‘Tough as Nails’ indeed: Rosalia family, volunteers honor girl’s memory through nonprofit

A desire to help a child dealing with leukemia spawned an idea. And it turned into a nonprofit that would benefit hundreds of kids and families.

Two years ago, Caryn Bothman, of Rosalia, Washington, and her daughters Leslie, Maicy and Camie Bothman wanted to do something to help a young family member battling cancer.

“When our cousin Malia was 4, she was diagnosed with leukemia,” Camie, 14, said. “We decided to make nail kits and sell them to raise money to send to the family.”

The name for the kits came easily to Caryn Bothman.

“ ‘Tough as Nails’ expresses how tough these kids are,” she said.

The $15 kits contain decal sheets, polish, a nail file, a pen and a bookmark, tucked into a zippered pouch featuring the Tough as Nails logo.

“We sold them at craft fairs and stores in Rosalia, Tekoa and Colfax,” Bothman said.

Realizing they could raise more funds if they included something for everyone, Camie said, “We decided to make tech kits and include boys, too.”

Those kits feature ear buds, a stylus pen and a cord wrap.

“We raised just shy of $2,500 and sent it to Malia’s parents,” Camie said.

Malia died in August at age 6.

The Bothman family decided to honor her by continuing to help other kids. Tough as Nails is now a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to creating and donating craft kits to hospitalized children.

This fall, they launched a youth team whose eight members are from Rosalia and Tekoa. One of the first things the team did was fill 25 backpacks with school supplies and deliver them to Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane.

“We had a back-to-school drive and collected donations,” said team member Chloe Place, 16.

Tony Schuh, family resource coordinator at Providence Sacred Heart, said many of those backpacks went to children in the Behavioral Emotional Skills Training program.

BEST is a hospital-based day treatment program that provides intensive therapeutic treatment for children attending grade school.

“When they leave, they have a new backpack and supplies to take back to school along with a fresh start,” Schuh said.

But the Tough as Nails team had an even more ambitious project in mind. Last week, they delivered 1,070 origami crane activity kits to Children’s Hospital.

An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish. The kits include five pieces of origami paper, a completed crane, instructions and a wish card.

Team member Christina Ward, 16, said the idea is to give hospitalized kids something fun to do to help pass the time.

Schuh said that’s important for parents and siblings, too.

“When your son or daughter is feeling terrible, you feel powerless,” he said. “This gives them something else to focus on.”

Making 1,000 cranes and assembling the kits required was far too big a project for the Tough as Nails youth team to tackle alone, so they reached out to the community.

They held craft nights at libraries and traveled to schools in Whitman County explaining their mission and enlisting the help of other students.

“We asked the people making the kits to include a wish card from them to the recipients,” team member Place said.

As they delivered the origami crane kits to Children’s Hospital, team member Ward said they had a message for the children who will receive them.

“We want them to know they’re not alone,” she said.

The nail and tech kits, as well as clothing items, are sold on the nonprofit’s website, and the proceeds go toward supplies for the craft kits.

Caryn Bothman said she’s amazed at how this small idea has grown from their family and spread to their community and beyond.

“They just ran with it,” she said of her daughters and the youth team.

Camie Bothman summed up the philosophy of the Tough as Nails team.

“No matter how big the issue is, you can make an impact,” she said.