smile that would light up any room, a contagious laugh that brought a smile to all who heard it, and a tremendous sense of humor. She lived her personal motto, adopted at age 10, of "Life is short, laugh hard!" Above all, she had a warm heart of compassion for all in need. Her long term plans included becoming a pediatric oncologist focusing on treatment of children with cancer and researching to find a cure. She wanted to volunteer her time assisting children, concentrating on specific areas of need in the community including hunger, cleanliness, education, and illness.Through the generous support of our family and friends over the last 10 years, we have been able to send children with cancer and their siblings to summer camp, assist families with terminally ill children, provide food for poverty-stricken children, clothe children who lack basic necessitites, enable children to receive their first book and learn to read, supply inner city youth with sports equipment, provide school children with needed supplies, and much, much more.To read more of Mary Beth's journey, visit www.ricken.org.
No Frame

Mary Beth, Barbie & Heidi Ricken in 1993

Mary Beth's 8th Grade

School Picture, October 1999

The Ricken family celebrating Mary Beth's 15th Birthday on December 7, 2000

Archbishop (now Cardinal) Justin Rigali and Mary Beth in the Ricken's living room

What We Do

WHAT WE DO

OVERVIEW
HUNGER
CLEANLINESS
HEALTHCARE
EDUCATION

OVERVIEW

Since our inception in January 2001, our supporters have allowed us to touch the lives of thousands of children by allowing Mary Beth's Angels Foundation to contribute over $400,000 to various causes in the St. Louis area and beyond.Just days before her death, Mary Beth helped us to establish the parameters of the foundation. The first thing she wanted to do was honor those who supported her and our entire family throughout her illness. She wanted to name the foundation after all these people - her angels. The other thing she wanted to outline was the mission of Mary Beth's Angels Foundation. She wanted the foundation to focus on assisting children in need, specifically in the areas of hunger, cleanliness, healthcare, and education.Mary Beth recognized that there are many wonderful organizations in place that support children with cancer. She also did not want cancer to define her and her legacy, so she wanted to make sure the foundation helped sick children as well as those who were hungry, in need of education, and in search of a clean living environment.We cannot express enough gratitude to all who have and continue to support the foundation and know that Mary Beth is smiling upon all of you. Through your support, you truly are making a profound positive difference in the lives of thousands of children.We are blessed by your support. Please utilize this site to explore how important each and every one of you is to the children supported by the foundation. We are always looking for ways to adapt the foundation to serve those who are in the greatest need in these areas, so please contact us if you have a program you believe will fit within these parameters.

Mary Beth with her friends Jenny & Rachel at Camp HIS KIDS 2000

Mary Beth before attending school at St. Joseph's Academy her freshman year.

Mary Beth on Christmas Day 1999.

Mary Beth fishing at Camp HIS KIDS in 2000.

The Ricken family (Heidi, Barbie, Sheila, Will, Gerry, and Mary Beth)

on Mother's Day 2000.

HUNGER

PROVIDING FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY IN ST. LOUIS

Mary Beth was always concerned that there were so many hungry children in our world. She recognized that there were many starving children in third world countries, but she took the words of Mother Theresa to heart and encouraged us that through the foundation we should "tend to our own Calcutta" at home and focus on feeding the hungry in St. Louis. Mary Beth recognized that there were many hungry children in our city and she wanted us to do something about it.We have been able to provide food and basic necessities for those in our community that are in great need. Mary Beth's Angels Foundation has not only given monetary support to local food pantries, we have also sponsored holiday meal programs and provided emergency assistance of grocery store gift cards to families served by Wings pediatric hospice.We have been able to donate grocery store gift cards to Wings pediatric hospice to be used by the families they serve. Many of these families can barely afford to pay the medical bills for their child's treatment, let alone put food on the table. With our help, the burden of feeding their family is eased by the donation of grocery store gift cards to be used on necessities.We have also sponsored holiday meal programs for children whose families cannot afford a Thanksgiving dinner. We have been able to buy the turkeys to go along with all the other ingredients to make a Thanksgiving dinner so these children, who wouldn't be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner otherwise, can experience the holidays with their families.The St. Augustine Wellston Center serves the community of North St. Louis County as a food pantry and health center. This center is run by Sister Mary Beckman, SSND, Ministry Director. Like most local non-profits in recent years, the center has suffered financially. The center caters to families with children who predominantly have one parent. Mary Beth's Angels Foundation has been able to provide over $5,000 in funding for the center to allow them to supply milk and laundry detergent to the families they serve. Additionally, Mary Beth's Angels Foundation was able to reestablish a reading corner at the Center. The foundation provided a library of books for the children served by the center. Many of these children do not own books and most are never read to. The New Hope Food Pantry in St. Charles County feeds over 40,000 people each year. Their clientele includes families from across 19 counties in Missouri and Illinois. The pantry has been on the verge of closing due to a lack of funding. When it was nearing closing in 2001, the foundation matched a $5,000 donation by St Louis Rams player Adam Timmerman to help them keep their doors open. Again, in 2004, the pantry was low on funding to the point that it was forced to close for the first time since its opening in 1990. When the foundation became aware of the closing, it again contributed $5,000 so the doors could reopen. Additionally, the foundation sought $5,000 in additional funding from another source. The food pantry reopened its doors and continues its ministry in feeding the hungry in our community. In addition to food, the New Hope Food Pantry provides families access to diapers, personal hygiene products and clothing.

