Meet Hailey Loftis of A Sprinkle of Sunshine in Flower Mound

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hailey Loftis.

Hailey, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The reason I started A Sprinkle of Sunshine, is simple, I want to help love and encourage people going through one of the hardest times of their lives. I personally lost all of my grandparents due to cancer: pancreatic, lung, and colon cancer. In 2016, I found myself sitting in the chemo room at Texas Oncology getting iron infusions. The first round was great, my friend and mom came, but I was distracted from the reality of that room. I went alone the second time and wow my heart shattered. I watched so many people with life-altering medical diagnosis’ walk in this bright, cold, colorless room and sit down; they looked exhausted. I sat there and prayed, “God help me be a light in here and encourage these patients, that someone is rooting for them. Heal them, take their pain away and let them find comfort.” After a while, I text my mom saying, ” My heart is breaking, I want to help these people or at least encourage them.” That night I went and bought candy and little bags and filled them.

The next infusion, I took these bags and the looks I got shook me to my core, it was bringing smiles to faces, this room wasn’t so dark anymore. One lady handed me a coloring book and crayons and said, “you made my day, knowing that people still care about me. Please take this and enjoy, God, bless you,” That year for Christmas, I posted on Facebook asking for donations of items or money and had a fundraiser at a restaurant. I ended up making bags with tissues, hand sanitizer, chapstick, hard candy and put the bags in a Santa hat. Fast forward two years and my parents and a best friend convinced me that 20 isn’t too young to start a non-profit. I started a fundraiser to raise funds for the necessary fees of becoming a non-profit and was blown away with donations, I met my goal in less than 24 hours. One gentleman that I had given a Santa hat to two years prior, donated $200 to me. I went through all the hoops and got approval in March 2018, I officially had my own non-profit A Sprinkle of Sunshine. Every year on my birthday I take as many bags as possible to Texas Oncology, this year going to four different locations around DFW totaling almost 700 bags and even taking 60 Build-a-Bears to Medical City Children’s. In each bag, there is chemical-free chapstick, hand sanitizer, tissues, tea bags, ginger chews, water, crackers, crystal light, candies, queasy drops, Biotene mouth wash, and most importantly handwritten cards. Every month or so, I gather friends and my family and we spend a day making bags, then we deliver the bags to different Oncology locations.

Has it been a smooth road?
There were many challenges in becoming a non-profit, such as funding, finding volunteers to help write notes and prepare bags, and being told “no” by many corporations when asking for donations. There are lots of fees when starting a nonprofit such as application fees, hiring someone to prepare documents and to keep a website/email up and running. When you have a non-profit, you run off of donations and being told “no” by corporations is very hard and discouraging. When you find places that will donate though, it changes your perspective when asking companies.

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
A Sprinkle of Sunshine is a nonprofit that delivers Sunshine sacs to different oncology locations. I am most proud of our nonprofit because we have accomplished more than I could’ve dreamed of, we come together to bring sunshine into people’s lives that we don’t even know. Our board is made up of close family and friends which sets us apart from others, we also assemble the bags together.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love how close and supportive we are of one another being successful. So many great companies in the DFW area that generously donate and support us such as Nothing Bundt Cakes in Flower Mound, Board and Brush Highland Village, and many other corporations.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3404 FIRESIDE DR
• Website: asprinkleofsunshine.org
• Email: haileyloftis@asprinkleofsunshine.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_sprinkleofsunshine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Asprinkleofsunshine18/

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