This Teen’s Simple Idea During COVID Has Now Delivered 16,000 Care Kits to Kids in Need
From his family garage to thousands of kits delivered, one teen proves kindness can change everything
Over the last four years, Connor Wright has packaged and given away more than 16,000 care boxes — full of games, toys and necessities — to bring kids joy. Here, he shares his story with Woman’s World.
So many people are suffering right now, thought 12-year-old Connor Wright during the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to do something to help!
The Lynnfield, Massachusetts, native went to his parents, Erica and Dennis, and his grandmother, Sharon Marrama, and in 2021, they brainstormed ways to make life easier for people in their community. They came up with the idea of assembling COVID Care Bags for children stuck at home, and baskets of goodies for nurses.
“We can raise money by asking others to get involved,” they concluded. After reaching out to their neighbors, donations began pouring in.
“Let’s keep this up every month!” Connor decided.
Not long after, Connor’s gifting project became Connor’s Kindness Project. The Wright family started by partnering with two Boston-area nonprofits — Catie’s Closet, which provides clothing and toiletries to people in need; and Birthday Wishes, which gives birthday celebrations to children in shelters — and provided gift boxes for those organizations’ recipients.
Today, Connor is 16 and has expanded Connor’s Kindness Project, providing Kindness Kits to children ages 5 to 16 who are in hospitals or shelters in the Boston area.
Connor made a list of everything he’d want if he were in the hospital, and he included those items — like Rubik’s Cubes, Etch A Sketch units, stickers, crayons, coloring books and socks — into his Kindness Kits. He raises money for the kits by selling lemonade, snacks and bracelets during the summer.
To date, Connor’s Kindness Project has delivered more than 16,000 kits to 85 locations. His family and a few hundred volunteers deliver up to 50 kits to each location, totaling around 4,250 kits quarterly. They’ve moved the operation from the family’s garage to a brick-and-mortar office building in the Boston suburb of Woburn.
The family constantly receives heartfelt notes of gratitude from recipients of the Kindness Kits. This kit really helped my child get through a tough time, one parent wrote to Connor.
His mom, Sharon, also beams with pride, “I’m very proud. He works so hard,” she says of her son.
When Connor becomes an adult, he hopes to go to college, but he wants to also stay involved with his nonprofit to expand it to a national level.
“I like helping others, and knowing we have a big impact on people,” Connor says. “I always wanted to do something to make a difference.”
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