CLEANLINESS

THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION

We partner with The Little Bit Foundation (TLBF) to provide washers and dryers in schools they serve so the children at those schools can have their clothes washed. We have been able to place washers and dryers in six schools to date. Understanding that not all children have access to clean clothing, we can help. In addition to washers and dryers, we have helped provide laundry detergent and personal care products to TLBF so they can distribute the items to the children who need them the most.TLBF was born in 2001 out of a small request from an inner-city school teacher and has grown into serving over 3,000 students in 13 schools throughout the St. Louis area. TLBFs 100+ volunteers develop strong partnerships with sponsored schools to offer consistent, empowering hope to children in need. Their presence in the schools, working one-on-one with each child, combined with providing basic necessities such as clothing, shoes and coats, and ensures each childs personal dignity. Their program breaks down the barriers to learning and succeeding. This consistent interaction, combined with these basic necessities has the power to change lives.Mary Beth's Angels Foundation relies on both monetary donations and donations of new hygiene products, new and gently used clothing and winter coats, new underwear and socks, and new laundry detergent to provide TLBF with the things they need in order to serve as many children as possible. Mary Beth was always concerned that children who did not have clean clothes or soap and shampoo would not want to go to school. She loved school and she couldn't imagine never wanting to go to school for fear or being picked on for being smelly or dirty. She wanted us to focus on providing the essentials (food, clothing, even things as basic as socks and underwear) to children in need so those basic necessities would not get in the way of the children succeeding in school. We feel that our work with TLBF fits perfectly with Mary Beth's vision for the foundation.To learn more about The Little Bit Foundation, please visit their website at www.thelittlebitfoundation.org

TLBF co-founder Elise Tierney, Sheila & Gerry Ricken, and TLBF co-founder Rose Hanley purchasing washers and dryers for schools TLBF serves.

Worn out shoes a child TLBF serves was wearing before they were replaced

This child was wearing a size 5 shoe until TLBF replaced his shoes with the correct size, 9.

HEALTHCARE

CAMP HIS KIDS

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

Each year, Mary Beth's Angels Foundation sends children with cancer and their siblings to Camp HIS KIDS, a camp for children with cancer and their siblings. HIS KIDS is a fabulous organization that recognizes that cancer diagnoses affect the entire family. Camp HIS KIDS allows children with cancer and their siblings to act like "normal" kids for the week by taking a break from their hectic lives at home and do activities such as fishing, archery, tie-dye, swimming, dream catchers and more! Over the past ten years, Mary Beth's Angels Foundation has sent over 100 children to camp.Mary Beth, Barbie and Heidi attended Camp HIS KIDS in 2000 as campers and Barbie, Heidi, and Will have been going back ever since. Barbie and Heidi volunteer at camp each year and Barbie is now on the Camp Planning Team and one of the camp directors. HIS KIDS has provided a wonderful support system for our family over the past 12 years and we are grateful that we are able to give back to such a great organization. Mary Beth really enjoyed her time at Camp HIS KIDS so we are sure that supporting such a great cause fits with her vision for the foundation. To learn more about HIS KIDS, visit www.hiskidsinc.org.
We have been able to pay the mortgage, rent, utilities, make insurance payments, and provide other monetary support to families whose children are sick and being treated at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital and Wings Pediatric Hospice. Often times when children are sick with chronic illnesses, parents have to take time off from work to take care of their children. We have been able to provide air conditioning units to families whose children are in hospice care so they can be at home with their families for the last few days and weeks of their lives. We have also been able to pay utility bills and make rent payments for families where the parents are unable to work so they can spend the last few weeks and days of their children's lives with them.A specific example of this is when one little girl was on hospice care and she and her family were living in an apartment. They had to make a visit to the clinic and when they came back home, everything in their home had been stolen. They were living there because they could not afford to live anywhere else and all of their belongings were stolen. We were able to get them moved in to a nicer apartment in a better area so the little girl could live her last few days safely and peacefully and not in fear of another break in.

MB Jenny and Rachel Camp 2000
One camper's inspiring words.
Fishing is a camper favorite.
Campers enjoying the dance
Campers get to be kids at camp
Camp is a relief for some kids
Kids learn archery at camp.
Siblings come to camp too!

