Bag of Joy makes giving to children transparent, simple, and joyful — helping every child smile, learn, and dream.
How joyful? Happiness is felt in moments, but joy is felt in giving.
Hi, I’m Maahi Prakash
The Story Behind Bag of Joy
I started Bag of Joy in 2019 when I was in fifth grade. I wanted to give back but didn’t know where to start, so I began small—adopting wishlists for kids in foster care.
That first year, as I opened my own gifts, I felt happy. But knowing another child—someone I’d never meet—was opening theirs because of me filled me with a feeling I couldn’t explain.
Now, as a high schooler taking a psychology class, I’m exploring that feeling through my research on joy—an emotion connected to gratitude, meaning, and connection. I’m learning that happiness fades, but joy lasts longer and goes deeper.
Grounded in research from positive psychology.
Research Behind Bag of Joy
How Bag of Joy Works
We connect people who want to give with trusted nonprofits that help kids smile, learn, and experience the joy that comes from giving.
Step 1: Choose to give locally or globally.
Step 2: Adopt a wishlist or support a student.
Step 3: Share your JoyStory to inspire others to give
What started as one act of giving has grown into a way for others to spread joy too — through our local and global partners.
Our Local Partner: Friends of Foster Kids
They bring holiday joy to children in foster care.
Friends of Foster Kids (FoFK) is a nonprofit in Shelby Township, MI, founded by Ms. Theresa Toia in 2006. Each year, they collect wishlists from kids in foster care and make sure every gift is wrapped and delivered with love.
Bag of Joy has partnered with FoFK since 2019, each year helping wishes come true for children in foster care.
Click below to adopt a wishlist that connects with you.
Your kindness can make a child’s holiday brighter right here at home.
Our Global Partner: Project Okurase
They provide students in Ghana with education and hot meals.
Project Okurase is a nonprofit based in Charleston, SC, founded by Dr. Cynthia Swenson, Ph.D., of the Medical University of South Carolina. It helps children in the rural village of Okurase, Ghana, access school and daily hot meals.
Bag of Joy has partnered with Project Okurase since 2024 to help fund education and provide meals for students at Nkabom Sundrops Montessori.
Your support helps kids in Okurase learn, dream, and stay connected.
Why Give with Bag of Joy
Because we make giving transparent, simple, and joyful.
The one thing every child carries is a bag — for books, dreams, or hopes. That’s why we’re called Bag of Joy — because we want to fill those bags with kindness and care.
Transparent, because the gifts you give go directly to the nonprofits we’ve partnered with.
Simple, because we use technology to make giving easy from any device.
Joyful, because research shows that joy comes from gratitude, connection, and knowing you’ve made a difference.
Give joy. Feel joy. Spread joy