An entrepreneur's nonprofit helps sick kids

(FSB Magazine) -- Allison Stuart felt scared during the day she spent at the hospital in New Orleans awaiting surgery for recurring ear infections. Most 7-year-olds would. She had some things to comfort her, though - not reassuring words from her doctor or the prospect of a new treatment, but far simpler gifts: a colorful quilt and a heart-shaped pillow.

"Having something soft to hug made her feel at ease," says Allison's father, Bruce Stuart. The items, decorated with pictures and inspirational messages by kids and adults who didn't know Allison, consoled him too: "There were people around the country thinking about our daughter and sending positive thoughts for her speedy recovery." Now with tubes in her ears, Allison is back to normal.

Buksbaum (front) and student volunteers display their creations.

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The gifts were the brainchild of entrepreneur Lisa Honig Buksbaum. In 2001, Buksbaum closed her marketing firm, Boxtree Communications (Buksbaum means "boxtree" in Yiddish), which boasted a roster of brands such as Colgate and Lipton, to launch Soaringwords, a New York City nonprofit that helps sick children and their families.

In addition to corralling corporations, schools and youth groups to decorate quilts, pillows and murals with empowering messages, it offers a Web site (soaringwords.org) where healthy kids and hospitalized kids can connect to share stories, artwork and poetry, as well as participate in chats and online events.

Buksbaum, 46, understands from experience the need for this type of support: Within a span of ten months in 1998, her 35-year-old brother died suddenly of an asthma-induced heart attack, her father had a recurrence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (he defied the odds and survived) and her 9-year-old son became gravely ill with rheumatic fever, which left him bedridden for four months. "Everyone wants to do something positive, but they don't know what to do to help," she says.

Since its founding in 2001, Soaringwords has boosted the spirits of more than 150,000 pediatric patients in the U.S. and, through its Web site, reached children as far away as China, Israel, Mexico and Russia.

And Buksbaum hasn't lost the promotional prowess she wielded in her for-profit days. The group has an operating budget of $2 million this year, and over its six-year history Buksbaum has raised more than $7 million in in-kind donations (including furniture, printing and messenger services from small businesses nationwide) as well as $1 million in advertising airtime from A&E Television Networks to launch a national advertising campaign later this year.

The secret to loyal supporters? " 'No' is not in my vocabulary," says Buksbaum. "People are hungry for the work they do to be more than transactional. They want to make a difference."

To give feedback, or to tell us about a business owner who is giving back in an innovative way, please write to fsb_mail@timeinc.com.