EDUCATION

SCHOLARSHIP AT ST. JOSEPH'S ACADEMY

PEDIATRIC CENTER READING PROGRAMS

From an early age, Mary Beth loved to be read to and when she learned to read on her own, there was no stopping her. She would go to bed on time only to be caught later with a flashlight in her bed after "lights out" because she was so entralled with a literary piece she couldn't put it down. She believed that learning through reading was one of the pillars of the educational process.She read everything she could get her hands on. When she found a series of books she liked, she would read the entire series before moving on to another. She would also read as many books as she could on topics that interested her. In fact, she read more books on the holocaust before she was 12 years old than most people read in their lifetimes. We wanted to spread her love for literature to children who may not otherwise have the opportunity.We have sponsored reading programs at several pediatric centers in which books are made available to children, read to them, and gifted to them. Centers receiving this sponsorship include the oncology clinics of St. Louis Children's Hospital, Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, as well as the Children's Home Society of Missouri, Edgewood Children's Home, and Our Little Haven.The children receiving treatment for cancer in the oncology clinics appreciate the escape reading provides, especially those in isolation receiving stem cell transplants. We recall just how isolated one feels when we reflect on Mary Beth's transplant.Some of the children who receive these books have no other possessions and all are very thankful for the gift of education.We are always looking for donations of new and gently used children's books for all reading levels to be utilized in these programs.

On February 5, 2000, Mary Beth was about as excited as we have ever seen her. At this point, she had undergone several brain surgeries, rounds of radiation and chemotherapy. She was eagerly anticipating her letter of acceptance to St. Joesph's Academy, and it arrived on that day. For those not familiar with selecting the Catholic high school of choice in St Louis, it is truly a process.All applicants select the number one, two and three choices and are matched with the schools' choices. Mary Beth selected St. Joe as her number one choice and they offered her a spot in the class of 2004. She was very excited to be an SJA Angel, following the tradition of her mother, aunts, great aunt and cousins before her.She attended for one semester, missed 59.5 school days which equates to 12 weeks and received an "A" average in each class and earned a 4.0 GPA. She was informed by Sister Pam that she shared the number one academic position with 24 other freshmen. She also received an Honor Student medal. Mary Beth truly enjoyed each day she was feeling well enough to attend St. Joe.She truly valued her education and wished others would have the opportunity to attend school like St. Joseph's Academy. In her memory, the foundation has established a scholarship at St. Joe for girls who are accepted because of their academic achievements but cannot afford tuition payments.

How To Help

HOW YOU CAN HELP

DONATE
EVENTS
HOST A FUNDRAISER
VOLUNTEER

DONATE

As a non-profit organization, we rely solely on donations from our supporters to operate the foundation. We are a volunteer-based organization so all of your donated dollars go to those who need them the most. To make a tax-deductible donation, mail a check to: Mary Beth's Angels Foundation, 43 Chaminade Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141 or call (314) 997-1455 to donate over the phone. Look for online donations coming soon!

DONATE ITEMS

We are always looking for donations of:

New Books for children of all ages

Deoderant

Liquid & Bar Soap

Body Wash

Hotel & Travel-sized shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste & soap

Toothbrushes & Toothpaste

Laundry Detergent (especially for HE machines)

Non-perishable food items

Feminine Hygeine Products

New underwear for children of all sizes

New socks

New tennis shoes of all sizes

Winter coats & fleeces

Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Grocery Gift Certificates in all increments

To coordinate drop off or pick up of donated items, email barbie_marybethsangels.org

If you are interested in hosting a drive to collect any of the above items, please contact Barbie Ricken barbie_marybethsangels.org and we will be happy to help provide pick up boxes, signage, and coordinate pick up of the items.

HOST A COLLECTION DRIVE

EVENTS

PARTICIPATE IN OUR EVENTS

The most fun way to support Mary Beth's Angels Foundation is to participate in our events! Event tickets and sponsorships are a great way to interact with other Mary Beth's Angels supporters while enjoying yourself at the same time! Past events include golf tournaments, pheasant hunts, a night at the St. Louis Aces (professional World TeamTennis team in St. Louis) match, and our annual Mary Beth's Angels March Madness pool!

We are hoping to add more fun events to the mix in the coming years including trivia night, 80s prom, and bringing back Aunt Sheila & Uncle Gerry's Easter Egg Hunt as a Mary Beth's Angels fundraiser. Check back often for up-to-date information on our upcoming events.

DONATE ITEMS FOR OUR EVENTS

Can't participate in our events but still want to help? Donate items for our events! We are always looking for items for silent auctions, attendance prizes, and of course food and drink donations for our events. Whether you own a restaurant or are a season ticketholder for any professional sports team, we can use any donation we get to help raise more funds to help children in need.

