Red Wagon campaign continues to grow
In first grade, Rosie Westerbeck was admitted to Dayton Children’s Hospital (DCH) after being sick for quite a while. That experience led her to creating the Red Wagon Campaign (RWC), which donates red wagons and toys to children’s hospitals, and just completed its 6th annual campaign this year.
After being rushed into surgery at DCH, she recuperated and was able to go home but not before it made a lasting impact on her.
“You're getting put into an environment that you're totally unfamiliar with,” said Westerbeck of her hospital stay. “You don't really know what's going on, but the children's hospitals are absolutely amazing and they make the entire environment so kid-friendly and there's donors that get involved in giving toys. In my case, I got a handmade blanket that I still have and it really did comfort me in a time that was so confusing for me.”
“You think back to anything as a first grader and most of it's just fond memories of being at recess and hanging out with your friends in school,” added Westerbeck. “My memories are of being sick but because of the comfort and the care that I and many others received at DCH and other children's hospitals, we received good care because of their intentionality of making kids feel at home.”
The first RWC began in Dec. of 2013, Westerbeck’s freshman year of high school at New Bremen. After speaking with her principal and having a connection on student council, her brother was a senior and on student council at the time, four wagons filled with toys were delivered to DCH.
What started out as a four-person operation, not including donors and individual volunteers, has evolved into five to ten people that make the RWC happen each year.
“The first one was very special,” said Westerbeck. “You don't want to make it necessarily materialistic. But in this case, when you get to give a hospital some much needed
supplies that they don’t have to worry about, budgeting for new wagons every year. I can cross off the list of the things that they shouldn’t even need to think about, that they can cover with donors. And that’s the wagons and those toys for the kids.”
Westerbeck told the Community Post there’s always those moments in life where you are thankful; but as a freshman, she decided to put that gratefulness into action. “That’s how the Red Wagon Campaign started,” said Westerbeck. “The wagons themselves are used as transportation in the hospitals. Anything to make the kids feel more at home and more comfortable in that environment. They use the wagons because they’re a lot less scary than being in a wheelchair.”
It came full circle for Westerbeck last year when her cousin’s daughter was at DCH when the RWC was able to provide the family with toiletries and toys during their stay.
“That was really special,” said Westerbeck. “For me to see the actual items affecting my family was pretty neat.”
Since Dec. 2013, the campaign has grown, partnering with local schools, basketball showcases and even the Cincinnati Reds in Jan. of 2017, Westerbeck’s senior year of high school.
After her freshman year, she transferred to Minster and didn’t know if the RWC would continue with her changing schools and being a senior.
“I just wanted to challenge myself to do it, another time, see if I could get some really cool people involved,” said Westerbeck of connecting with the Reds. “See how big I could make it, just a personal challenge for me to see how many people we can engage.”
Westerbeck told the Community Post that the RWC has grown legs and ran on, never anticipating it getting this big, but gave credit to the good people that’ve wanted to give back and get involved.
This year, the RWC had a goal of donating 20 wagons and were able to give them 24 in a year with a pandemic.
“It was the most that we’ve ever given at a single time,” said Westerbeck. “We were able to actually give them some of (the wagons) fully assembled so that they can put them into use right away. But also, we gave them a bunch of them, still in their boxes so that when they need to put new ones out, that they can put them out when needed.”
“I didn’t know how generous people were going to be,” added Westerbeck.
“I didn’t know what it was going to look like, a lot of my donors are small town businesses. I didn’t know their capacity to give back this year, but they were so generous and so kind, and I was very overwhelmed with their kindness this year.”
As the operation has grown, Westerbeck’s role has changed. She partners with local schools, like working with the Youth Leadership Association (YLA) at Minster, by giving them the chance to spearhead that project within the school.
“I’m not only telling them and giving them the resources to be successful at their school with the RWC,” said Westerbeck. “but walking through it as if I’m a mentor for them and showing them, ‘hey, this is more than just collecting wagons, there is a bigger purpose to what we’re doing here.’ And it comes full circle when they get to actually hand that toy to the kid in the hospital.”
Externally, Westerbeck acts as the connection between the RWC and donors whether it be businesses that have donated in the past or others that she is trying to reach. But it is all done under the umbrella of the RWC.
Planning for the annual campaign usually begins each September and this year’s campaign launched on Nov. 23 and ran through Dec. 14.
Normally, the RWC is given a tour of the hospital, before being able to meet some of the patients and delivering toys directly to them. But this year, with the pandemic, the RWC made an offsite donation.
“It lets the students see where their work is going,” said Westerbeck on a normal year of delivering the holidays goods. “That’s when the YLA will come to Dayton with us and that group will see the fruit of their labor and see exactly where their wagons are going. It’s special to me because that was my family in that situation and the people that went before me to make donations to DCH, affecting my life and effecting my family.”
“It is very meaningful for me to help,” added Westerbeck. “to give back to the hospital that saved my life and other children’s hospitals that save other kids’ lives because I know that I’m not the only one out there. But the people that went before me and donated to impact my life, I want to do that for the next generation of patients.”
To learn more about the RWC, you can visit their website at www. redwagoncampaign.com or connect with them on social media.