South Fayette couple’s nonprofit brightens lives of children with special needs
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The mission of the nonprofit Always B Smiling, as would be expected, is to put perpetual grins on people’s faces.
More specifically, founders Dean and Kristin Huibregtse of South Fayette seek to brighten the lives of children with special needs and, by extension, their caregivers and family members.
“Dean and I are so humbled by, us being into it now a year and a half, how many people are supporting the organization and want to see us grow,” Kristin said. “And that is what’s so wonderful about this night, that people are supporting us on this mission.”
Her reference was to Always B Smiling’s inaugural “B” Together Night, a start-of-spring fundraiser at Valley Brook Country Club in Peters Township. Attendance was about 130 for what is intended as an annual event.
“Our goal for tonight was to gain awareness for Always B Smiling and the good work that we do,” Stephanie Walker, a member of the nonprofit’s board of directors, said. “The turnout and support tonight has been great, from all of our friends and relatives from around the area.”
The “B” in the organization’s name is in honor of the late Bennett Huibregtse, whom Kristin and Dean lost in 2020 after their 16-year-old son’s lifelong battle against autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease.
Among Bennett’s favorite activities was taking bicycle rides, and Always B Smiling offers a free adaptive riding program on the Montour Trail, based at the Tandem Connection on Georgetown Road in Cecil Township. The program resumes from 9 to 11 a.m. May 7 and continues on Saturday mornings through Oct. 30, with two additional bikes this season thanks to the generosity of supporters.
Tandem Connection also is the site for a Miles for Smiles Remembrance Walk scheduled for 9 a.m. July 24. And the Huibregtses have big plans for some location along the trail.
“We’re looking to purchase a piece of land for an activity center, to be able to do our biking program and all kinds of programming for kids with health challenges and special needs,” Kristin said, including practical life-skills experiences. “Once they’re out of school, there’s such a big gap for any activities for them. We feel that our program can really help support that, so we’re very excited for our future.”
Other current Always B Smiling endeavors include:
• Buddee Bags containing items to bring comfort to children during their visits to hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the greater Pittsburgh area.
• Bennett’s Blessings, a flexible program designed around the needs of the individual and created specifically to inspire smiles to those in need.
• “B” Together events for children, teens and young adults with disabilities and health challenges, allowing for interaction with their peers and for typical teens and young adults to interact via a buddy program.
As for the first “B” Together Night, Walker and board secretary Sloane Astorino were instrumental in organizing an evening full of games, fellowship and fun that represented a veritable return to normalcy two years after the covid pandemic’s onset.
“We are so grateful, humbled, and it’s all in the name of creating smiles in Bennett’s memory,” Dean Huibregtse told those in attendance. “And I know he is looking down from Heaven, really happy that you’re all here, and we’re excited for the great things that are going to happen.”
For more information, visit alwaysbsmiling.org.