If you have items you would like to donate, please contact Barbie Ricken by emailing barbie_marybethsangels.org .

HOST A FUNDRAISER

From lemonade stands and trivia nights to birthday parties to dress down days at school and chili cook offs, we welcome any outside fundraiser for Mary Beth's Angels Foundation.

Every little bit helps!

We have had neighborhood kids donate proceeds of their lemonade stands to Mary Beth's Angels Foundation. We have also had children and adults ask for donations (either monetary or new books, socks, winter coats, etc.) in lieu of gifts at their birthday and graduation parties. We have had families at Christmas buy winter coats or new books to donate to Mary Beth's Angels Foundation instead of gifts for one another. We have had grade schools and high schools host dress down days or "wear purple" days in support of Mary Beth's Angels Foundation. One unique idea was when a friend collected donations for running a marathon and donated them to Mary Beth's Angels.

We truly appreciate the generosity and dedication to Mary Beth's Angels that it takes to host an outside fundraiser. Your hard work and thoughtfulness do not go unnoticed.

If you would like to host an outside fundraiser, please contact Barbie Ricken by emailing barbie_marybethsangels.org and we would be happy to provide silicone "Life is short, laugh hard" bracelets for your fundraiser as well as literature and information about Mary Beth's Angels Foundation. We will also happily send acknowledgement letters to all participants of your outside fundraiser as well.

VOLUNTEER

Looking for service hours or just looking to help out a great cause? Volunteer for Mary Beth's Angels Foundation! Because we are a volunteer-based organization with no one on the payroll, we rely on the help of many volunteers to live out Mary Beth's dream of serving children in need.

We always need volunteers to be on our event committees, volunteer at our events, help sort and log items after drives and help with mailings and administrative tasks.

If you are interested in volunteering for Mary Beth's Angels Foundation, please contact Barbie Ricken by emailing barbie_marybethsangels.org . Thank you!

Friends

MEET OUR FRIENDS

ORGANIZATIONS WE WORK WITH

Erin Andra Wilson Foundation

News and Events

Upcoming Events
Mary Beths Angels News

Upcoming Events

UPCOMING EVENTS

THANK YOU!

We would like to thank everyone who made our first ever TRIVIA NIGHT! To benefit Mary Beth's Angels Foundation on Saturday, October 1 such a great success! A special thank you to the Lauer family and all our donors who allowed our costs for the event to be minimal.

We were able to raise over $4,000 to benefit local children!

We LOVED the table theme ideas and it was very difficult deciding on a winner.

Look for pictures coming soon!

Facebook

Click here to "Like"

us on Facebook!

Mary Beths Angels News

MARY BETH'S ANGELS NEWS

Mary Beth's Angels Pays it Forward with Donation to The Little Bit Foundation

April 2011

Mary Beth's Angels Foundation was able to deliver a shipment of HE laundry detergent, antibacterial hand soap, body wash, bar soap and deoderant to The Little Bit Foundation. These items go to the schools that TLBF serves. We heard that some of the schools TLBF serves ran out of antibacterial hand soap and laundry detergent just before we delivered our shipment so everything is being used right away. Thank you to HIS KIDS, Inc. for providing us with this great product that we were able to pass along where it was needed.

Mary Beth's Angels 6th Annual March Madness Bracket a Success!

March 2011

Thank you to everyone who participated and filled out brackets! And a BIG thank you to everyone who so generously donated to the cause. All donations will be used to purchase much-needed shoes for school-aged children in the St. Louis area. We have raised over $1,250 so far and donations keep coming in.

Congratulations to our winners: 1st place ($250) - Ken Ricken, 2nd place ($100) - Amy Preston, 3rd place ($50) - Ryan Feil.

A special thank you to Ken Ricken who donated his prize money back to the foundation.

Mary Beth's Angels Foundation is on Facebook!

January 2011

"Like" Mary Beth's Angels on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/marybethangels for pictures, news, events, and up to date information about the happenings of Mary Beth's Angels Foundation.

An Angel Watching Over Little Bit

September 2010

Check out this great article that details some of the ways that Mary Beth's Angels Foundation helps

The Little Bit Foundation.

Donate Now

DONATE NOW

GIVE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION

Cash and check tax-deductible donations can be mailed to:

Mary Beth's Angels Foundation

43 Chaminade Drive

St. Louis, MO 63141

To make a credit card donation over the phone:

Call (314) 997-1455

We accept tax-deductible donations in the form of cash, check, Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Donations are non-refundable once processed.

To respect the privacy of our donors, any personal information collected in the donation process will remain private and will not be shared with

organizations other than Mary Beth's Angels Foundation.

To donate giveaways and items for our events, contact:

Barbie Ricken, Development Director, barbie_marybethsangels.org

DONATE ITEMS TO HELP THOSE IN NEED