The Lainey Bird Foundation

10/10/2026

We cannot let this day pass without taking a moment to remember our beautiful Lainey. 💜 Although this date may signify when she gained her angel wings, her story was far from over the day she left us.

Not a day goes by that we don't miss her smile, her spirit or the shining light that she brought into our lives. With The Lainey Bird Foundation we hope to bring a little bit of that light into the lives of others who might need it. As always, we couldn't do this without all of YOU who support us and make this possible.

We are forever grateful that we were able to call her ours, and we know she would be SO proud of the direction we are headed. We miss you so much angel girl and we will continue to honor you in our work 💜

09/28/2026

💜 Elliot 💜

Elliot is a brave 6 year old from Viola, IL who has been through so much just in this past year alone. When Elliot was 5 years old, he was diagnosed with NPHP1; a rare genetic condition that affected his kidneys. His parents were told he would need a transplant within 3-5 years but by February the following year he needed to have dialysis.

He got his transplant in May 27th of this year but that was only the start of a new lifelong journey for him and his parents. This past summer he was readmitted 4 times and ultimately had a g-tube placed last month.

Life with a transplant is an entirely new way of living. Medication checks, regular blood draws and extra precaution with a suppressed immune system just to name a few. This family has a journey ahead of them and we are so grateful to have been able to help lighten a little of their burden.

Elliot also reminded us of our sweet Lainey with those bright red glasses of his. Keep smiling sweet boy, you are SO brave!!! 💜

09/07/2026

💜💜💜 We want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU and shoutout to Brynlee Lambin & Reap and Sow Nutrition, both from Geneseo, IL.

Brynlee recently participated in the Little Miss Geneseo Music Festival Pageant and chose The Lainey Bird Foundation as the organization she wanted to support. She loved our mission and wanted to help.

She raised money through bake sales, and Reap & Sow generously donated $1 from every drink sold to help support her fundraiser. She raised $1600! WOW!

We are amazed by all of her hard work and so thankful that she chose our foundation as the recipient!!! Stay tuned for more info on families we plan to help serve through her donation! 💜💜💜

08/07/2026

Our first official recipient…

💜Harlow💜

Miss Harlow is a very special 6 year old from Orion. Shortly after birth, she was diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic disorder known as MPS-1. There is no cure, however because it was caught early on, she began the necessary treatment at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital that would help save her life.

She and her family make the trip WEEKLY for her to receive enzyme replacement therapy. At this time, she has received over 300 infusions. You can do the math on that one…mileage, time off work, time away from family, it adds up quick.

We couldn’t be more thankful to her parents for allowing us to share a photo of their beautiful girl and let us tell a little bit of her story. Being able to help this sweet family leaves us with a sense of pride knowing that Lainey’s story will continue on with our work and our mission. 💜

07/31/2026

👚T-shirt store is back open!!

We’ve had a number of people ask about our T-shirt store… They didn’t put their orders in in time so we had them reopen up the store! All orders are due August 11th!!

‼️Store will likely not be open again until another fundraiser next year!

Online ordering for The Lainey Bird Foundation August 2026 ends on Tue, Aug 11, 2026 (11:59 PM CDT)

07/28/2026

💜 We are absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the turnout we had on Sunday for our first Lainey Bird Foundation event!!!! Just WOW. 🤩🤩🤩

We needed a bit of time to rest up and hydrate before we could make this post because Sunday really left us speechless. 🙌🏻

The waterpark was bound to be a hit with 100° plus indexes but we certainly didn’t expect to have a PACKED pavilion full of support for our cookout. You guys showed up for us and we cannot thank you all enough!!!!

To our volunteers who showed up early ready to sweat, to our sponsors we didn’t even have to ASK for support, to the friends, family and even absolute strangers that wanted to donate raffle items to us——THANK YOU!!! Those of you who came out to brave the heat with us, you really are amazing. We really have no words 🥹 this event was a success because of all of you, and this gave us so much hoping moving forward that we have the support to make a real change in people’s lives.

We didn’t think to hire a photographer (must not know any 🙃😅) but here are some photos that have been sent in after the fundraiser was over. If you have any photos you’d like to share to be added to this album, please send them to Kelsey!

07/26/2026

💜💜💜 TODAY is the day!!!! 💜💜💜

We are pumped for this afternoon and cannot wait to see all your smiling (and sweaty 😆) faces!!! Few last minute things to note!!!

🍔 FOOD is served right at 4 until we run out!!

🎁 RAFFLE baskets will all be drawn between 5:45-6pm so get here before then if you plan to put your name in a few!!

💦 WATERPARK: If you are just meeting us over there thats fine too!! You can purchase tickets at the door and we also have a list of who is already paid! No entry allowed after 6:45pm so please be on time!

SEE YOU ALL THIS AFTERNOON 😎😎😎

07/26/2026

🩷🩷🩷Pink Sponsors Alert!! Here are the pink sponsors for this years event we appreciate your support!!

07/25/2026

💜💜 Purple Sponsor Highlight 💜💜
Big thank you to Emma Wagener with Crafty Mama Co. for supplying all of our signage for the event! Reach out to her for any of your crafting or party planning needs...she can do it ALL!